Asinine Terms & Conditions .. or .. Keyword Policies

[Qui Gon Jinn]

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Also affiliates must not attempt to optimise their sites for search engine terms around the companies brand names or variations

Fortunately an email from AF was received yesterday saying that this merchant is closing soon.

[smithcn]

Coincidentally, today I've just been drafting copy for affiliates about the use of our brand name (we are a soon-to-be merchant) so I thought I'd add my 2p's worth to the debate.

To be able to register a trademark it has to be distinctive and it has to be kept that way. If you don’t keep it distinctive you could lose the registration and others would be able to use it too.

It took us a number of years before we were able to get ours registered; it's worth a lot of money to our business and we spend a lot of money promoting it. So, it's in our interest to look after it and make sure that other people don't do anything to reduce its distinctiveness.

It’s also about consistency - our trademark is something that distinguishes us from our competitors and helps to build customer loyalty. We want people to have a good and consistent experience however they access our brand. If someone's first encounter with our brand is as a result of a misleading PPC ad for example, then it will colour their perceptions of our brand - perhaps forever.

So, we will be asking affiliates to respect a few simple guidelines regarding the use of our brand. No doubt to some, they will be asinine T's and C's but to me it's about protecting our trademark and the expectations of our customers.

[Ambski]

Coincidentally, today I've just been drafting copy for affiliates about the use of our brand name (we are a soon-to-be merchant) so I thought I'd add my 2p's worth to the debate.

To be able to register a trademark it has to be distinctive and it has to be kept that way. If you don’t keep it distinctive you could lose the registration and others would be able to use it too.

It took us a number of years before we were able to get ours registered; it's worth a lot of money to our business and we spend a lot of money promoting it. So, it's in our interest to look after it and make sure that other people don't do anything to reduce its distinctiveness.

It’s also about consistency - our trademark is something that distinguishes us from our competitors and helps to build customer loyalty. We want people to have a good and consistent experience however they access our brand. If someone's first encounter with our brand is as a result of a misleading PPC ad for example, then it will colour their perceptions of our brand - perhaps forever.

So, we will be asking affiliates to respect a few simple guidelines regarding the use of our brand. No doubt to some, they will be asinine T's and C's but to me it's about protecting our trademark and the expectations of our customers.

Personally, I have no problem with this. What I DO disagree with is Merchant rules written such as:
"Will low-life PPC affiliates be aware that we are a super-duper company which is far more important than you and you should be aware we'll tear you a new a** should you dare to cross our path."

I have had the displeasure to read many, many of these. Shame really. I have no choice but to promote their rivals.

[Qui Gon Jinn]

If someone's first encounter with our brand is as a result of a misleading PPC ad for example, then it will colour their perceptions of our brand - perhaps forever.

Simply provide various examples of the ad copy for ppc only which is acceptable & you would prefer affiliates to use.

Really what is the difference between natural search & paid search, apart from the obvious cost element & immediacy.

Anybody's perception of a brand can come under any of the listings from non-ppc search engine results anyhow, so why are merchants so asinine about their brand mentioned in paid search ad copy when any affiliate or non affiliate could write any review they wish & whether they intend to deliberately seo for it or not.

If an affiliate had the inclination he / she could compare two brands in the same ad, ie brand x is cheaper than brand y.

[smithcn]

...Anybody's perception of a brand can come under any of the listings from non-ppc search engine results anyhow, so why are merchants so asinine about their brand mentioned in paid search ad copy when any affiliate or non affiliate could write any review they wish & whether they intend to deliberately seo for it or not.

Maybe because the merchant is ultimately paying for the PPC copy but not for the natural search...

[Shane]

Simply provide various examples of the ad copy for ppc only which is acceptable & you would prefer affiliates to use.

In the past a lot of merchant supplied adcopy has been generally very poor so I'd prefer the route of submitting adcopy for approval because writing compelling ads that get clicks whilst disqualifying the tyre kickers at the same time isn't something that comes naturally to most people, and it would especially seem to be the case with in house marketing departments in fact the bigger the brand the worse adcopy seems to be.

personally if I'm paying say £1 a click for something then I'd rather it was I who had written the ad than someone in the marketing dept of a company who has only the vaguest idea of what works best on Google.

[Tradesecur]

This is becoming an increasingly grey area, and as such an educated interpretation of terms and conditions is as a good rule of thumb as there is, as to where to draw the line.
Someone once told me there is a reason why it's called a sentence....oh well, you get the idea