Google changes its keyword policy in Europe
Search giant Google is to change its search policy in Europe in a move that would allow advertisers to buy and use terms that had been trademarked by others as keywords. This includes using third party trademarks in their ad text.
The move comes six months after the European Court of Justice confirmed Google had not infringed trademark law by allowing advertisers to bid for keywords corresponding to their competitors’ trademarks.
Prior to that, brand owners and trademark holders could file complaints to prevent third-party ads being returned alongside a search for a trademark name.
The new online advertising policy will be active from 14 September and will cover Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe. The policy has been standard in the US and Canada since 1984.
Google also announced today a specific policy for Ireland, the UK and Canada whereby advertisers can use third party trademarks in their ad text even if they don’t own that trademark or have specific approval from the trademark owner to use it.
Trademark owners who still feel that third-party ads will confuse users as to the origin of the goods and services will be entitled to continue to file complaints with Google.
“We made this ad text change in the US last year and believe it has helped both our users and advertisers by reducing the number of overly generic ads that appear,” said Peter Fitzgerald, industry director for Google in the UK.
“We believe the user experience is improved if, for example, they conduct a search for a particular brand of tv and see ads which give them more detail about where they can buy that particular brand of television, where they might be able to fix it, buy component parts or read reviews,” Fitzgerald said.
The 12-year-old internet giant believes that as a result of the changes, users will benefit from seeing more relevant ads via their searches.
The changes will primarily affect Google’s Adwords service, which works on a pay-per-click basis and accounts for 95pc of Google’s revenues.
By John Kennedy, Silicon Republic, Wed. August 4 2010
