Hi all. I recently took a break from my business as I wanted to take a step back and re-assess what I was doing. In the meantime, a business in my industry has taken it upon themselves to create a brand that has a similar name to mine. Over time I've noticed them slowly creep up the search engines. I'm planning on re-launching my brand within the next month or two and I'm slightly worried that there's going to be confusion. They are also in the same country. Just not the same city.
Right now the main issue is that their socials are quite high on the search engine.
I'm very confident with my SEO so I know that once I get back to business and start using my socials regularly that I could probably knock them off the search engines within a couple of months. But I'm just wondering whether it's worth telling them that the name is trademarked. Obviously, I'm not looking to make enemies with anyone over something so minor but it's kinda irritating. They are too similar in my opinion.
A little more info...
- To give you an example of how they've copied the name - they've created a business name called "cloudy hazelnut cars" and have been around since late last year. My business is called "hazelnut cars" and has been around for over 3 years. Another thing to point out is that "cloudy" is a word that I mention on my website regularly and is a part of my branding.
- I recently just trademarked my name. It's currently under examination but I doubt there will be any issue with it going through as it's a simple trademark of my business name and a text only logo. It should be confirmed within the next month
Any thoughts on what to do? It's either knock them off the search engines with SEO or go the formal route and let them know. I won't be making any decisions until the trademark becomes official.
TLDR
A brand in the same industry is using a very similar name to mine. Do I send them a formal message telling them to stop trading under that name or should I just work on my branding/SEO so that they don't show up on search engines like they currently are?
Right now the main issue is that their socials are quite high on the search engine.
I'm very confident with my SEO so I know that once I get back to business and start using my socials regularly that I could probably knock them off the search engines within a couple of months. But I'm just wondering whether it's worth telling them that the name is trademarked. Obviously, I'm not looking to make enemies with anyone over something so minor but it's kinda irritating. They are too similar in my opinion.
A little more info...
- To give you an example of how they've copied the name - they've created a business name called "cloudy hazelnut cars" and have been around since late last year. My business is called "hazelnut cars" and has been around for over 3 years. Another thing to point out is that "cloudy" is a word that I mention on my website regularly and is a part of my branding.
- I recently just trademarked my name. It's currently under examination but I doubt there will be any issue with it going through as it's a simple trademark of my business name and a text only logo. It should be confirmed within the next month
Any thoughts on what to do? It's either knock them off the search engines with SEO or go the formal route and let them know. I won't be making any decisions until the trademark becomes official.
TLDR
A brand in the same industry is using a very similar name to mine. Do I send them a formal message telling them to stop trading under that name or should I just work on my branding/SEO so that they don't show up on search engines like they currently are?
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