Google Ads trademark complaint: step by step
If an advertiser uses your brand name in their Google ad, a trademark complaint is the most direct way to get those ads restricted. Here's what it can and can't do, what to prepare, and how to file it so it gets accepted.
Based on Google's Ads trademark policy as published in October 2026. Google updates its policy and forms from time to time, so check the current version when you file. This is general information, not legal advice.
What a complaint can and can't do
| Situation | Restricted after a complaint? |
|---|---|
| Your brand in the ad headline or description | Yes, for the advertisers named in the complaint, unless an exception applies |
| Your brand used as a keyword, ad text doesn't mention it | No |
| Your brand only on their landing page, not in the ad | No: "the trademark must be used in the ad" |
| Your brand in their domain name (yourbrand-quotes.com) | No: trademarks in the display URL's domain aren't restricted |
| A genuine reseller or an informational site using your name | Usually no, if they meet Google's exception rules |
| A new advertiser who appears after your complaint | No, until you file against them too |
So a complaint is the right tool when someone puts your name in their ad text. For keyword-only bidding and lookalike domains, use direct requests, your affiliate terms and your own brand campaign; see how to stop competitors bidding on your brand.
What to prepare
- Your trademark registration: the exact mark, registration number, the office and country (for example USPTO, United States), and ideally a link to the registry record.
- Your authority to file. The trademark owner can file. Anyone else, such as an agency, needs written authorization from the owner to act for them on Google Ads trademark matters.
- The advertisers, by URL. Google accepts complaints against specific advertisers identified by their URLs. List each advertiser's domain and the landing pages of their ads.
- The ads. The exact headline and description, and dated screenshots of the results page showing them. Note the search, city and device.
- Who's allowed. The Google Ads customer IDs (format 123-456-7890) of every account that may keep using your trademark: your own, your agency's, approved resellers and affiliates. Authorized accounts aren't restricted.
Don't know who's using your name? Run the free check at the bottom of this page from a few cities, or see how to find who is bidding on your brand.
Filing it, step by step
- Read Google's Ads trademark policy (Google Ads Help → Advertising policies → Trademarks), so you know which uses qualify.
- Open Google's "Report content on Google" legal help, choose Google Ads as the product, then the trademark option. You don't need to be a Google Ads advertiser to file.
- Enter your details: your name and company, the trademark owner, and your relationship to the owner. If you're filing for a client, have the authorization letter ready.
- Enter the trademark: the exact term as registered, registration number, and the country or office where it's registered.
- Name the advertisers: their URLs, and the ad text you've seen. Paste the headline and description exactly. Be specific; vague complaints are slower and more likely to be rejected.
- Add authorized accounts: the customer IDs that may keep using your trademark.
- Submit and keep the confirmation. You get an automatic reply. When Google's team finishes the review, it emails you the result. Google reviews complaints in the order received and doesn't give a timeline.
Exceptions that get complaints rejected
Google allows some uses of a trademark in ad text even after a complaint. Check these before you file, so you don't waste a complaint:
- Resellers: sites mainly dedicated to selling your genuine products or services, or compatible parts and accessories, with a clear way to buy and commercial details like prices.
- Informational sites: sites mainly giving information about your products or services, such as reviews or guides. The ad and landing page must make clear they're a reseller or informational site.
- Descriptive use: if your brand is also an ordinary word and the ad uses it in that ordinary meaning.
If a lead reseller claims an exception but its ad still looks like your official site, add that detail to your complaint, and send a firm cease and desist letter as well.
After you file
- Check the ads actually stop. Search from the cities and devices where you saw them, over several days. Restrictions are applied to the advertiser's ads, but bidders sometimes come back with new wording or a new domain.
- File again for new advertisers. Each new advertiser needs its own complaint, so keep monitoring and collect evidence as soon as a new one appears.
- If it's rejected, read the reason. Common ones: the brand was only a keyword or in the domain, the advertiser qualified as a reseller or informational site, or the trademark details didn't match. Fix what you can and refile, or switch to a direct request.
StopBrandBidding.com finds advertisers using your brand from the US cities and devices you choose, several times a day. For each one it prepares a takedown pack: the complaint answers ready to copy (trademark details, advertiser URLs, ad text, where and when seen), cease and desist emails, and an evidence PDF with dated screenshots. Then it tells you whether the ads stopped.
Questions
What does a Google Ads trademark complaint stop?
It restricts the named advertisers' ads that use your trademark in the ad itself, such as the headline or description, unless an exception applies. It doesn't restrict trademarks used only as keywords, only on the landing page, or in the domain of the display URL.
Does one complaint protect my brand against every advertiser?
No. Google accepts complaints against specific advertisers identified by their URLs, so a new advertiser using your trademark needs a new complaint.
How long does it take?
Google reviews complaints in the order received and doesn't give a timeline. You get an automatic confirmation when you file and an email when the review is done.
Can I file without a registered trademark?
Google accepts complaints from trademark owners, or people they authorize, who can show rights in the trademark in the relevant country. In practice that means a registration; without one, use direct requests and your affiliate terms.
Will my own ads or my partners' ads be affected?
Not if you list their Google Ads customer IDs as authorized when you file. Keep that list up to date as you add agencies or resellers.
Free check: see the ads on your brand right now
One live Google search for your brand from the US city and device you choose. Free, no account, about five seconds.