Then you are going to find the announcement this week made by Google of interest.

Google have just announced that they are changing their policy to allow European advertisers to buy and include keywords in your Google Ads that have been trademarked by other companies.

This change comes into effect on 14 September 2010 and extends changes that were made in  Britain and Ireland in 2008 - though this has been possible in the US since 2004.

Up until now, brand owners have been able to file a trademark complaint with Google to stop third-party ads from being featured alongside the results of a trademarked name.

The New York Times reports that "brand owners, led by the French luxury goods company LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, had argued that only they or authorised sites should be able to buy and use such trademarked terms in searches, so as to protect their brand value."

It goes on to comment that "Google argues that selling brand names as ad keywords to multiple bidders helps consumers because it allows them to find product reviews, sellers of second-hand goods and other information. It stressed that the new policy would not extend to the actual display text in search findings."

This is clearly a good move for Google and will boost their revenues for Google AdWords. I am wondering however what the impact of Facebook advertising being highly targeted and the growth of people using Facebook has been to Google. Have you moved some of your online advertising from Google to Facebook in the last year?

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