War of the Ad Search Words

There are warring factions in the search world, Affiliate and Search teams. Search teams are comprised of agencies or brands that manage search for that specific brand, and Affiliate teams are Affiliate programs that use multiple methods to drive sales or leads. Both frequently bid in Search on the brand search terms (company name or product name) in the Search engines. This combination inevitably leads to a "bid war," where the Search team will raise the bids to stay in the top position, and the Affiliate will do the same to drive their lead generation. This atmosphere of rule bending or breaking, bidding and out-bidding has resulted in an atmosphere as heated as that of the New York Stock Exchange or an auction where prospective buyers furiously outbid each other on a rare painting. Picture those settings, magnified by as far as the Internet can reach.

To avoid violating the Terms of Service (TOS), and run the risk of being shut down by Google, Affiliate marketers need to comply with the set of rules set forth by the company or brand they are creating ad text for. While the rules for Affiliate programs may differ (depending on the company they are working for), many are similar.

For example:

• In some cases, brands will not allow the Affiliates to bid on brand terms (or will allow them to with a low maximum bid). Others will have rules on non-branded keywords as well. The reason is that these are typically the highest converting terms and the brand can manage those terms to drive a lower Cost-per-Action (CPA).
• Many companies will not allow the Affiliates to have their branded terms in the ad copy.
• Some will not allow any Affiliates to use PPC at all. It can be redundant and negatively affect both campaigns.
• Some companies will not allow brand names anywhere on the Affiliate’s website.
• Frequent prohibitions that brands may have include: cookie stuffing, direct linking, copycat sites and parasites, which should be monitored closely.

Paying attention to the marketing rules of a brand can be tricky. Even when not intentionally veering from them, an Affiliate might not pick up on a technicality hidden within the fine print. But intentional or accidental, the problem of adhering to the guidelines is so pervasive that special software has been created for the very purpose of keeping Affiliates in line.

In an ideal situation, Paid, SEO and Affiliate teams would be managed by the same agency, brand or company. This way, the components will be in sync and bring more revenue for less, limiting duplicative performance metrics. People may not buy as soon as they see the company in one channel.

More intensified guidelines should be put into place to regulate the rivalry between Affiliate and Search teams. As stated, the best plan is to stay grounded and basic. Test what ad words (preferably low cost) are purchased, and above all, make sure that brand’s particular guidelines are being followed to a 'T' in their Terms of Service.