As the editor of AffiliateNewsReview.com I am a member of a number of affiliate programs. As a member of a certain affiliate program I received this series of emails related to the use of PPC by affiliates to secure sales. This company would land on the side of being “lightly branded”. They do own a few store locations in another part of the country, but I have never heard of them since I live in Dallas. I think the most amazing thing about these statements (whether you want to argue that PPC affiliates are good for business, I know they have been good for my business) are related to the ownership of the customer.
“Dear Affiliates,
It is clear from simple google research that some of you are still pursuing seo campaigns using our trademark. As we have requested this to stop, as of 11/10/06 all affiliates utilizing seo campaigns with the XXXXXX brand will be disabled on our affiliate network. We apologize for the stern action but we did give you ample warning.
Regards,”
Also:
“Dear Afiliates,
In my haste I used incorrect jargon to describe our issue. The use of XXXXXX or any iteration of that trademark is not permitted for use in your PPC campaigns, not seo, specifically Google AdWords, Overture PPC, or any other pay per click program.
Why? People who search by keyword that is our trademark is really our customer. We feel the affiliate should not benefit from a sale when a customer is looking for us directly.
The affiliates job is to send a customer to us who may never have heard of us but are looking for our products.
You can use XXXXXX in your SEO campaigns, just not in PPC campaigns.
Sorry for the confusion.”
Excuse me. If they were your customer why were they doing a Google search?
Did they click on the PPC affiliate link because they had a more compelling ad than you did?
In no way do I want to cast aspersions on this hard working affiliate manager (I have kept his name and the company name out of the posting as a result) who was probably directed by upper management to better optimize the PPC campaigns by eliminating bidding “competitors”. This company is not a member of the Commission Junction where at CJU the effective use by PPC affiliates of tradenames was widely discussed and accepted (see post: Top 10 Things I learned at Commission Junction University) so I am assuming he would appreciate some feedback from affiliates concerning these issues, which I will gladly forward.
I would also like to see how long it takes them to recover from sales lost by booting out their PPC affiliates.
Thanks, Stick
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Well I can understand about the PPC efforts, but this is first i have heard of them booting people for ranking terms SEO wise. Then they came around and corrected that.
Many aff programs do not allow you to bid ontheir core brand name which is a common practice. If they do allow it, exploit it, because it is easy money.
I think this shows the general confusion on some merchant manager’s parts to even understand the issues related to SEO and PPC and how it relates to affiliate success. Even less understanding on the part of upper management on how affilaites fit in the overall scheme of their online marketing efforts. Thanks for your comment!
ATTENTION ALL INTERNET MARKETERS
This notice is to serve as a PERMANENT AND FINAL CEASE AND DESIST ORDER. Our company, Associated Mortgage Corporation REQUIRES you to stop using the term MORTGAGE in all SEO and pay-per-click campaigns as anyone looking for a mortgage is already our customer.
Sincerely,
Associated Mortgage Corporation
Ken, You got me. I thought I was being flamed. I love it!
“…since anyone looking for a mortgage is already our customer.”
Touche!
I just think it is within their rights to ask that you not bid on their trademarked terms. They don’t let competitors, so why would they let their affiliates.
I think the SEO space is an open territory however and they should not be able to demand you leave that alone… plus at that point you are at the discretion of the SE algos rather than your own keyword list…
I do feel if the company name is a generic term they can kiss my ass… like a shoebuy.com (buy shoes would be the keyword) or a blinds.com but something like Vonage or Amazon I can understand why they don’t allow it.
It is within their rights, just not sure it is good for their business. I should have been more specific about the “lightly branded” line I used… it is one of those generic domain names no one has ever heard of. It is not anywhere near a Vonage or Amazon. Though, it is my understanding that interestingly Amazon allows PPC affiliates to bid on tradenames.
Thanks for your comment!
Its unfortunate that managers making decisions about PPC do not undertand the term SEO. Throw in SEM and you have an alphabet soup. I firmly believe that affiliates help you drive out competitors both in SEO and SEM (PPC).
Recently we nailed Google for a client that we are doing a lead gen campaign for. The site was written with generic verbiage that complemented their service and in no way miss represented them. They found it and were furious and ordered it removed. They saw no value in organic ranking for lead gen versus paid search. Guess they never read the reports about the lift when you get both.
The site has a good information on online marketing. It gives good information on affiliate marketing. To know more about the ppc affiliate program click the link to check all the details on affiliate marketing.