Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#1

Post by hnfwerr » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 1:48 PM UTC

I have a startup that has been in business for about a year. In the last few days I started to notice that a competitor put some Google ads when you search for my company name (or company domain).

What is worse is that those ads are a bit agressive. Like "the truth about company X" or "why X is a not the best solution for you", all linking to their pages where they try to sell their stuff.

Is that allowed by Google? I couldn't find a way to flag/report those. What would you guys do?

I know it is a good sign that we are growing, but could influence some customers against us by reading it.

*using a thrown away account.

Any help is appreciated...

thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#2

Post by hnfwerr » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 1:51 PM UTC

Btw, that company is actually bigger than ours and has been in business longer.

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#3

Post by dreamux » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 1:58 PM UTC

Your best bet might be to register your trademark with doubleclick, then lodge a complaint against your competitor using your product/company name in their advertisements.

Try here: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&#38...

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#4

Post by netcan » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:05 PM UTC

This is common practice. Google's policy is different depending on country and it changes pretty frequently. There are two issues here: Appearing on searches containing your company name and using your company name in ads.

The latter has a better chance of being removed upon complaint, especially if the landing pages don't have anything to do with your company.

In some countries (not the US, UK), Google usually acts in favour of the trademark owner and pulls both ads and keywords upon request.

You can make the complaint here: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&#38... Send it by mail or fax as well.

If they're doing negative advertising, you could also try going to them directly (or maybe via a lawyer). It could easily be a 3rd party agency writing these ads and the company management might be embarrassed to be caught.

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#5

Post by hnfwerr » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:08 PM UTC

dreamux wrote: post #3

Your best bet might be to register your trademark with doubleclick, then lodge a complaint against your competitor using your product/company name in their advertisements. Try here: http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/answer.py?hl=en&#38...

We don't own the trademark (I mean, we never registered it officially). Since we are small, we are putting our money on things that we thought mattered more.

I guess we will have to register it.

thanks for the tips.

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#6

Post by kingofspain » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:10 PM UTC

My ads weren't even allowed to go live until I removed the word 'apple' from the heading. It was auto-flagged as infringing. This is UK so maybe they treat marks differently here?

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#7

Post by hnfwerr » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:16 PM UTC

netcan wrote: post #4

This is common practice. Google's policy is different depending on country and it changes pretty frequently. There are two issues here: Appearing on searches containing your company name and using your company name in ads. The latter has a better chance of being removed upon complaint, especially if the landing pages don't have anything to do with your company. In some countries (not the US, UK), Google usually acts…

Common practice? I did a lot of search for popular companies / domains and didn't see such an add.

I really thought it wasn't allowed, but I guess I will try to fax/mail a complain...

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#8

Post by hnfwerr » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:16 PM UTC

kingofspain wrote: post #6

My ads weren't even allowed to go live until I removed the word 'apple' from the heading. It was auto-flagged as infringing. This is UK so maybe they treat marks differently here?

That's what I thought. But I couldn't find a simple way to report... From the other comments I guess I will have to fax/mail a complain to them.

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#9

Post by danpat » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 2:40 PM UTC

We looked into this a while back, we're in a niche electronics market. Similar situation.

Basically, if they're using a trademarked term in their ad, then you'll have grounds for protest. Using your company name in the ad that is displayed is generally against the rules.

If they simply have an ad for their company show up for a keyword search for your company name, then that's generally OK, they're not displaying your trademark.

Examples:

  You: WidgetCo
  Them: WidgetsRUS

  keyword: widgetco

  OK Ad by them: We make the best widgets ever!  Try us today!
  Bad ad by them: WidgetCO sucks, WidgetsRUS are way better!

Re: Ask HN: Competitor putting Google ads against my company name

#10

Post by GiraffeNecktie » Fri, Feb 25, 2011, 3:03 PM UTC

hnfwerr wrote: post #2

Btw, that company is actually bigger than ours and has been in business longer.

Here's a long shot but it might work. If the company is a dominant player in the field you might be able to intimidate them with a lawyer's letter that insists they cease and desist from anti-competitive practices (i.e. that could bring scrutiny from regulatory bodies).

IANAL so get some real legal advice before pursuing this angle.