Google is currently in the middle of yet another court case regarding paid search ads and trademarks. The interesting part of this case is that broad match is at the center of the issue. Anyone who has done paid search marketing has at one time or another wrestled with what the best match type settings should be for a campaign. In the case of Sport Court vs Rhino Sports, Sports Court alleges that Rhino violated an injunction and bid on "Sports Court" trademarks. Rhino argues that they bid on "court" related terms and Google broad match then rendered an ad that ultimately violated the injunction. Is this a good defense? Probably not because any good campaign should have a strong negative keyword list built and certainly if you have an injunction against you.
Either way, this case is yet another example of comments I have made in the past. Watch your keyword list and build a good negative keyword list. By its nature, search engine broad match logic can be VERY liberal. If you have an absolute no-no list of keywords, put the those terms (on exact match) in your negative keyword list and rest in peace. Google does a better job than its peers giving you the information to make a good negative keyword list so use that information to your advantage. Google now gives you the Search Query report which shows some of the long tail terms that were matched via broad match. Take my advice and avoid a court case!
