Google AdWords: Bidding on Trademarked Names

The giant insurance company Geico sued Googlefor allowing competing advertisers to dilute their brandon Google Adwords, but Judge Brinkema said "There is no evidence that this activity alonecauses confusion."

Yes, it cost them a lot of money in brand- andreputation-buiding to get someone to search forGeico, and then other insurance companies jumpin the fray and grab some traffic.

This is a double edged sword.  If you're a littleguy trying to cash in, this is great.  If you'rea bigger guy and you've got a reputation you'vebuilt - if people actively search for you oryour company - than you're probably not so happyabout this.

Well there's an easy solution for Geico, or you, or any other advertiser who wants to prvent thisfrom happening.  Make sure your website turnsvisitors into dollars (like I constantly harpabout)... and then launch an affiliate program.

See, if Geico had an affiliate program, they'dhave dozens of affiliates bidding on "Geico" andthey would literally crowd out the rival advertisers.When people type in "Geico Insurance" they're a LOT more likely to click on an ad that represents Geico than anything else.  The rival ads get a lowerclick thru rate and almost entirely vanish.

The next objection, of course, is going to be "Hey wait a minute, I spent all this money building my brand, why should I share the money with affiliatesnow, when someone finally decides to buy insurance?"

The answer is: Yes, you will share your profits with others, but those same affiliates will advertisein nooks and crannies on the Internet that you couldn'tpossibly reach through the usual corporatecommand-and-control mentality.  What you paythem for searches on "Geico" will be very smallin relation to the traffic they bring you from*literally* a million other places.  Especiallywith a business as big as insurance.

What I teach in my books, courses and coachingprograms is that when you use pay-per-click trafficto perfect the sales process on your website... thenadd affiliate marketing to the mix... you get explosiveresults.  You achieve a "tipping point" where everyonesends you their traffic because your program paysmore than everyone else's.  It's a really, reallycomfortable position to be in. 

And it's not voodoo - it's hard science.

If you're an experienced Adwords advertiser, then youdefinitely need to know about my Ultra-Advanced course.  It picks up where the Definitive Guide leaves off,laying out an entirely new level of strategies for winningthis game:  www.AdwordsBlackBelt.com

If you're new to Adwords, my Definitive Guideto Google AdWords shows you how to reach that elusivetipping point, one simple step at a time.  I recommend the Expanded Version which includes a special tele-clinic called "Jetfuel for GoogleCash" :  www.perrymarshall.com/adwords

To your success,

Perry Marshall