SEO "brandjacking" - anyone tried this?!

[jrbobdobbs]

Well that is a bad example of a keyword that you would try to rank, but there are many keywords you can go after without committing trademark infringement, which can make you a nice ROI.

First, you can rank a term without actually having the term anywhere in the meta tags and content of the website. I do it all the time. Especially if the keyword is not competitive at all. Try to include part of the keyword in the title tag or in the content of the website. For example: "Chase Mortgage Online". Try to have "Mortgage Online" in your title tag, content, alt tags ect. If the keyword is not competitive, many times you can get first page ranking with it. Just use heavier anchor text.

Zackly - the EMDs are going to run out one of these days, surely we haven't forgotten how to rank a site without one

Second, most online companies simply don't have the kind of money to sue you. Suing someone is expensive, not to mention a huge headache. As long as you are being savvy about it, you should have no issues. I am not trying to condone trademark infringement, just trying to make a point.

Right, no-one is talking about trademark infringement. If there is a Wikipedia article also on page one about the same company, that's not trademark infringement, is it? Maybe you just need to be a bit more subtle about monetising, that's why Adsense is a good choice because it's everywhere. Rather than a huge banner that screams, "SICK OF YOUR CURRENT BANK?!" or whatever

The key to this is monetizing these keywords. If you are optimizing keywords that make you zero money, you are wasting resources. Just make sure you are quantifying your data. Simple as that.

If there is a decent CPC in Adsense for these keywords then SOMEONE must be placing a value on them, just a case of being smart and capturing the traffic.

 

[DamageX]

The day I see someone sustain high 4 figures through adsense every month is the day I'll eat my shoe.

Kindly eat your shoe.

 

[DamageX]

Kindly eat your shoe.

Bump for pics of Expertpeon eating a shoe.

 

[flaw3d]

would that be considered phishing ? I know its a long shot but attorneys and google might not look apon that.

 

[jon_xx_x]

I have done brand jacking, not on purpose, and not really a big company.
But I have done companyreview.com and am in the top five for the company name.
I'm an affiliate for them, so they don't really care.
What sucks is that someone else did company.org and are ranked #2 and are bringing in decent cash for little work.

 

[jrbobdobbs]

I have done brand jacking, not on purpose, and not really a big company.
But I have done companyreview.com and am in the top five for the company name.
I'm an affiliate for them, so they don't really care.
What sucks is that someone else did company.org and are ranked #2 and are bringing in decent cash for little work.

Yeah, I would avoid the use of the trademark though, even with "review". Not every company doesn't care, that's for sure.

I am thinking about this strategy, will report back if I get any results.

 

[DamageX]

Yeah, I would avoid the use of the trademark though, even with "review". Not every company doesn't care, that's for sure.

Thing is, even if they care a review is an opinion, which is protected by freedom of speech laws.

 

[Jonny Quick]

I think owners of trademarks can forbid others from using it in any way, not just in a domain. The only exception is when the name is used in stating an opinion which falls under freedom of speech.

"bankofamerica + complaint"

"microsoft + monopoly"

I think there are more exceptions than that. There are more legal ways to use someone's trademarked text than straight-up, 1st Amendment protected "opinion" speech.