TM+ bidding can be a powerful strategy to boost visibility and capture high-intent customers. However, its success hinges on careful coordination and working with credible, experienced partners to manage the process effectively.
TM+ bidding, short for “Trademark Plus” bidding, is a strategy where affiliates bid on keywords that combine a brand’s name with additional search terms. Unlike traditional paid search, which typically focuses on broad or product-related terms, TM+ bidding targets highly specific phrases that users search for when they already have an interest in your brand.
For example, common TM+ keywords include:
This approach allows brands to capture users with high purchase intent, often leading to faster conversions. Unlike other search campaigns, TM+ bidding leverages affiliate partnerships to enhance visibility, with affiliates funding the campaigns themselves.
TM+ bidding can be a valuable addition to your marketing strategy, but it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It works best under specific conditions where the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Here’s when it makes the most sense to allow affiliates to bid on your trademark:
TM+ bidding can be a strategic advantage, but its effectiveness depends on evaluating the market, understanding your competition, and ensuring you have the capacity to manage it properly. Let’s explore these considerations further:
TM+ bidding works best in competitive industries where search results are crowded with competitors. It can give your brand an edge by ensuring visibility for high-intent searches. However, if your brand already dominates search results, TM+ campaigns may add little value and risk overlapping with existing efforts.
If competitors are bidding on your trademark or targeting customers searching for your brand, TM+ bidding can help reclaim that traffic. It ensures users see your approved affiliates instead of competitor ads, reinforcing your brand’s presence.
TM+ campaigns need consistent oversight to ensure affiliates follow guidelines and deliver ROI. Without proper monitoring, you risk brand misrepresentation, unnecessary competition with your in-house campaigns, or ineffective ads. Ensure you have tools and resources in place to track and manage affiliate activity.
While TM+ bidding offers strong advantages, these risks underscore the need for a coordinated and well-managed approach:
One of the biggest challenges with TM+ bidding is ensuring your brand is represented accurately and professionally. Affiliates may create ads that mislead customers or fail to align with your brand’s tone, values, or messaging. For instance, overly aggressive promotions or false claims about discounts can damage trust in your brand. This risk is amplified if multiple affiliates compete for TM+ keywords, leading to inconsistent messaging or poorly executed campaigns.
TM+ campaigns can inadvertently redirect sales you would have earned organically or through existing marketing efforts. For example, customers who might have found you through a direct search or non-paid channel may instead convert through an affiliate’s TM+ ad, resulting in commissions paid for sales you would likely have secured anyway. Over time, this can erode profitability and undermine the value of the affiliate program.
TM+ bidding requires ongoing oversight to manage affiliate behavior and ensure campaigns deliver ROI. Without proper monitoring, affiliates may overbid on keywords, use prohibited terms, or create low-quality ads that harm performance. Additionally, poorly performing campaigns can inflate costs and reduce efficiency, making TM+ bidding resource-intensive to manage.
Expert Consultation: Benefit from personalized advice based on a decade of experience in affiliate marketing, helping you optimize your TM+ bidding approach.
Affiliate Coordination: We handle the complexities of managing affiliate relationships, ensuring alignment with your brand values and compliance with guidelines.
TM+ bidding’s success largely depends on partnering with affiliates who are experienced, credible, and capable of representing your brand well. Since TM+ campaigns directly impact brand perception and search visibility, it’s crucial to work with affiliates who understand the strategy’s nuances and can handle the responsibility effectively.
Criteria for Selecting TM+ Bidding Partners
Once you have the right affiliates on board, following best practices will help optimize campaign performance and minimize risks.
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Alex Goldberg, Founder
