The fan base of Nascar has exploded since Fox premiered broadcasting of the series in 2001, and the branded search volume for Nascar keyword sets is staggering.

Nascar.com is published and managed by Turner Interactive. One reason I write this article is the sheer disappointment I have with the “face” of Nascar online, Nascar.com. When they started serving multiple pop-up ads to site visitors I stopped visiting the site and am now an exclusive fan of ESPN’s online coverage of Nascar.

Now, on to the point of this post, the search user experience.

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It is legal to register a trademarked domain and publish a website on the domain if it is non-commercial in nature–think review sites, gripe sites, fan sites. An example would be Walmartwatch.com, a Wal-Mart gripe site published by Five Stones and The Center for Community and Corporate Ethics.

But what happens when a gripe site publishes Google ads to generate revenue? How can this be considered non-commercial when the unauthorized party is leveraging the IP assets of another entity, in a disparaging way, to generate revenue? There’s a lot of gray here.

What constitutes commercial use? What doesn’t?

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Many of the legal departments for successful companies have a well defined domain strategy to manage brand assets, facilitate go-to-market initiatives, and halt trademark infringement and criminal activities.

Part of this process is to monitor the registration of domains that contain a trademark, determine if the domain is being used illegally (i.e. cybersquatting, false association, commerce), and if it is, initiate steps to acquire the domain.

Because the internet makes it easy to create fraudulent storefronts and consumers are conditioned to trust brand names and logos, this is a primary business concern that affects the bottom line and brand reputation.

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What I’m talking about here is investigating the incoming links to web pages that have prominent visibility in your brand real estate of the search engines.

I’m referring to third-party websites that are negative (gripe sites) or are unwelcome (competitors) listings.

Let’s review an example. The screenshot below displays the search results in Google for “Jiffy Lube.” Note the third result.

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Google announced that is discontinuing the agency commission structure it has in place for European agencies that are growing their accounts. Known as the European Best Practice Funding, the “kick-back” program will officially be terminated in January of 2009.

Google pays agencies a percentage of money back based on how much they spent on behalf of clients. The commission program is believed to be worth around $100 million (£50m) a year to agencies.

The Best Practice Funding was used by Google to encourage agencies to appropriately increase their cost-per-click spend and try out new initiatives such as Google’s new Gadget Ads.

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This growing issue gets me so hopped up my blood is boiling as I write this.

Everyone agrees that customers have the right to publish complaints, concerns, and other experiences online–it is called the first amendment and in legal terms it is frequently referred to as Fair Use, as in the fair use of a trademark.

In fact, it is often legal to use a registered trademark in the domain name of a gripe site as a legitimate non-commercial use. But what happens when the gripe site is used for commercial purposes? What happens when the gripe site is used for the commercial purposes of a direct competitor?

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Be careful what you publish. In the screenshot below an AT&T web page links directly to a gripe site called “Face AT&T.” Here is the URL:

http://www.att.net/cgi-bin/webdrill?catkey=gwd/Top/Home/Consumer_Information/Complaints/AT%26T

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UPDATE 09/14/2007: Recording artist Prince joins the revolution. 

As reported by E-Commerce Times:

“L’Oreal reportedly estimates that counterfeit sales of its products on eBay have resulted in its loss of several million dollars. The cosmetics giant’s legal action against eBay echoes similar moves by the jewelry firm Tiffany & Co. in 2004 and by French luxury goods firm LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton a year ago.”

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Frequently I get questions about our “Brand Command” methodology and what online brand protection has to do with brand marketing on the search engines.

The easiest way for me to respond to this question is to simply point out that the natural and paid results for branded searches fall into three categories:

A- Positive
B- Negative
C- Unwanted (think competitor or competitive solution)

Search engine visibility is a zero sum game. In other words, there is a finite number of listings displayed for a brand’s “real estate” in the search engines and in many industries these results shape brand reputation and loyalty, and greatly influence the actions of prospects, customers, partners, investors, creditors, etc.

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UPDATE: My inside source has revealed the following about the decision to drop the suit against Google:

“The client could not longer afford to continue a solo fight against a defendant with a bottomless pocketbook and every incentive to litigate indefinitely.”

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The University of Phoenix (UOP) is the largest institution of higher learning in the U.S., with nearly 311,000 students and 23,000 professional faculty, all of whom hold masters or doctoral degrees.

How did the University of Phoenix infiltrate and dominate both the Education and the Online Education Marketing space?

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Online brand protection initiatives serve two purposes. First and foremost, to protect the consumer. And second, to maintain the integrity and equity of a carefully nurtured brand.

Addressing threats to your brand on the internet is a primary business concern and the consequences of multiple brand abuse issues online can loom much larger than singular incidents of unauthorized sales, counterfeiting, cybersquatting, trademark dilution, or a gripe site making unpleasant claims.

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Reminiscent of the RSA Homes Sues Google fiasco, NewsWeek published a story earlier this week that reveals how homebuilders are responding to gripe site participants screaming shoddy construction–pay them off! From the Newsweek story:

“Because of the binding arbitration clause in many new-home contracts, unsatisfied homeowners rarely make a court hearing—or the headlines. “I think that the problem with construction defects has been under the radar for so long,” says Nancy Seats, president of Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD), a nonprofit consumer protection group for homeowners dealing with defective construction.

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Last week’s search headlines informed us that Yahoo is a charter member of CADNA, the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse.

The coalition, composed of brand heavyweights, including AIG, Hilton, Dell, Verizon, Wyndham, Marriott, and others, estimates that cybersquatting costs companies worldwide more than $1 billion annually in diverted customer sales and enforcement expenses.

From the Coalition’s home page:

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A recent Chicago Tribune article cites a coalition of major companies lobbying Congress for tougher laws targeting online scammers who profit from their brand names:

“Calling themselves the Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, ten companies have hired the law firm Alston & Bird LLP to persuade federal lawmakers of the need to crack down on those who claim Web addresses, or domain names, that include or resemble a legitimate company’s trademark.

The coalition estimates that so-called cybersquatting costs companies worldwide more than $1 billion annually in diverted customer sales and enforcement expenses.”

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There are several reasons trademark owners send Cease and Desist letters. Today I’m going to take a look at sample Cease and Desist letters sent by prominent brands to parties abusing their trademark within a website domain name.

Anybody can register a domain that contains a trademark. It is only when that domain is put to illegal use that a company has a responsibility to act, in order to protect the business entity from trademark infringement and dilution.

Common reasons to send a Cease and Desist order for infringing domain names:

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No worries. There is nothing wrong with your tracking code. Google is updating account data and your reports will be accessible asap. Google wrote this morning:

“Google Analytics users,

There is a temporary reporting delay within Google Analytics accounts. For most accounts, reporting is current through this past Saturday night. Please note that no data will be lost - data will continue to be collected and processed during this time.

We are in the process of fully updating your Google Analytics account data and will display it within your reports as soon as possible. Please note, you are still able to log in to your accounts and access all the data through Saturday. We will update this blog when reporting is fully restored.We apologize for any inconvenience this delay in reporting has caused. Thank you for using Google Analytics.” 

Technorati tags: Google Analytics

Search Engines Allow Criminals, Customers, Competitors, Independent Representatives, Employees, And The News Media, To Counterfeit, Dilute, Defame, Erode, Infringe, And Malign Your Brand. What steps are you taking to monitor and protect your brand?

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Download the Mannatech legal complaint

The Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott, has filed a lawsuit against Mannatech Inc. in a state district court located in Travis County. The legal complaint accuses Mannatech of violating state and federal health and safety codes and the state deceptive trade practices, willingly enabling the company’s force of freelance associates to use illegal health claims on their websites.

Specifically, the Mannatech lawsuit cites the defendants for marketing and selling dietary supplements (glyconutrients) as a way to cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases, illnesses, or serious conditions. Mannatech earned in excess of $400 million in 2006.

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is taking legal action against Google Inc, as well as Google subsidiaries in Ireland and Australia, over the way it sells and displays sponsored links.

From the U.K.’s Times Online:

“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said that it believed its action, which named Google Inc as well as Google subsidiaries in Ireland and Australia as defendants, was “the first to seek legal clarification of Google’s conduct from a trade practices perspective.”

The case stems from 2005 when Trading Post, an Australian classified ads magazine, took out sponsored links in the name of two car dealerships from Newcastle, New South Wales. People clicking on the names of the dealerships found themselves on Trading Post’s website.

The ACCC dropped a case against Trading Post when the publication said it would stop using its competitors’ names in Google sponsored links. However, the watchdog now says that Google “engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct” by allowing Trading Post to buy ads in the name of the car dealerships.

Misleading and deceptive conduct? Take a look at this screenshot of the search “Billabong” on Google Australia:

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Trademark dilution and infringement run rampant on Yahoo Search Marketing’s paid advertisements for federally protected trademarks.

While Yahoo and Google continue to battle through lawsuits for trademark infringement in their respective search engine advertising programs, it is evident that Yahoo needs to move a step closer to the brands they are leveraging for profit.

In 2005, Google was forced to change their trademark advertising policy after a devastating blow from a federal district court in the Geico Case. The court stated:

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I have received some interesting emails from readers, from both companies and individuals, asking how to deal with Google on a number of Adwords issues. One of the most frequent requests is how to contact Google Customer Service.

First off, I need to acknowledge that Google’s Customer Service will never be a candidate for a J.D. Power Award. In fact, there is a special formula you can use to evaluate the level of customer service Google provides:

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Jiffy Lube is a Brand Leader in automotive services, and the Jiffy Lube name has come to be synonymous with quick oil change service. Eighty-eight percent of Jiffy Lube stores are franchises.

While examining best practices for online marketing, it was clear that search engine visibility for each Jiffy Lube franchise, including every store in every market was a priority–Jiffy Lube had virtually no visibility for thousands of potentially high-converting searches for locations and Jiffy Lube coupons, and I have been given the opportunity to assist in consulting with a comprehensive strategy.

Stay tuned…

Technorati tags: Jiffy Lube, SEM Report Card, search engine marketing, brand marketing online, brand protection online

LATEST UPDATE 06/06/2007: Below is the Drudge Report advertising rate card I received from Peter Amen, Sales Manager for Intermarkets, detailing the rate for various ad units at CPM.  Incidentally, my monitors have been unable to cite an instance of the linking practice thus far in the month of June.

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My company’s co-founder, Tina Rawlins, and I, have a great deal of experience cleaning up the mess Google creates by allowing third parties to advertise on our clients’ trademarks.  Today I am going to discuss Brand Siphoning, which is a form of Traffic Diversion, as outlined in our Brand Command methodology.

What is Brand Siphoning?

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