PPC Marketing is an “ever-changing” Complex Monster:
There is no other way to say it, but we must realize that PPC is a living and breathing thing that has many variables pushing the limits and savvy-ness of the searcher. It is the PPC marketers job to not only provide the best tactics, but to also provide “current up to date” strategies to best maximize their clients/company image and visibility in the search engines as well as their other respected partner sites with respect to content and display networks. Based on this reality, the idea of constant message testing and possible “offline” influence are becoming more important.

“Double Edged” Sword with Affiliate/Resellers
This is probably one of the biggest issues known today in terms of protecting and preserving Brands. It can also serve as a double-edged sword that can prosper one day and hurt you the next. There must be contractual limitations put on the resellers/affiliates in order to preserve brand reputation and other policies. However, based on the situation, affiliates/resellers can provide the opposite effect and push out other competitors enabling your client/company brand to own more real estate.

Overall Increased Real Estate:
As mentioned above regarding affiliates driving out competitors, just because you rank organically and through PPC does not mean there is redundancy. In fact, you are positioning your brand to own more of the SERP Landscape. Let’s just say your Brand is “to New to become a recognizable brand” it’s still a good idea to use PPC Advertising dollars for it. Think of it more as reinforcement rather than “double-dipping”.

Timely Offers and Promotions:
Using PPC to push time sensitive promotions and offers is the #1 most effective way to increase not only visibility for your Brand Messaging, but also for conversions. Remember, back in the late 90′s and early 2000, there were only message boards, tell-a-friend scripts, AIM and Email. Now with the growth of the “Social Conversation” (ie. twitter, facebook, etc..) the viral opportunities are greater than ever and using PPC as an effective tool to push offers and promotions will only enhance it’s effectiveness.

Reputation Management in both Search & Display:
This is another key factor in ensuring your Brand is protected and preserved. Does the company BP of the news coverage of the BP Oil Spill disaster ring a bell? Or past Political Presidential and Congressional races where candidates are bashing one another with either false or exaggerated claims. Yeah, I think you get the picture. These are PPC reputation tactics are not only for disasters or dirty political campaign advisers, they are also for your brand for which you have worked very hard to grow.

In Conclusion:
Do yourself a favor and Bid on the Trademark Term. There are too many ways to slice and dice the benefits to not do it. I would also suggest protecting your brand as best as you can while preserving your business goals and objectives. Remember, the more you see your Brand Name on any given SERP will only reinforce your image. Also, in case I forgot to mention, “Bid on your Trademark Term”

Over the years, I have not only heard the horror stories, I lived them and it’s a serious problem that needs to be handled very delicately. When you have an Affiliate Program and a PPC Strategy running together at the same time, some predefined decisions have to be made to ensure whether running both services makes business sense. It is also important for the CMO or whomever to identify the following, before jumping into this problem:

• Are our Margins good enough to participate in Affiliate Marketing?
• Do we have a strong enough brand to decide on commission rates?
• Do we want to protect our Trademark bidding in PPC?
• Which channel (PPC vs. Affiliate) provide the best ROI potential?
• Do we hire an Affiliate expert or manage this ourselves?

Affiliates are bidding on Trademark terms, using falsifying information on landing pages and text ads. Furthermore, there’s an even bigger problem when it comes down to sales forecasts and projections.

But this evolution of “cannibalization” of Affiliates taking over their merchants PPC campaign can be lessened and in some cases avoided altogether. According to Donna McCarthy, Director of Performance Marketing at The Jar Group, Affiliate Managers should have a policy on the following:

• Display URLs
• Ad Copy Restrictions
• Competitors on Landing Pages
• Secondary Search Engines
• Social Media Sites

In addition, McCarthy also states that it’s also a good idea to define your enforcement process as well. However, there are many levels in which a Merchant can define a policy that is best for them. It all depends on what makes sense of the company. For example, Donna states that there are three (3) relative “sweet spot” strategies that can happen.

Permissive Search Policy

• Open Bidding
• Potential Harm to PPC Search Results
• Higher Affiliate Search Revenue
• Overall ROI is lowest
• Discourages almost all Legitimate Publishers

Restrictive Search Policy

• No Search Allowed
• Low Risk of So-Called “Affiliate Search Cannibalization”
• Reduced Affiliate Search Revenue
• ROI is improved, but overall revenue may be reduced
• Discourages Legitimate Search Publishers

Hybrid Policies

• May restrict position, limit campaign to secondary engines. Display URL enforcement.
• Strategic partnerships with trusted affiliates: brand bidding permissions, custom landing pages, ad copy.
• ROI improves, Revenue increase, but it takes more work!
• Allows for Constructive Performance-based Partnerships

Ways To Protect your all-important Brand

In most cases, when an Affiliate is accepted into a program, they are often already given a “don’t mess with my brand or I will shut you down” stereotype. In many cases, that can be a double-edged sword. According to the Jar Group, they emphasize that there are two (2) sides to the debate on whether PPC bidding on Brand terms is both BAD and GOOD for the Merchant.

Why it’s GOOD:

• Cornering the Market (Push out the Competition on brand terms)
• Protect Your Brand  (think capture the flag)

Why it’s BAD:

• Compete for Visibility
• Drive Up Your CPC

In Conclusion:

If you have an existing Affiliate Program or looking to start one, I recommend hiring an agency, at the very least to help guide you though the Discovery and Launch Phases. According to the Jar Group, it’s a good idea to have a strong relationship with your affiliate manager, have CONCRETE Policies in place that make it crystal clear to the affiliates what they can and cannot do in the PPC Marketing Channel.

About Donna McCarthy:

Donna has over 15 years of experience in various marketing channels including; online, direct mail and events marketing. For the past 5 years, specializing in the affiliate and online marketing channels, working with LinkShare, Commission Junction, Performics and the Share A Sale affiliate networks. She has managed a wide range of programs from top Fortune 500 clients to small start up operations. Her experience has included running programs for such industry greats as JP Morgan Chase, Costume SuperCenter, Paragon Sports, Constant Contact, Acorn Online, Acacia Catalog, The Franklin Mint, Morgan Mint and Doheny’s Water Warehouse.