Can I make money this way ?

[D'same]

Don't know if this is the right place to ask this but here goes.....

I was doing some keyword research and stumbled onto a great keyword combination that I think have good potential. However, the combination is a registered website which does absolutely well in terms of searches etc..and there is virtually no competition.

The keywords are generic dictionary word not brandable like Yahoo or Google. For example say the term was " dog food" and someone registered "dogfood.com", could you legally set up a website using the keyword combination "dog food" as the main focus but naming the website something else?

Can you optimize the pages of the site for things like dog food diet, dog food facts, etc...and would the owner of the website "dogfood.com" be successful in sending you a CD letter or any such complaints.

Another case in point would be "lendingtree.com", suppose you wanted to set up a website around the keywords "lending tree" again these are two dictionary words and in my country people ask if they are "a money tree or lending tree" if you try borrowing money from them too often. And I heard my grandmother with those terms and she died in her 80's long before lendingtree.com.

What do you guys think....?

 

[Biggie]

Hi

imo... dog food is generic enough because their are different brands of dog food, however for lendingtree, even though the terms are generic that company has branded the name in association with lending products.

should you use any combination of the terms "lending tree' in association with a loan related site, this could be deemed "misleading and confusing' to/for lendingtree services.

dog food could have any prefix name as long as it is not similiar to a particular brand. like 'purina' or 'puppychow'

hope that helps

 

[D'same]

Thanks for that response....so are you saying even though the term "lending tree" was used culturally, that that doesn't matter once you have branded the term...?

 

[bensd]

Thanks for that response....so are you saying even though the term "lending tree" was used culturally, that that doesn't matter once you have branded the term...?

I think what biggedon is trying to say is that "dog food" is too generic to "brand the term". Its like saying i own mortgage . com and trying saying anyone who use the term mortgage i could send a c & d to.

Where as "lending tree" IMO a much less generic term has directly branded there products with there name.

 

[fatter]

other examples might be "rag shops" "stop and shop" "home depot" all generic words but when used in context of branding there would be TM issues

by the way "stop and shop" has merged with A&P, the new name will be "stop and P'

 

[Domstar]

the difference is that there was no such thing as a "lending tree" until the people at lendingtree.com made it up. There is no way that was part of the popular vocabularity. ditto to the other examples given. "dog food" on the other hand is a common term. You can't get a TM on a common term.

 

[Devil Dog]

by the way "stop and shop" has merged with A&P, the new name will be "stop and P'

rofl

 

[D'same]

the difference is that there was no such thing as a "lending tree" until the people at lendingtree.com made it up.

As I said people in my country have been using that term for generations as well as money tree....as a cultural rebuff for persistent borrowers....

So in TM issues aren't cultural norms or usage taken into consideration....??