Blackhat Vs whitehat in PPC

[gasmonkeygarage]

Some time back I asked @eliquid about competitor brand bidding,he said it would get you banned. Not to out anyone but,is it that all Google cares about is money in their pocket,an example is send grid.

 

[eliquid]

I don't remember the convo details, but:

1. Bidding on the competitor term is allowed. Meaning you bid on "send grid" and your ad is generic. - Your fine.

2. Bidding on competitor term and then having "SendGrid" in the ad too - not going to end well. If trademarked and listed with Google, Google will pretty much not show the ad or limit the ad viewing. Also, if the company see's you doing it.. you'll likely get a C&D from a lawyer.

I've also seen this go full blown lawsuit too

Many times I've also seen it where someone will have "send grid" on their LP too in either option above, and a full blown lawsuit develops.

 

[roydan]

Depends on who you decided to target. As @eliquid said you can use it in keywords, and as broad keywords paired with automated bidding strategies became more popular, these became easier to convert as well.

Including them in your ad creative is a bit trickier, and mostly depends on whether or not their name is a trademark. If they registered their trademark and applied with it to Google, you will have to prove that you have permission to use it (whether by being a reseller or other means).
If they trademarked it but didn't register it with Google, you're likely to receive a friendly email asking you do stop doing it before it gets into a C&D and law suits, but I wouldn't risk it for suck low upside.

Better to just be careful with DKI.