Are you a student or graduate looking to start a SEO Career? Or would you like to learn how to market your own web site via search engines?

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web sites in preparation to apply for a job as an SEO (search engine optimizer) or SEM (search engine marketer)?

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Would you like to take a SEO Class to learn how to market your own web site via search engines?

Are you wanting a SEO Class so you can optimize web sites for search engines in preparation for starting your own search engine optimization business or applying for a job as an SEO (search engine optimizer) or SEM (search engine marketer)?

Are you a marketing executive entrusted with the responsibility of promoting your company’s web site via search engines? Could you benefit from a SEO Class?

Then you are an ideal student for one of our online courses. Click here to learn about our SEO Classes . . .

Download a Free Lesson

Like to try before you buy? Download a free sample lesson taken from our SEO Starter course. No catch!

Are you a small business owner wanting a SEO Tutorial to learn how to market your own web site via search engines?

Would you like a SEO Tutorial so you can optimize web sites for search engines in preparation for starting your own search engine optimization business or applying for a job as an SEO (search engine optimizer) or SEM (search engine marketer)?

Are you a marketing executive entrusted with the responsibility of promoting your company’s web site via search engines? Could you benefit from a SEO Tutorial?

Then you are an ideal student for one of our online courses. Click here to learn about our SEO Tutorial courses . . .

Download a Free Lesson

Like to try before you buy? Download a free sample lesson taken from our SEO Starter course. No catch!

Are you a small business owner wanting to learn SEO to be able to market your own web site via search engines?

Are you a person wanting to learn SEO so you can optimize web sites for search engines in preparation for starting your own search engine optimization business or applying for a job as an SEO (search engine optimizer) or SEM (search engine marketer)?

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Download a Free Lesson

Like to try before you buy? Download a free sample lesson taken from our SEO Starter course. No catch!

By Kalena Jordan

I was talking to a small business owner the other day, who was complaining to me about how difficult it is to run Pay Per Click ad campaigns on Google when you are faced with conflicting information all the time. I asked him to elaborate and he said:

“I talked to my Google AdWords rep recently and he said that using company names in an ad violates Google’s terms. Also, in some of your blog posts, you seem to suggest bidding on common brand names is also a violation. But I was under the assumption that this was common practice. Is it not? I’m sure our competitors are doing that and I’m wondering if I could report that to Google?”

It did seem like a confusing issue, so I decided to research it a little more.

Use of Your Company Name or Trademark in AdWords

Putting your own company name or trademark in your ad is certainly not a violation, it’s encouraged, particularly if yours is a well known brand/name. In the section of AdWords Help called Use of Trademarks in AdWords, there is an authorization form you can submit to be able to use your brand / trademark throughout your account.

Use of Your Company Name or Trademark by Competitors

The use of your trademark by competitors is where things get complicated. It differs between region and differs again between ad text versus keyword bids. Google actually opened up trademark keyword bidding two years ago, however AdWord’s trademark policy is now dependent on the region your trademark is registered in and the region/s your billing account is located in.

This is a crucial change and one that has likely gone unnoticed by many advertisers. So here are the main regional trademark policies:

AdWords Regional Trademark Policies

1. In certain regions, Google allow some ads to show with a trademark in ad text if the ad is from a reseller or from an informational site. There is covered by a separate trademark policy for resellers and informational sites.
2. For regions that are NOT included in Google’s trademark policy for resellers and informational sites, if their investigation finds that the advertiser is using the trademark in ad text, Google will require the advertiser to remove the trademark and prevent them from using it in ad text in the future.
3. In most regions covered by the Trademark policy (250+ countries including UK, USA and Canada), Google will investigate ad text only. They will not disable keywords in response to a trademark complaint in these regions. Furthermore, their investigation will only affect ads served on or by Google rather than those served on partner sites.
4. In EU and EFTA regions, Google does not prevent the selection of trademarks as keywords. However, in response to a complaint, they will do a limited investigation as to whether a keyword (in combination with particular ad text) is confusing as to the origin of the advertised goods and services.
5. In some limited regions, Google may investigate the use of trademarks in ad text, in keywords, or in both ad text and keywords. These regions include:
   • Australia
   • Brazil
   • China
   • Hong Kong
   • Macau
   • New Zealand
   • North Korea
   • South Korea
   • Taiwan

Because Australia and New Zealand are included in the above list (and these are the countries in which I operate), I have witnessed a few keyword trademark infringements and represented some clients who lodged complaints procedures based on this policy. I have also been following closely a landmark case playing out in Australia about this very issue:

Landmark Test Case

In 2005, Australian telecommunications company Telstra found themselves in legal hot water when an online publication owned by one of their subsidiaries purchased Google AdWords blatantly using the names of competitors in their ads.

As a result, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against the Trading Post Australia and Google Inc. in 2007.

In their Federal Court case hearing earlier this month, the ACCC challenged the use by Trading Post of the keyword phrase “Kloster Ford”, which was the name of a car dealership in Newcastle, as misleading conduct in breach of the then Trade Practices Act. When “Kloster Ford” was searched for using the Google search engine, this advertisement appeared:

Kloster Ford

www.tradingpost.com.au New/Used Fords – Search 90,000 + auto ads online.

Great finds daily!

The ACCC argued that Trading Post’s use of “Kloster Ford” in its sponsored link was misleading and deceptive as it represented that there was an association or affiliation between Trading Post and Kloster Ford and the ad suggested that information regarding Kloster Ford or Kloster Ford car sales could be found on the Trading Post website, when it could not.

The ACCC also alleged that, by publishing the results pages with these AdWords, Google had itself engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. In response, Google raised a defence that it was engaged in the business of advertising and did not know that AdWords purchased by Trading Post amounted to an infringement of consumer legislation.

On 22 September 2011, the Australian Federal Court held that the Trading Post had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct under the Trade Practices Act 1974. However, they dismissed the claim against Google, stating that while Google provided the technical facilities that permitted the relevant advertisement to be seen, it did not follow that they had endorsed the information conveyed. Consumers would understand that the message being conveyed to them was an advertisement from the advertiser, they stated, rather than the publisher. A settlement between ACCC and Trading Post has since followed.

This case is significant for all Australian businesses that place advertisements through Google AdWords and other pay per click models, because it means that use of competitor trademarks, business names, brand names and URLs could potentially breach Australian consumer protection laws.

Navigate With Care

So the upshot of all this is that unless they have your explicit permission, your competitors generally aren’t allowed to use your brand/name in their own ads, but if you’re located in the US or other areas outside the limited regions mentioned above, they ARE allowed to bid on your brand/name as a keyword.

But it’s not all bad news – it means that you are allowed to bid on their brand/name as well.

However, as with any legal issue, tread carefully when using trademarks in your ads. Accidental or not, a violation of AdWords policy can result in the closure of your account by Google and possibly even land you with a lawsuit.

Almost everyone has a Facebook account these days. Are you using yours in a way that will help grow your business or diminish it? Are you using the right Facebook marketing strategies that can significantly increase your online business? If you are using your Facebook page to play FarmVille and games you are missing an incredible opportunity.

Facebook is second only to Google with well over 500,000 visitors each day. It only stands to reason that you should be using Facebook marketing to improve your online business. What an incredible opportunity to connect and interact with like-minded people. The problem is, many new to social media are confused by the choices Facebook offers. Should they have a personal page, a fan page or perhaps a group? Let’s talk about that.

You first must have a personal page. Only after you have built a personal page can you build a fan page or have a group. You can have up to 5000 friends on your personal page. Because your page is personal and requires a user name and password to access it, the search engines do not index content on these pages. Obviously you want your content indexed by the search engine. Here’s the rub, most people who” like” your fan page never return. It’s much easier to get responsive interaction on your personal page then it is on your fan page. Therefore I recommend you actively post on both pages.

A fan page has a few things going for it. Not only do the search engines index the content on your fan page, the look of your fan page can be customized as well. You can carry on with your branding seamlessly. It’s a good idea to include an opt in box for your giveaway to bribe fans to subscribe to your mailing list.

A FB group is a great way to interact with a specific groups of people. Because it is private, only those within that group can see or access it, therefore it is great for a forum type environment for clubs and organizations. To join a group you must be invited. Google does not index content from groups.

Regardless whether you use your personal page or your fan page for your business you must build relationships, connect with people. engage and interact with them. Be an encourager; inspire others to be all they can be. Share your blog posts, give them helpful tips and hints. If you’re posts reflect a giving nature; that you truly care about others you will fill your stadium with friends and fans.

While it is important to interact with friends and fans throughout the day on a consistent basis, you can’t spend your entire day on social media. Sites like HootSuite, TweetDeck, SocialOomph and Posterous will help you organize all of your social media networks in one place, allowing you to view your streams and walls, sort and view your lists and schedule your tweets and posts in advance. This means you are free to be productive in your business, but still be highly active on social media. You will then only need to pop in and out for just a few minutes a few times a day to respond and interact with others.

Facebook makes it easy to tell your story. You can share photos, audios and videos with your friends and fans. Scheduling an event such as a teleseminar, webinar or contest is easy.

In conclusion are you using Facebook marketing strategies to improve your online business? Don’t underestimate its significance. You should be using Facebook to increase your visibility, create brand awareness and instill trust, allowing you to take your business to the next level.

Editor note: Article courtesy of SiteProNews.

WSU 101

What is the point of making your site compatible with search engines and optimized for your target keywords if your visitors don’t bother to stick around?

Your site has to be user friendly and have site “stickiness” in order to retain visitors and turn them into customers or long term visitors. That’s where usability comes in. Our Web Site Usability course will teach you all the most important aspects of usability, including logical navigation usage, broken link checking, custom error messages, functional feedback forms, design and layout consistency, intuitive ordering and shopping cart processes etc.

Why not give your site the best chance possible of converting visitors to customers by making it as user-friendly as possible? Our Web Site Usability course will give you all the knowledge necessary to design your site with users in mind.

Your tutor for Web Site Usability 101 is well-known industry expert Kim Krause Berg.

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Topics Studied During This Course:

Lesson 1 = What is Usability?

• What is Usability?
• Why Usability?
• What is So Important About Usability?

Lesson 2 = Web Site Requirements Gathering

• Business Specifications
• Setting Objectives
• Business Requirements
• Functional Requirements
• Who Are Your Web Site Users?
• Planning Now Will Pay Off Later

Lesson 3 = Information Architecture and Navigation

• Information Architecture
• How to Find the Emerald City
• About Navigation
• How to Make Usable Navigation
• Mental Models
• Taxonomies and Ontology’s
• Context, Organization and Findability
• Required Assignment

Lesson 4 = User Interface Standards: A Useable User Interface

• User Interface Standards
• Standards and Elements
• User Interface Elements
• Guidelines

Lesson 5 = Credibility and Authenticity

• Web Site Abandonment is Tied to Persuasion
• Why Are They Leaving? Don’t They Believe Me?
• Why Should Web Sites Be Concerned With Credibility and Authenticity?
• How to Make a Convincing, Credible and Authentic Homepage?
• Build it So Search Engines and Users Love It

Lesson 6 = User Friendly Forms

• If You Fill This Out, I Promise Not to Confuse You
• Types of Forms
• Shopping Cart Usability
• Contact Forms
• Buttons
• Errors Are Human
• Courtesy Counts
• Do You Need Help?
• Go Forth and Be User Friendly

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Two Versions to Choose From:

1. Certification – This course is tutor-supervised with a tutor assigned to guide students through the lesson material and review their assignments. Students who want to receive industry-recognized SEC Certification for Web Site Usability must take the Certification version of the course under tutor-supervision and make a 70% overall pass.

2. Self-Study – Students who take the course via self-study do not receive tutor-supervision, do not submit assignments and do not qualify for SEC Certification.

To learn more about the differences between our Certification and Self-Study course versions, please see our FAQs.

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Course Format:

• Online
• Login to course area

Course Duration:

• Self-paced (no set class times)
• Twelve months access to course materials

Course Fees:

• Certification course = USD $295
• Self-Study course = USD $195

Course Content:

• 6 interactive online lessons (72 pages in total!)
• 6 downloadable PDF lesson versions (72 pages in total!)
• 6 interactive online review quizzes
• 4 Assignments
• 1 interactive online exam

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What You Will Learn:

• How to create logical and intuitive navigation menus.
• The importance of requirements gathering.
• How to create usable forms and shopping carts.
• How to develop and implement functional feedback forms.
• How to ensure your site design and layout is consistent on each page.
• How to elicit trust in your visitor.
• How to implement user interface elements that improve overall usability.

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Who Should Take This Course:

• Web site designers wanting to learn how to design web sites that are more user-friendly.
• Marketing executives entrusted with the responsibility of promoting their company’s or clients’ web sites.
• Small business owners wanting to learn how to make their web sites convert more site visitors into customers.
• Webmasters wanting to know how to make their web sites more user-friendly and effective.
• SEOs wanting to ensure they optimize web sites in a user-friendly fashion.

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Students Will Receive:

• 12 months access to our online classroom area
• Downloadable Adobe PDF lessons to keep.
• 12 months worth of lesson updates.
• Permanent access to our Search Engine Wiki, containing extensive search engine marketing resources.
• 12 months access to our exclusive industry discounts area.
• 12 months access to our online quizzes and final exam.
• Permanent membership in our Search Engine College Facebook Group.
• Permanent access to our Search Engine Marketing Jobs Forum listing employment opportunities in the search industry.

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Certification Graduates Will Receive:

• Search Engine College Seal of Certification in your chosen subject.
• Search Engine College Certificate of Training (hard copy certificates) for display on your wall or in your resume.
• A personalized Certification Status page.
• Permanent membership in our exclusive Search Engine College Facebook Alumni Group.
• A discount coupon towards future courses.

Not ready to enroll yet? Tell Us Why.

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Order Here Risk Free

Our Satisfaction Guarantee: If you are not 100% impressed and satisfied with any of our online certification courses, simply contact us within 7 days of purchase and WE WILL REFUND YOUR MONEY, no questions asked!

What have you got to lose? Enroll right NOW via Secure Credit Card / eCheck / PayPal by ticking the check box and clicking on the BUY NOW button below:

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Web Site Usability Course (Certification)

NOW $295

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Search Engine College.

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Web Site Usability Course (Self-Study)

NOW $195

2CheckOut.com Inc. (Ohio, USA) is an authorized retailer for goods and services provided by Search Engine College.

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Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.

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