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Yahoo! Restricts Bids on Competitors Trade marked Keywords
A recent rep A recent report indicates that Yahoo! Search Marketing, the branch of Yahoo! Inc. that helps companies draw consumer traffic to their websites through services like sponsored searches and local advertising, has altered its trade-mark keyword policy. Previously, U.S. advertisers could bid on competitors’ trade-marked keywords if the advertiser’s website contained a detailed comparison of the trade-marked item to that of the competitor. This allowed companies to place advertisements on web pages that would be viewed by consumers who performed online searches using a competitor’s trade-marked keyword. However, as of March 1, 2006, U.S. advertisers are no longer permitted to bid on competitors’ trade-marked keywords. The report explains that, under the new policy, only non-competitive resellers that sell or facilitate the sale of the trade-marked item, and non-competitive information sites that give substantial information about the trade-mark owner or its products or services, will be allowed to bid on trade-marked keywords.
Some have suggested that the new policy is designed to encourage more brand owners to link offline campaigns to Yahoo! searches by reducing the risk that consumer traffic will be “hijacked” by competitors. The new policy may also be a response to several lawsuits filed against Yahoo! by trade-mark owners, all of which have been settled out of court.
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