If I Were A Trademark...

I was mucking around the Web doing some research for my column this week when stumbled on a company that’s been buying my name as a keyword on Google’s AdWords.

No, I didn’t find it via a vanity search, but rather on B.L. Ochman’s blog.

This is jarring on a number of levels. First, it’s my name. I may be relatively well know in this space, but sheesh. It’s not like I’m Madonna or anything. So yeah, I feel violated.

The other thing that bothers me is that the company that bought this ad is AdWords Qualified by Google. Let’s put aside for a moment whether or not buying private individuals’ names is a good search marketing practice or not. In this case, the headline and body copy have nothing whatsoever to do with the landing page: the SEM company’s homepage.

Otherwise put, not only is the ad not relevant, it certainly doesn’t qualify as AdWords Qualified.

My gut is that the keywords (i.e. my name) were rock bottom cheap, clicks were zero, and the ad disappeared in short order. The bad taste in my mouth will linger, however. And given I’m an individual, not a trademark, even if I wanted to take action, it wouldn’t be easy given Google’s procedures and the fact the company in question is offshore.

So, I guess I’ll vent by blogging it.