It is impossible to exaggerate how important it is to defend your brand when it comes to search engine marketing in this day and age, which is controlled by online interactions and markets. Businesses who want to build and keep a distinctive identity in the broad internet arena confront the ongoing issue of protecting their brand from trademark infringements, ad hijackers, and other potential brand risks. This is a challenge that they face even as they work to establish and keep that identity. The convergence of search marketing and brand protection has arisen as a strategic need, safeguarding not just the integrity of a brand but also its continued growth and reputation even in the face of potential threats.
The nexus of brand and search marketing
Businesses are able to interact with their target audience directly at the point of interest by utilizing search marketing, which includes search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Search marketing functions as a digital storefront for businesses and enables this connection. On the other hand, this powerful weapon is open to abuse by nefarious individuals who are looking to take advantage of well-known businesses for their own financial gain. At this point, the idea of protecting one’s brand becomes a position of utmost importance.
Preserving authenticity: Counteracting impersonation
In today’s digital environment, impersonation represents a significant risk for businesses and their brands. Unauthorized third parties, such as competitors and affiliates, may construct websites or advertisements that closely replicate the style and messaging of authentic companies, luring consumers who aren’t paying attention astray and allowing them to profit from commissions that aren’t rightfully theirs.
Businesses are able to protect their reputations and guarantee that their clients are not misled if they implement vigilant monitoring and take prompt action against impersonators of their brands.
Because it enables companies to place bids on their own branded terms, search marketing creates opportunities for proactive brand protection and gives these opportunities to businesses. This reduces the likelihood of customers becoming victims of unauthorized resellers or websites that offer counterfeit goods by ensuring that when they search for the name of the brand, they are redirected to the official website of the brand.
Defending against ad-hijacking
Products that are not genuine hurt a brand’s reputation for being high-quality and genuine, which in turn hurts the brand’s market share. In search marketing, fakers may place bids on terms that are linked to real products in order to steer potential customers toward fake alternatives.
Monitoring the search results on a consistent basis and working actively in partnership with brand protection systems like Adthena Ad-Hijacking are both necessary steps in the deployment of robust brand protection measures. Advertisers are able to identify thousands of instances of affiliate ad hijacking by indexing and reporting on the hundreds of affiliate networks that exist. They are going to offer evidence of the scam, which will include a snapshot of the advertisement and the affiliate ID.
Adthena was recently able to assist a major hotel brand in locating fifty reservations made over the course of the previous two months. They put the publisher on hold for a week, and any bookings that were made during that time were deemed unsuitable for commissioning.
The potential waste in terms of budget is significant. As a point of reference, the cost of fraudulent actions can come close to $10,000 if ten publications are identified.
Kick out the trademark infringers
Infringement of a trademark in search refers to the unauthorized use of a registered trademark or brand name in online search advertising, most notably in paid search campaigns. Trademark infringement in search is a form of trademark infringement. It takes place when a third party uses a registered trademark as a keyword to trigger the display of their own adverts in search engine results or utilizes the brand in the ad content itself without the authorization of the owner of the trademark. This is known as trademark infringement.
This technique has the potential to confuse consumers and may detract traffic or customers from the real owner of the trademark.
In search, the most common forms of trademark infringement include the following:
Infringement of trademarks as a keyword: When a rival or a third party uses a registered trademark or brand name as a term in their paid search advertising, this is known as trademark infringement. When consumers search for that trademark, the infringing ad may show alongside or above the genuine search results, which has the potential to convince users to click on an ad that is not associated with the true trademark owner.
Infringement of a registered trademark in advertising copy occurs when a competitor or third party utilizes the registered trademark in the content of a paid search ad. This gives the impression that the advertiser’s goods or services are affiliated with or endorsed by the legitimate trademark owner, despite the fact that this is not the case.
It is critical for owners of trademarks to keep a vigilant watch over the manner in which their brands are utilized in Internet advertising and to promptly report any instances of infringement they discover.
When the worldwide software vendor Sage recruited additional partners and affiliates, the company quickly discovered that in order to remain competitive, it needed to keep a careful eye on both its partner network and its rivals.
The bidding on brands was a serious issue, and it wasn’t only with other businesses. Affiliates and partners also exploited branded phrases and trademarks owned by Sage in the ad content they created for themselves, which drove up CPCs and stole impressions that rightfully belonged to Sage. Even though partners and independent software vendors (ISVs) have signed agreements to prevent brand bidding, violators remain a concern.
After putting Adthena’s Infringement Tracker to work, the company was able to detect 89 thousand patent infractions committed by a single partner alone over the course of a year. Sage noticed a fall of 75% in CPCs for brand terms and a decrease of 33% in partner impression share within five days of implementing agreements based on Adthena’s monitoring.
Get Granular
If there is a change in the market, you need to be aware of it so that you can adjust your strategy and maintain your position. Whether competitors are switching strategies, entering or exiting your market, attacking or piggybacking on your brand, or entering a new market altogether, being able to quickly modify your approach keeps you one step ahead of your opponents.
This meant that they were unable to comprehend how the techniques of their rivals harmed their search performance and had an effect on their campaigns.
They were able to mitigate performance risks, which was especially helpful during crucial sales times and the launch of new products, with the assistance of Athena’s Smart Monitor, which promptly defended their position when competitors closed in on their market share or targeted their clients. Koala has been successful in lowering their overall CPA by over 45% while also increasing their share of impressions on core product phrases by 10%.
Forging success: The cornerstone alliance of brand protection and online visibility
Brand protection in search marketing is an unstoppable force that protects a brand’s essence and its potential for growth in the ever-changing field of digital commerce.
Businesses are able to develop an environment in which their brand thrives, free from the constraints of misrepresentation and exploitation, by fostering authenticity, combating impersonation, fighting counterfeits, and using both legal and technological capabilities.
Because search engine optimization is still actively molding the digital narrative, the partnership between brand safety and online visibility is becoming an increasingly important component of a successful strategy in today’s competitive commercial environment.
It’s time to put an end to unprotected paid search
As we have seen, leaving your brand unsecured in sponsored search leaves it vulnerable to competitors taking important clicks or affiliates hijacking your advertisements and damaging the integrity of your brand. This is because your brand is left wide open to attack.
Learn how to protect your brand by taking a quick tour of Adthena’s Brand Protection solution, which will only take three minutes of your time. As an alternative option for additional reading, our Brand Crashers guide outlines five steps that may be taken to optimize your brand in search.
