Seth Godin conveys "good news for Google investors" from a lesson learned with Squidoo and WWE Smackdown! superstar Rey Mysterio. The other side of this coin is terrible news for Google advertisers - which smart search marketers should already know.
To quote Mr. Godin: "...the efficiency of using google.com means that many people (perhaps most people) start their online journey on Google, even if they know the url." I agree.
In a situation where your site comes up first in organic search results AND you are paying for a top paid position, you are paying for traffic you should have gotten for free. For example, search for "bestbuy" or "circuitcity" on both Google and Yahoo.
Yahoo's decision to prevent trademark bids should help defend against not only guerilla hijacking but also aggressive affiliates (who should be following your policies prohibiting competitive keyword buying anyway).
Next time someone recommends that you buy your own search keyword to "protect your brand," consider the motivation - do the math - and determine whether or not it's really necessary.
BTW Squidoo and Rey Mysterio are both pretty cool, too. You should definitely check them out.
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