Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Competitor Keyword Conquesting

Few things are sweeter than having someone begin a search for one of your competitor's products or services and end up buying one of yours.

In the United States, when executing a SEM campaign it's possible to bid on the trademarked terms of your competitors. The practice is often called "conquesting." Although it's a common practice, the question often comes up whether it's legal.

This question has been tested in the courts. Recently Rosetta Stone sued Google saying that Google was "unjustly profiting from its unauthorized sale of trademarks as keywords to its paid search advertisers." Their lawsuit was dismissed.

Google's position is, "Users searching on Google benefit from being able to choose from a variety of competing advertisers, and we've found no evidence that legitimate use of trademarks as keyword triggers or in the text of advertisements confuses consumers."

So for now, the practice of purchasing trademarks as keywords is allowed by Google and other major search engines. This may change, so for up to date information on Google's AdWords policies, make sure to check out their editorial guidelines.

In the meantime, enjoy the competition!