Navigating the Trademark Process for Your Website

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If you’re ever planning on making a profit through your website, you need a strong trademark process. After you bring people to your site using the best SEO resources and tools you can find, you try to get them to spend money.

But when somebody can abuse your brand to rob you of returning customers, those profits are gone.

Don’t lose money because you didn’t go through the trademark process. Instead, register your trademark by following these easy steps.

The Trademark Process

Registering your trademark may seem hard. But it’s actually quite easy. If you handle it properly, you can develop a brand in no-time at all, and the long-term profits will be well-worth the effort. Here’s a look at what you need to do.

Search

The first step in this process is finding out if what you have can be trademarked. Some things have already been trademarked, others are in the public domain.

To make sure your domain name is available, you should visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office. They’ll make it incredibly easy to search for your trademark and see what’s available.

If you’re in Canada and want to make sure your trademark will be accepted, services like igerent.com are available to help.

Apply

After you’ve seen whether or not your trademark will be accepted, you need to apply for a trademark. To do this, you need to go online and fill out a trademark application.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office allows applicants to apply for their trademark online. This step of the trademark process is the most stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’ve done the previous step and made sure your brand can be accepted, it’s unlikely that anybody can stand in the way of your trademark.

Protect

After you’ve completed the application process, you need to be able to defend yourself against potential violations of that trademark.

One of the easiest ways to do it is through the use of a symbol. Knowing the difference between a TM and (R) symbol can make a huge difference in how people perceive your brand.

You will also need to remain vigilant when thinking about your brand. There will always be people who want a piece of the pie, and if you keep your back turned they’ll be able to take it. If somebody does violate your trademark, you have the right to send a cease-and-desist letter.

How Profitable Is Your Site?

Whether or not you’ve completed the trademark process, you need to be sure you have a profitable site. If you’re being penalized by Google, your trademark will be worth very little. Reading up on the newest tips is a good way to stay ahead of the competition.

In order to develop something profitable, it can be helpful to have another set of eyes on your website. This is why you need to put your website through a free SEO audit.

It costs nothing: what do you have to lose?