I’ve been busy writing about internet marketing for Sussex’s daily paid paper The Argus. Here’s today’s offering:

For the past week, Google UK has allowed Adwords users to bid on trademarked names. Advertisers still can’t use the trademark in their advert (unless the trademark is theirs, of course) but can bid to have their advert appear when someone searches for the name in Google.

For example, two weeks ago, a search for “iPod” brought up only two paid advertisers: Apple’s own online store and a price comparison site. Now, all of the major names like Argos, Dixons, Curry’s and Comet are bidding on the keyword, alongside niche websites (paying an average of around 60p per click).

This matters on a local scale too. One of Brighton’s many small estate agents, for example, could now bid on the name of a higher profile rival. “Gentlemen’s Agreements” not to bid on each others’ names are technically illegal (although there are murmurs that the large car companies are doing just this).

Google’s motivation for this change is clear: money, and lots of it. But where does this leave businesses? Not only can rivals now advertise on the strength of your reputation but, as the owner of a trademark, you now have to allocate more money to your own Adwords campaign to ensure that you still appear top!

Fortunately, there are some ways that you can put yourself at an advantage when bidding for your trademark (or any keyword). Firstly, word your advert carefully. Google will automatically give your advert a “Quality Score”, which is based on how relevant your advert is for a particular search. The higher your Quality Score, the less you have to pay to get high positions for your ads.

Also, remember that the content of your website itself is very important: have a sitemap and contact page on there, and make sure that there is text about the product you are selling. Search engines like text that they can read easily, so html is much better than flash.

If your website is well optimised for the search engines, this also has a positive effect on the cost of Adwords. Elements like site structure and which other sites link to it are very important. This is known as search engine optimisation, or SEO. Being at the top of Google’s natural results also brings a lot of visitors.

One very good (and easy) idea is to set up a selection of different adverts for the same search and see which one performs best over a couple of weeks. This is a great way of finding the right wording for your ad.

If you are confused, there are lots of online forums that can offer advice. Just search Google!

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Big developments are in the pipeline for our paid search consultancy. Keep your eyes peeled!