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Protecting your trademarks in the paid search channel is critical to maximizing the value of your brand. Here is a complete guide, with links, submitting trademark paperwork to the major engines plus strategies for dealing with affiliates and trademark bidding.

Topics Covered in This Article:

• Why Protect Trademarks?

• Search Engine Policies on Trademarks

• What about Affiliates and My Trademarks?

• What to Do Next

Why Should I Protect My Trademark?

Your trademarked names or brand names are the most valuable keywords in your paid search arsenal. As you build your business, gain customers, send out press releases, buy media and acquire traffic – more and more people will enter your brand name or URL into search engines to find you. These terms almost always convert the best regardless of what your conversion metric is.

Because of this, your trademark can be under attack by competitors, uncontrolled affiliates and companies illegally using our products (more on this later). It is imperative that you understand your options, recognize the threats and have a course of action to protect your brand.

Search Engine Policies on Trademarks

From the search engine company standpoint, refereeing the use of trademarks is a difficult and thankless task. Everyone who has a trademark thinks that they are special, lawyers get involved and search engine employees spend hours working through the issues protecting the rights of their advertising clients from illegitimate and illegal use of the trademark.

Additional considerations from the engines include whether the trademark violation is in the organic or sponsored area. If someone is improperly using your trademark and they show up in the organic area of the search engine results page (SERP) then you are out of luck from any recourse from the search engine companies. If it shows up in the sponsored (paid) area of the SERP then you have some recourse.

There are also specific procedures for whether your trademark is secured in the US, Canada, North America or Other. Most engines have a different process for Trademarks in different countries making both the problem and the solution more complex.

Ideally for the Search Engines, they would remain neutral in the use of trademarks and simply collect the money when people buy a trademark and use a trademark. However, in order to appease advertisers (aka trademark holders), the different engines have implemented different levels of trademark protection.

Google Trademark Policy:

Google is the most lazes-faire of the engines with regards to trademarks. It used to be permissible to buy and use other people’s trademarks in the sponsored link area. Today’s rules help in terms of

protecting the trademark holder, but don’t go as far as the other major search engines. Here are some of the rules:

-With the submission of the proper trademark paperwork (see link below), Google will block non-trademark owners from using the trademark in the copy of the advertisement.

-A non-trademark owner can BUY the trademarked keyword, but the editorial filtering will restrict the use of the trademark in the copy

– EXCEPT for the display URL.

-I personally find this last bit concerning as testing has proven that the display URL is an important part of the copy. I haven’t gotten a good answer on why the display URLis not included in the trademark protection. More specific information and the complaint form is available at: http://www.google.com/tm_complaint_adwords.html

Yahoo! Search Trademark Policy

Yahoo! has taken a stronger stand on trademark protection than Google which has also evolved over the years. You used to be able to buy competitor terms as long as you sent the traffic to a comparison page of products or services. That allowance has been eliminated if you are a competing site. Here is what they do allow:

-If you are a retailer and are legitimately selling the trademarked good or service – you can buy the trademark keyword and use in your copy.

-If you are a non-competitive site that is providing comparison content, you are allowed to buy and use the trademarked item.

In addition to trademark protection, Yahoo! offers an additional level of complaints based on Copyrights Infringement and alse/Misleading Claims. We’ve had some success going after sites that are illegally using free software to acquire credit card numbers and email addresses using these complaints as the foundation. More specific information available here: http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/legal/trademarks.php

MSN Trademark Protection Policy

The MSN policy is very similar to the Yahoo! policy. No buying of someone’s trademark unless it is one of the following situations:

-You are a retailer

-You have a legitimate information site

-You are clearly using the trademark in an ordinary dictionary manner (Kleenex for example)

Both Yahoo! and MSN are more lenient towards advertisers with trademarks and don’t require as rigorous paper trail as does Google.Here is the MSN policy link:http://advertising.microsoft.com/Home/Article.aspx?pageid=708&Adv_Articleid=3216

What Do I Do About My Affiliates?

The decision to allow or not allow affiliates to buy your trademarked keywords in paid search is a difficult one. Here are the pro’s and con’s to allowing this:

Pro’s for letting affiliates buy trademarked/branded keywords:

-Increases the number of slots taken up by your brand on the brand search thus freezing out competitors (particularly important in Google because competitors can still buy the keyword without using it in their copy)

-If structured properly, these high value keywords can be used as a carrot to expand the non-branded keyword programs your affiliates are using to drive traffic/sales to your site

-If, for some reason, your SEO efforts aren’t effective for your keywords then you have more options for end users to click on a placement that leads to your site.

Con’s for letting affiliates buy trademarked/branded keywords:

-Affiliates care only about making money and will do, say just about anything to reduce costs and improve conversion – regardless of the reflection on your brand.

-Competitive affiliate bidding on branded keywords drives up the CPC of your branded terms increasing the cost per action of that keyword category.

-Branded keywords are “easy money” for affiliates and unless managed appropriately will only spend energy on these terms vs.expanding your overall program.There are three options for working with affiliates with regards to branded keywords:

-Do not pay for any sales, service or leads generated from your branded keyword list. The trend in the industry is to move more towards this position in order to reduce costs and have more control over the brand messaging.

-Give affiliates unfettered permission to use branded keywords in their paid search programs. This will result in the most sales and the happiest affiliates, but at higher costs and risks to the brand.

-Establish a set of messaging and bid-cap rules for affiliates with regard to using branded keywords including:

1.The maximum cost per click they are allowed to bid in the engines. This is a hard rule to monitor as none of the major engines give you exact data on what the affiliates max bid is. However, you can closely monitor your CPC for the category and ensure that you are in the #1 position. If your CPC for the #1 position goes over the max bid cap – you have reason to “talk” to the affiliates.

2.Stipulate a % of sales, leads, etc. that can come from branded keywords. Do this by using a unique linking URL for branded keywords by affiliate. This will let you see how much traffic/business is being generated by each affiliate.

3.Have a clear list of do’s and don’ts with regards to the messaging and copy that can be used with the branded keywords. Make sure to give the affiliates lots of examples of what they CAN say in conjunction with very strict guidelines of loaded keywords, numbers,amounts, discounts, etc. that are off limits.

4.Set aside time on a regular basis to monitor the affiliates. Engage your top affiliates to help monitor the rules as well so that you have more eyes keeping the playing field level.

5.Have strict two strikes rules on your affiliates. You can give an affiliate (especially a new one) one strike with regards to these rules. Second strike should be an immediate restriction of those keywords and/or exclusion from the program. Do not waffle on this or your will get into issues of “fairness” with the broader affiliate group.

What to Do Next

1.Get the trademark documents from your (or your clients) legal department for as many countries as you have trademark rights for. These should be in a PDF form that you can submit with the paperwork to the engines.

2.Decide what you are going to do with affiliates. If you submit trademark paperwork to the engines and do not give them an exclusion list for the affiliates – you will shut out your affiliates from the branded keywords inadvertently.

3.Assemble a list of “approved” affiliates/vendors that can use your trademarks. Get URLs, official email addresses and account numbers for each engine for each approved affiliate/vendor to use your trademarks.

4.Alert your account managers for the various engines with regards to what you are doing so they can help. Many account managers can help smooth the flow of decision making to get these rules in place more quickly.

5.Visit the URLs listed above to submit trademark protection concerns. You can also see the URLs on the Brand Digital Resource page at http://www.branddigital.net/internet-marketing-resources.htm

6.Persevere. This is not an easy or smooth process for anyone. Lots of questions will arise, lots of people can get involved and there needs to be lots of communication to all parties to be effective.

7.Monitor, monitor, monitor. Just putting rules out there without a consistent vigilance to monitor is wasted energy. You have to set aside time and stay on top of your terms and who is saying what with regards to them in paid search (and online for that matter – a different article).

8.Send this email to someone you care about and want to help.

9.Send me feedback on what you liked/didn’t understand about this issue. scott@branddigital.net.

Video Poker slots are a fun game, but require skill to play correctly and this is the advantage over other slot games which require no skill at all.

You have the potential to maximize your gains by being able to put the odds in your favor, making it a more involving lucrative playing experience.

Let’s look at the basics of video poker slots and how to maximise your winning potential

How to play the game

Video Poker slots are derived from draw poker and has the same rules, except that you are not playing against any other players, just the machine.

The machine deals five cards.

The player has the option to, take up to five new cards if they wish.

The player keeps the cards they want to keep by pressing the “hold” button for the individual card shown.

When the player has decided is made they hit the “deal” button, and the cards discarded are replaced.

The result of the game is determined by the outcome after the final hand is completed.

How much you win is indicated on the pay table on the front of the video poker slot machine.

Video poker slots tend to have better graphics and more effects than other online slots, making it a more pleasing game to play.

The Pay Table

The advantage of video poker slots have over other slot machines is that the return of the game can be calculated by reading the pay table.

Most video poker games use the combinations of hands that can be made from a 52-card deck.

The number of combinations that can be made means the payout can be calculated by what the payout table pays out for winning hands.

There are 2,598,960 possible hands from a 52-card deck.

The computer chip in a video poker slot machine is set to simulate the probabilities of drawing any of these combinations.

Because this is a set probability, the casino adjusts the pay table of the online machines to produce the house edge.

By knowing how to read a pay table, you can pick a machine with the best return and best odds of success.

The payouts for all video poker slot machines are the same except for the payout on the flush, full house, or royal flush.

Here is a typical comparison of payouts on a Jacks-or-Better, which is the most popular video poker machine.

Payback Payback with Strategy
9 for a full house 6 for a flush 99.5%
8 for a full house 5 for a flush 97.4%
7 for a full house 5 for a flush 96.3%
6 for a full house 5 for a flush 95.2%

A 9 / 6 will generally hit the royal flush once for each 40,000 hands. The 8 / 5 odds once for each 45,000 hands etc - So try and play 9 / 6 machines only.

Play Maximum Coins

If you bet five coins, all winning hands are paid out by a factor of five, except for the royal flush.

This is a bonus amount given as an incentive to play maximum coins.

Any player who plays less than maximum coins on video poker slots will contribute to a royal flush that will be won by other players, so play maximum coins to increase your winnings.

Play With a Strategy

In video poker, your odds are improved if you play with a strategy and there are strategies free on the net for all of the major games.

Take Your Time

Take your time, with video poker slot machines there in no hurry and you don’t get more money for playing quicker.

The above is a quick guide to the world of video poker machines and the tips above will see ensure you have a good time and the potential to earn big winnings.

Remember the good old days when you could simply stuff rate sheets into the mail slots of Realtors and spend the afternoon fielding phone calls? Unfortunately, those days of marketing the realtors with simple rate sheets has changed.

It seems that all loan officers are marketing to Realtors in the same way. Shoving rate sheets and brochures promising real estate marketing secrets into envelopes and sending them off to every agent they know. In order to get noticed, you need to make your marketing stand out from your competition.

Realtors receive an incredible amount of marketing materials every week. On average, they receive over 50 pieces in one week. How many of those pieces prompted action? You guessed it, none!

So what can you do differently? With effective marketing strategies, you can easily turn the mail slot into an entryway to the Realtor.

Target Your Audience Carefully

Not every real estate agent is the right focus for your services. If you want to attract more agents, you have to pick and choose your targets carefully.

Do you know which Realtors are your intended target? Do you know which agents are most likely to be your probable and most profitable client? Start by compiling a list of those Realtors.

Your best bet is to work towards the people that will work the hardest for you. Every week add more people to your list. Eventually, you will develop a full list of prospects.

You can simply use one of two methods to put together a prospect list. First, you can determine which problem you have the most expertise at solving and then find prospects that fit this profile. Or, you can create a list of potential prospects and then survey them to find out what their problems are. When you discover that there are common problems that you can address, develop marketing plans towards those issues.

What Benefits Do You Offer?

Simply targeting your audience and asking for their business is not going to make your marketing piece any more effective, in fact, your marketing may come across as confrontational.

Once you have targeted the best agents to receive your services, you now need to show them how you can offer them a benefit. One example is a free report that explains how to solve the problem.

Basically, your free report is a detailed marketing piece for your services. Not only does the report help the agent understand their problem, but it also helps them understand how you can help them develop a solution of how to solve that problem.

This can be a little scary. If you show them how to solve problems, why should they work with you?

Marketing Towards Relationships

Instead of merely solving the problem, you are there to build a relationship. You are not merely there for a one time fix, but instead you are willing to help Realtors over the lifetime of their business.

Marketing to Realtors is more than sending out materials. It is a process of tailoring your materials to reflect your desire to turn business into a relationship with loyal clients. Problem solving is more than merely finding the best solution, it is helping agents uncover the problem and giving them a solution they can rely on for years to come.

Are there any good strategy for internet slots games?

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The best way to win at Vegas slots: alternately push two buttons as fast as possible. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work here: we lost $50 within 3 minutes.

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Does anyone have a strategy for playing slots? I did fairly well playing them but I'd like to do better…..many people there were winning lots. Is there a best time of day/night to go? What kind of slots are the best?

Slot machines have the worst odds in casino gambling, as a hard rule. If you insist on playing slots, though, here is the straight 411.
On each new play of a slot machine, random numbers are selected for each reel by a random number generator that generates 1000's of numbers per second. These numbers are mapped to specific reels, telling them where to stop. Each spin is totally random and independent of any other spin. In other words, a machine is never due to pay off and there is no better time of day or better area in which to play. There are a lot of myths and theories about slots, but the honest truth is, there is no system for beating the machines.
That being said, there are a few things you can do improve the odds of holding on to some of your money.
1. Casino payout ratios are published. Before you head out, find out which casinos are paying the best percentages. In Las Vegas, the top payout ratio is at The Palms, followed by the Gold Coast, the Sahara, the Imperial Palace and Slots of Fun. Not surprisingly, the best odds are found off the strip and in the smaller, less glamorous casinos. (The Palms being the exception)
2. Stay away from the progressive machines. The odds of hitting a jackpot on a progressive machine are exponentially worse than on a standard machine. Video reel slots also pay a point or two below the mechanicals.
3. Most people will play the maximum coins on a lower denomination machine rather than playing a single coin on a high denomination machine. This can be a wise strategy because you play less money, and therefore will likely lose less money. However, the odds are actually better playing one coin in a higher denomination machine. This is because the payout odds are higher on these machines and jackpot difference is usually less than 1% on non-progressives.
4. The number one way to get the most bang out of your buck is to join the rewards club. Contrary to the rumors, using the cards has no affect on your chances of winning. They track how much you are spending and/or winning at their casino and offer you rewards to keep you there. You earn points that can be cashed in for various comps and most casinos let you decide how you want to spend them. They can be traded for products, services, rooms, meals, or even free play in the casino. Points accrue very quickly and slots earn the most.
5. Loyalty goes a long way in casinos. Pick a hotel/casino with favorable pay out odds, and stick with it. After just a few stays, you will see a big improvement in incentives. You don't have to be a high roller to get free airfare and hotel rooms. During the slow season, they have a lot of empty rooms and not much action in the casino. They make deals with travel groups that have empty seats on charter flights, or carriers that have unsold seats. The assumption is that you will spend the money you saved on the travel expenses in the casino.
Make sure you don't gamble more than you can afford!
Good Luck!

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I receive many emails each week from people who deposited money at an
online casino, only to walk away empty handed merely minutes later.
Most of them are quite upset and understandably so. When you have lost
money you want to blame someone. It’s part of the human psyche and a
natural reaction.

When I ask people if they were playing according to a strategy the
answer is normally something like “Huh? What’s that?”. Enough said. Now
don’t get me wrong. I am not suggesting we all go out and obtain
science degrees and start crunching numbers in every playing session. I
am however suggesting that you arm yourself with a few important tools
before you deposit your hard earned money at an online casino.

These basic tools are not rocket science, but they require you to do some work before you spin the reels or lay a chip.

Money Management

This is by far one of the most important aspects of gambling at
online casino but astonishingly one of the least discussed subjects. A
sound money management strategy consists of three important elements:
budget management, bankroll management and betting limits.

Budget management is simple enough. Set your monthly budget and
stick to it. Only gamble with more if you are playing with winnings. In
fact, I have a rule for myself where I don’t even do this. I cash my
winnings in immediately. There’s an old belief in gambling that money
you have won will go back faster to the casino than your own and I buy
that.

A bankroll management strategy simply relates to how you are going
to spread your budget across several playing sessions and across a
variety of games. This will maximize your playing experience. It is no
use dumping your entire session bankroll into an expensive slot machine
if you are looking to get entertained for a couple of hours. Finally,
manage your betting limits. Decide how high you are prepared to go and
stick to it. Too many people get an adrenaline rush and cross their
limits. Although you may win every now and then you’ll spend far more
time in front of the TV over time.

Game Strategy

No matter which online casino game you prefer, following a basic
strategy is a hundred times better than having no strategy at all.
Online casino gambling strategies range from very simple to highly
sophisticated. Take blackjack for example. Basic strategy involves a
simple strategy card that will guide your decision to hit, fold, or
stand on a given hand. More sophisticated strategies involve things
like card counting. As far as slots go, a simple spin and hope strategy
won’t get you far. There are simple strategies like machine selection
to more expansive progressive loss betting systems. The net is littered
with gaming strategies so you won’t have to search for too long.

Some basic but careful planning could make your experience a lot more worthwhile!