TM+ bidding can be a powerful strategy to boost capture high-intent customers. However, success hinges on careful coordination with credible, experienced partners to manage spend profitably.
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 conversion rate. Sometime affiliates fund the campaigns themselves and only get paid for success. Other times brands reimburse affiliates for ad spend to de-risk, especially in the beginning when funnel economics aren’t well proven.
TM+ bidding can be a valuable addition to most brands’ marketing strategy, but if left unmanaged, it can lead to paying for customers that would have purchased anyway, or worse: click fraud. It works best under specific conditions where brand can control risks by working closely with a small number of trusted affiliate partners, usually just 1 or two. In other words, it never makes sense to allow ALL affiliate partners to bid on your brand name. That’s a recipe for disaster.
Here’s when it makes senseto 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. It can give your brand an edge by ensuring visibility for high-intent searches. However, if the cost of ads is prohibitively high in your niche, TM+ campaigns may not be profitable (at the margin).
If competitors are bidding on your trademark or targeting customers searching for your brand, TM+ bidding can help reclaim that traffic. Approved affiliates can help crowd out competitor ads, reinforcing your brand’s presence with a credible 3rd party recommendation.
TM+ campaigns need consistent oversight to ensure affiliates follow guidelines and deliver incremental ROI. Without proper monitoring, you risk brand misrepresentation and/or inflated CPCs for in-house campaigns. Ensure you reserve resources to manage the activity and performance of your authorized TM+ affiliates.
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 management: 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.
Are you curious about leveraging paid media for business? Complete the form below to be in touch.
Alex Goldberg
I’ve run profitable affiliate ad campaigns for a decade. AMA :)
