The Winning AdVantage

Online Brand Management: Brand Protection Basics
Copyright (c) 2010 Enzo F. Cesario
BrandSplat
http://www.Brandsplat.com/

One of the greatest strengths of the Web is that it gives
everyone with a connection the ability to publish content,
period. Anyone can register domain names and build attendant
webpages, often for what amounts to a pittance. Some domains cost
as little as ten dollars to register, or less if the buyer wishes
to bundle the purchase of several names at once. Naturally, this
flexibility has attracted the attention of people with less than
honest motives for their efforts.

Like it or not, there are individuals online who aren’t content
to promote their brand through their own efforts and hard work,
but would prefer to profit by the work of others. They accomplish
this through a number of unfortunate methods. They domain-squat
on names they expect to become famous, use similar names and
domains to get attention, and in general rely on the good name of
brands they have nothing to do with to draw in business.

As part of the effort to build up a brand into something to be
proud of, it’s important to focus on brand protection. It may
sound silly on the surface; after all, who could be confused by
Makdonolds as opposed to McDonalds? However the issue isn’t
always quite so ridiculously clear, and can lead to a number of
hassles a brand just doesn’t need. Here we share three common
hazards and their solutions for safeguarding your brand.

Hazard 1 – Cybersquatting

In short, cybersquatting is a series of methods for registering
and maintaining a domain name solely with the intent to profit
from another agency that desires it.

The first method revolves around predicting the need for the
domain name itself. As in the above example, suppose in the early
days of the Internet someone outside McDonald’s had registered
all the relevant domain names. When McDonald’s finally goes to
establish a Web presence, they find the names they need are all
taken, and thus have to bargain with this individual for terms
under which he’ll sell them back, obviously at a profit to
himself.

Other methods involve registering similar domain names to
existent ones. Suppose again that McDonald’s had possession of
McDonald’s.com, but not McDonald’s.net. The squatter picks up
the .net domain, knowing that at least some people will come to
the page out of curiosity or by accident. Once again, they can
bargain with McDonald’s over ownership, or they can provide a
link to McDonald’s own webpage, and thus get click-through
traffic that can be monetized with ad revenue.

Solutions to Cybersquatting

Due to the fight over free speech and free market rights
pertaining to the Web, cybersquatting is not easy to define as
illegal. It is certainly unethical, but given the myriad of
international laws governing the use of these domain names there
is not always a clear recourse in overcoming these activities.

There are always methods that can be used, however. First, there
is the legal recourse of going through ICANN for arbitration.
However courts can and often have overturned ICANN’s rulings
upon further review. The legal fees associated with this process
may exceed the cost of simply buying the domain outright from the
squatters.

Another option is to be creative with your domain names. Google,
Yahoo, icanhascheezburger, and similar domain names share a
certain nonsense quality. They aren’t commonly used words, and
are less likely to get snapped up by squatters. If your business
isn’t tied strongly to a real world word already, consider
coming up with something outside the box to prevent yourself from
getting squatted. Purchase several of the more common variations
on your domain name as well, to prevent the parallel name style
of squatting.

Hazard 2 – Typo Squatting

Typo squatting relies on common typing errors or shortcuts to
redirect users to a site other than the one they intended to
visit. For example, information.com could be typed as
iformation.com or info.com, and lead to the squatting site
instead of the intended location. While this may seem like a
variant on cybersquatting, it ends up being rather different in
practice.

As with parallel naming, the intent here is to use a similar name
to draw in users looking for one site. However the intent is very
rarely to sell the url to the parent company. More frequently,
these sites direct to ‘gripe’ pages, spambots, malware
propagators and other malicious activities.

Solutions to Typo Squatting

Once again, legal action can be taken to protect a brand
(particularly if the squatters are profiting from the venture),
but can quickly become expensive. A more cost-effective route for
a smaller brand just getting started would be to post information
to your Social Media News Room and webpage about any such sites
you come across, with warnings and information on how to
circumvent them. Taking responsibility for your brand is the best
way to protect it and cement its value in your audience’s mind.

Hazard 3 – Complacency

It’s tempting to register a domain name and trademark, and think
that’s all you need to do. However, neither of these confers
automatic protection. Yes, they allow for recourse to the law in
the event a case goes to court, but the Internet is a place where
information moves quickly. By the time you fight things out in a
court case that you may or may not actually win, people already
have associated your brand with the spambot they accidentally got
directed to.

Solutions to Complacency

Be proactive. Education is your best defense on the Web. Learn
about common cybersquatting and typosquatting tactics. Check your
domain and see if others are using these tricks to hurt your
brand (consciously or inadvertently). Be aware, be informed, and
take every step you can. The Internet is a dynamic place, and it
falls to you to make sure that benefits you, rather than
blemishes your brand.

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Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist
and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content
agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos
and social media in the “voice” of our client’s
brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more
recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to
http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at
http://www.iBrandCasting.com/