Keyword bidding on competitor keywords

[Barry]

Tweet

I know using the word pcworld to advertise pcworld is a big no no.

But is it possible to bid on 'pcworld' but send the user to dell with an advert that reads 'don't buy pcworld, buy from dell'?

[Qui Gon Jinn]

Try some major merchants and you'll see the competitors doing it, as well as certain ad agencies getting privilege over affiliates who were not permitted to bid on brand names.

[John]

Not to mention some Affiliates who are still breaking the rules, putting all of us in jeopardy - A quick search throws up some affiliates still bidding on the following forbidden trademarks/brand names:

John Lewis
Ocado
Goldfish
MVC
Tiscali
Just Good Books
Dial-a-Phone
IwantOneOfthose

Not an exhuastive list, just the few merchants I've looked at... It's a real kick in the teeth when 99% of people play by the rules, only to see the other 1% getting away with it (and cashing in on cheap bids as a result)

[zaq]

John you right, the best thing to do is send the affiliate networks a email with all the guilty sites bidding on forbidden trademarks and brand names, they soon stop when they see a big drop off they total balance.

[Qui Gon Jinn]

TSP brought up

"1 US teaspoon = 4.92892161 milliliters"

[Barry]

I need some clearer guidelines to use if anybody knows any?

eg.
Say MyOffers or GreasyPalm etc have a competition running to win a £100 screwfix voucher.

1.)Could I bid on the keyword 'screwfix' and send them to the competion signup (not screwfix)?

2.)Could I use the word 'screwfix' in a keyword phrase? eg 'screwfix competition'?

Thanks

[Fraser]

I don't think there are any clear guidelines, CompanyA might be quite happy about you using their name where they are going to get an indirect benefit but CompanyB might want you never using their name anywhere. There are no hard and fast rules and the only way to be sure is to ask the companies involved.

[Qui Gon Jinn]

From speaking to US merchants at CJU, about 90%+ merchants think 99.9% of afffiliates are ethical and endorse bidding on brand names, as they are taking the risk and keeping their brand prominent, plus they gain from all the generic terms.

The buzz word the US seem to refer to it as is "Arbitrage"

I was a little surprised when talking to several merchants, that one of the main US PPCSE..."O" were not just making it difficult for affiliates but also for retailers who sell manufacturer brands.

i.e. if a certain shoe retailer sold a certain designer brand, the PPCSE would rather the brand had a campaign than the retailer. When in high street stores a number of brands will pay the retailer to have their brand prominent in the shop window.

There were a number of reasons, but one was that they felt the brand had bigger budgets to "waste"

One lame excuse offered by a seo company who work on behalf of "O" trying to defend the minimum bid.. we already know this is dictated by major partners (portals & search engines) but they say that becuase sites are getting better at converting traffic, they can justify the increase, and when these sites get even better, they will probably increase the minimum bid still further....inference: subsequently squeezing a publishers or advertisers margin as much as possible.

Isn't this just pure greed?