The guidelines to the policy changes state that the following companies/sites can use trademarks in text if they are:

1. A reseller of trademarked goods or services. Google compares this to flipping through the Sunday circulars and instead of actual products listed it offers “dicount cola” or “snacks on sale” Now resellers will be able to call out the specific products they are selling.

2. Sale of components, replacement parts or compatible products corresponding to the trademark.

3. Informational sites. Comparison shopping is a fundamental piece of the internet, and now Google will allow these sites to draw in more customers. These sites cannot be competitive nor sell a competitors product.

This move not only deepens Google’s pockets, but also helps sites that rely on reselling other companies products. While at first that seems like a win-win for the trademark owners who rely on these sites to push product, at what cost to their own campaigns? As more resellers and affiliates start taking advantage of the policy change CPCs will start increasing, minimizing the efficiency of these terms. While you have little control over resellers and informational sites, implementing guidelines for affiliates can ensure that they do not begin hijacking your own performance.