Using Brand Names in Domain Names?
Reader Question: I know that you have quite a few organic affiliate sites that target specific brands. Do you use brands in domain names? How do you get around the trademark issue?
Jeff E.
Greeley, CO
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My Answer: The politically correct answer is, DO NOT use TM in domain names. Have I done it? Yes… but I would encourage you to NEVER do it as it is likely that you get some “cease and desist” letters in the mail (and email) and potentially get into some legal trouble.
So how do I get around not using domain names?
Well, you just have to be really clever and find ways to sneak your way around it… or just use Google’s External Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal). Once you find a product you want to promote, plug it into Google’s EKT and check off the “use synonyms” check box.
It will pull-up related terms for the product that you can use instead of the trademarked name.
Let me give you an example:
Say you want to promote the Amazon Kindle. You can’t use Amazon or Kindle in the domain (you’re sure to get a cease and desist), and I don’t think you can bid for the terms with PPC.
But if you plug the words “Amazon Kindle” into the Google EKT, you get:
- electronic book reader
- ebook reader
- ebook reader device
- portable ebook reader
and so on…
So, if you’re going to be building a site around this you can start doing some competition research either manually or using your favorite keyword tool to see if it is worthwhile going after.
Hope this helps.
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