Google policy changes add complexity to search

Bigmouthmedia has responded to changes to Google's international trademark policy, revealing that they could cost companies millions in the short term as they struggle to protect their brands online.

The agency said that, while not unexpected, Google's decision to allow anyone to bid for trademarked keywords in 194 countries including Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Russia is widely predicted to lead to price rises in the markets affected.

However, evidence from the UK - where the policy change was first rolled out in 2008 - indicates that while bidding on some brand terms could increase by as much as 500 per cent in the short term, the impact is unlikely to be permanent.

Lyndsay Menzies, chief operations officer at Bigmouthmedia, said: 'While dropping trademark protection did not send costs skyrocketing to the extent many feared in the UK, during the initial scramble to bid on competitor brand terms we saw cost-per-click prices rise by an average of 400-500 per cent.

'Those levels proved unsustainable in the long term however, and we would expect any spike in keyword prices to normalise within a matter of weeks.

'The news is likely to precipitate changes in some international markets as brands move budgets about within digital channels to maximise return.

Bringing the new territories into line with its North American and UK businesses, Google will now allow open keyword bidding on all terms in 194 countries.

This means it is now possible for more than one advertiser to appear in the list of sponsored links that appears after a user has typed in a search query using trademarked terms.

Experience from the UK indicates that successful legal challenges to the rule changes seem unlikely, although commentators will note that Google has yet to relax restrictions in France, Italy or Germany, where copyright laws are particularly robust.

While bad news for major brands, the move is likely to be good news for smaller competitors looking to close the gap.

The announcement is also likely to have a profound effect on all affiliate partners, with the ability to bid on competitor keywords increasing the scope and range of their operations.

Robin Richmond, head of pay-per-click at Bigmouthmedia, said: 'While brands might be tempted to bid on competitor keywords in the newly opened markets, Google's rules mean that while they are allowed to bid on brand terms, they cannot use them in their advert copy - something that frequently results in a low-quality score and a high average CPC.

'They are also likely to experience poor conversion rates, because the fact of the matter is that if a customer searches for a particular brand name, that is the one they are interesting in buying.

He added: 'Google's revised rules will add new layers of complexity to the search landscape though.

'Look at affiliate marketing and pay-per-click: many brands restrict their affiliates from brand bidding but these policies may now need to be reviewed if they wish to protect their real estate from direct competitors.

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