If you want to be successful with your online store or website, you need to be findable first and foremost. In other words, the portal must be listed well on Google. This is where SEM (search engine marketing) and SEO(search engine optimization) can help retailers. But beware: optimization not only attracts customers, but also warning letters.

Warning letters have not lost their horror, as they usually come with an unpleasant bill of costs. For this article, we are therefore asking the question: Which SEM or SEO practices lead to a warning? Here is a selection of the most common reasons for warnings.

Guarantee promise as a reliable warning magnet

What attracts warning letters like mosquitoes to light are warranty promises. "Samsung S8 including a twelve-year warranty!" - Customers like to read that. Guarantees create trust in the product and reduce uncertainty among buyers: "What could possibly happen? And if something does happen, then I'm safe." However, many people are unaware that a warranty does not mean that the retailer or manufacturer can be held responsible for every scratch for many years.

On the one hand, this may be due to the fact that many customers (and online retailers) may not be aware of the difference between warranty and guarantee. On the other hand, it is due to the widespread practice of advertising guarantees across the board. But what is the problem? And why does such a statement often lead to a warning? Well, this is at least indirectly due to the distinction between warranty and guarantee.

The law on the guarantee

Unlike the warranty, the guarantee is not regulated by law. If there is a material defect, i.e. a warranty claim, all parties involved know exactly what to do. After all, the requirements and handling of a warranty claim are regulated in the German Civil Code (BGB). See the information on this from the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection. The situation is different with guarantees. In a nutshell, the law basically only states that it is possible to issue guarantees.

The law leaves the exact form to the guarantor. Warranty providers are usually the manufacturers or dealers. Accordingly, those who promise a guarantee must also provide precise information about the conditions. This includes, among other things:

• Who provides the guarantee?
• What exactly does a warranty case look like?
• What does the customer have to do to make use of the warranty?
• How long is the warranty valid for?
• Do special conditions have to be met in order to claim under the warranty (e.g. the car has a checkbook)?

Brands as ambassadors of trust

Well-known brands create trust among customers. They guarantee a certain quality and often convey a certain attitude to life. So why not advertise with them? When using brand names, there are two ways to get a warning in the mailbox when it comes to SEM:

Number 1: Use in the texts

The shoe looks similar to the one from Nike? Then why not use this brand in the title! Of course, that's not possible. A brand name may only be used if it is actually the corresponding brand product.

This also applies to accessories. A "charging cable for iPhone" can quickly become an "iPhone charging cable". In the case of the latter, a warning may be issued if the accessory is not actually the branded product.

Number 2: Use in keywords

You can't see them, but they have an impact on search results: we're talking about keywords for SEO. If you really want to dig deep into your pockets, you can simply spike your metadata with brand names. The whole thing is at risk of a warning, as it is a so-called exploitation of reputation: The online retailer speculates that the user will enter brand names that they are familiar with - and wants to profit from the level of awareness.

In principle, however, the brand names in the keywords (so-called brand keywords or competitor keywords) do not have to be omitted: If the result is labeled as advertising, a third-party brand name may also be used. However, an experienced law firm should be consulted in individual cases. This is because a search result labeled as advertising can also be a trademark infringement if the trademark is impaired in any way.

"CE and TÜV certified" - deliberate misleading advertising

For certain products, customers attach particular importance to quality, quality and test seals. It is often not enough to simply buy the best product on the market, it also has to be the safest. Of course, the online retailer has exactly this product in the catalog and wants it to be found. Bold statements such as "TÜV-tested" and "CE-certified" are therefore often used. They are just as often the subject of warnings, because the sweeping statements are often misleading. Here are the top 3 misleading advertising claims:

CE-certified or CE marking

Everyone has seen the CE mark before. However, very few people realize that it is not a seal of quality or anything similar. With the CE marking, the manufacturer merely declares that his product "complies with the applicable requirements set out in the Community harmonization legislation providing for its affixing."

The product does not undergo an official certification process for this. The statement that a product is CE-certified is therefore not only misleading but simply false.

TÜV-certified

TÜV, on the other hand, carries out just such certifications. Confidence in the TÜV seal is therefore not entirely unfounded. But be careful: TÜV testing is not always a procedure that manufacturers opt for voluntarily. For some products, it is even mandatory.

Any online retailer who emphasizes compliance with this legal obligation as a special feature of their offer is committing an infringement of competition law. This is advertising with self-evident facts that is subject to a warning.

LUCID, encrypted connection, invoice with VAT

There are certainly some black sheep on the market to whom legal rules simply do not seem to apply. Nevertheless, as a general rule, compliance with the law is a matter of course. If you comply with the law, you can pat yourself on the back for it in the privacy of your own home, but you certainly can't advertise it.

This applies to the fulfillment of the obligation under the Packaging Act or LUCID as well as to the encrypted connection. It also goes without saying that a retailer issues a reasonable invoice with VAT shown.

The best of the best

The product is the best on the market? If the online retailer is convinced of this, then they want the rest of the internet to know it too. Ideally, this claim should also be included in the product headline so that everyone can see it - and so that the person issuing the warning does not have to search long for a point to attack.

These and similar designations are so-called top position claims. Other examples are

• Best price
• Spices of the highest quality
• Top quality
• Best
• Highest
• Best product on the market
• Unique
• Unique
• Unbeatable

In principle, such statements are not prohibited - as long as the advertiser can prove that they are correct. Even if advertising is allowed to exaggerate, the fun stops when it comes to lying. Anyone who claims to sell the best product on the market should actually offer exactly that product.

It is not enough to be just a tad better than the rest. Rather, a clear lead over the competition is required, which is not only short-lived and cannot be caught up with easily. Here, too, it is worth seeking legal advice in case of doubt.

Conclusion: Exaggeration only leads to short-term success

So if you want to receive a warning with SEM practices, you have to do one thing above all: Exaggerate wherever possible. If the online retailer wants it to be particularly expensive, he also uses brand names without a license. Trademark warnings are particularly expensive, costing a good 2,000 euros.

The legal protection of the website causes an enormous amount of extra work for many online retailers. As a partner of Raidboxes, Händlerbund can help: Find out more about the services here, including special conditions for Raidboxes customers.