How to stop competitors bidding on your brand name
You can't stop everyone from bidding on your brand. But you can stop the ads that do the most damage, and make the rest expensive and not worth it. Here's what actually works, in the order to try it.
The short answer
There are two kinds of brand bidding, and they're stopped in different ways:
They bid on your name as a keyword
Their ad shows when people search your brand, but the ad is about them. In the US this is generally allowed, so Google won't remove it. You stop it by asking, through agreements (affiliates, partners) and by outbidding them with your own brand campaign.
They use your name in the ad
Your brand appears in their headline, description or web address. This misleads customers, and it's what you can actually get removed: with a Google trademark complaint, a cease-and-desist, or through your affiliate terms.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country; talk to a trademark lawyer about your situation.
Step 1: Find out who it is, and collect evidence
Everything that follows depends on knowing exactly who is bidding and what their ad says. Ads change by city, device and hour, so a single search from your office isn't enough. See how to find who is bidding on your brand, or run the free check at the bottom of this page from a few different cities.
For each advertiser, keep: a dated screenshot of the results page, the exact ad text, their domain, the search, city and device, and how many times you saw it. Then look the domain up in the Google Ads Transparency Center to see the verified company that pays for the ads. It's often not the name on the website.
Most brand bidders fall into one of these groups, and each is stopped differently:
| Who | Typical sign | What stops it fastest |
|---|---|---|
| Your own affiliates | The ad links to your site with an affiliate tracking code, or to a "coupon" or "review" page that sends people to you | Your affiliate terms: warn, reverse commissions, remove |
| Partners, agents, franchisees, resellers | They sell your product, often under your name ("Acme Insurance – Local Agent") | Your partner agreement or a brand policy, then a direct request |
| Lead generators and comparison sites | "Compare Acme quotes", "Acme vs. others", a phone number that isn't yours | Trademark complaint if your name is in the ad, then a cease-and-desist |
| Direct competitors | Their own brand in the ad, shown on your search | Direct request, your own brand campaign, a complaint if they use your name |
| Lookalike domains | yourbrand-quotes.com, yourbrandofficial.net | A registrar report or a domain dispute (UDRP); a Google complaint only helps if the ad text also uses your name |
Step 2: Shut down affiliates and partners first
This is usually the quickest win, because you're already in a contract with them. Affiliates bid on your brand because it converts well and they earn a commission on customers who were already coming to you, so you pay twice for the same sale.
- Put it in writing. Your affiliate and partner terms should say plainly that bidding on your brand name, its misspellings and close variations is not allowed, on any search engine, and that brand-bid traffic earns no commission. Many programs also require affiliates to add your brand as a negative keyword.
- Enforce it with evidence. Send the screenshot and dates to the affiliate, or to your affiliate network (they can see which partner owns the tracking code). Reverse the commissions on that traffic and remove repeat offenders.
- Watch for hidden affiliates. Some send traffic through a redirect or a thin "review" page, so the ad doesn't show your domain. The tracking parameters in the link usually give them away.
Step 3: Ask them to stop
A short, polite email works more often than you'd expect, especially with smaller advertisers who may not have meant to target you. Ask them to:
- remove your brand from their ad headlines, descriptions and display URLs, and
- add your brand name and its variations as negative keywords in their campaigns.
Include the evidence and give them a deadline, typically 7 days. If they don't respond, follow up with a firmer cease-and-desist letter that names your trademark registration and says what you'll do next.
Some competitors agree to stop bidding on each other's names. Be careful: agreements between competitors not to bid on each other's brands have drawn antitrust scrutiny in the US. The FTC challenged 1-800 Contacts' agreements; the Second Circuit sided with 1-800 Contacts in 2021, but the case shows the risk. Get legal advice before agreeing to anything mutual. More in is it legal to bid on a competitor's brand?
Step 4: File a trademark complaint with Google
If their ad uses your brand in the text, this is your strongest tool. Google's Ads trademark policy lets a trademark owner file a complaint against specific advertisers; once it's accepted, those advertisers' ads that show your trademark in the ad itself are restricted, unless an exception applies.
- You need a registered trademark, for example with the USPTO in the US. Google asks for the registration details.
- Name each advertiser. Google accepts complaints against specific advertisers, identified by their URLs, so a new offender needs a new complaint. Ongoing monitoring tells you when that happens.
- Know the exceptions. Google doesn't restrict trademarks used only as keywords, only on the landing page, or in the advertiser's domain, and genuine resellers and informational sites can qualify for exceptions.
- List who's allowed. The complaint lets you authorize specific advertisers (your own accounts, your agency, approved resellers) so their ads keep running.
- Know the limit. In the US, the complaint generally doesn't stop competitors from bidding on your brand as a keyword when their ad text doesn't mention it.
Google's complaint form is in its legal help center (Report content for legal reasons → Google Ads → Trademark). Attach your evidence: the ad text, the advertiser and dated screenshots. Our step-by-step complaint guide walks through it.
Step 5: Defend your top spot with your own brand campaign
You can't remove a competitor who only bids on your name, but you can make sure customers still find you first, and make it costly for them:
- Run your own brand campaign. Your ad is the most relevant answer to a search for your name, so it usually gets a high Quality Score, a low cost per click and the top position. Competitors have to pay more for the spots below you.
- Cover the variations. Bid on your brand plus the words customers add ("phone number", "login", "reviews", "near me") and the common misspellings, since that's where bidders often hide.
- Take up space. Use sitelinks, call extensions and your phone number, so your ad pushes the others further down the page.
- Measure it. Compare brand clicks and conversions with the campaign on and off. Most brands that face competitor bidding find it pays for itself.
Step 6: Legal options
When an advertiser keeps using your name in a way that confuses customers, a trademark lawyer can send a formal demand or bring a claim (in the US, typically under the Lanham Act). Courts have generally been more receptive when the ad text itself is likely to confuse people than when a competitor only bids on the keyword. It's expensive and slow, so it's usually the last step; the evidence you've collected in steps 1 to 4 is what a lawyer will ask for first.
For lookalike domains, you can also report the domain to its registrar, or use a UDRP domain dispute to have it transferred to you if it was registered in bad faith.
Step 7: Keep watching
Brand bidders come back: after a few weeks, under a new domain, or only at night and at weekends when you're not looking. And new ones appear all the time. Checking once a month from your own computer will miss most of it.
StopBrandBidding.com searches your brand and its variations from the US cities and devices you choose, several times a day. It records every advertiser that uses your name with a dated screenshot and the Google-verified company behind the ad, and emails you when a new one appears. For each one it builds a takedown pack: answers ready for Google's complaint form, friendly, firm and affiliate emails, and an evidence PDF. Then it keeps searching and tells you whether the takedown worked.
Questions
Can I stop competitors from bidding on my brand name?
Not completely. In the US, bidding on a competitor's trademark as a keyword is generally allowed, so Google won't remove an ad just because it shows on your brand search. But you can stop the most damaging cases (ads that use your name, affiliates and partners breaking their agreements, lookalike domains) and make the rest expensive with your own brand campaign.
Will Google stop a competitor bidding on my brand?
Google restricts a named advertiser's ads that use your registered trademark in the ad text once you file a trademark complaint against them, unless an exception applies. In the US it generally doesn't stop keyword bidding when the ad text doesn't mention your brand.
Should I bid on my own brand name?
For most brands that face competitor bidding, yes. Your own brand keywords are usually cheap, your ad takes the top spot, and competitors pay more for lower positions. Test it by comparing results with the campaign on and off.
Do I need a registered trademark?
For a Google trademark complaint, yes. Without one you can still enforce affiliate and partner agreements and ask advertisers directly, but your position is weaker.
How long does a takedown take?
Affiliates usually stop within days of a warning. A Google trademark complaint typically takes from a few days to a few weeks to process. Keep monitoring afterwards to confirm the ads have stopped, and to catch them if they come back.
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.