Can Competitors Use My Brand Name in Google Ads?
There are many rules around how a company is allowed to market itself and how it’s allowed to target brand-name keywords.
Competitors can target whatever keywords they want, but it is considered best practice not to include competitor names in the actual ad copy, as this can lead to legal problems.
So let’s take a look and see what lines are in the sand for what’s okay for brand-name use.
How Can a Competitor Use My Brand Name in Their Ads?
In general, businesses are allowed to bid on brand-name keywords in Google Ads. However, they generally cannot use your name in the actual Google Ad copy.
Even if the brand name is not trademarked, if they’re using it deceptively or impersonating your brand, it is considered misrepresentation under Google’s Advertising policies.
Especially if the brand name is trademarked, then competitors cannot legally use it in their Google ad copy and will receive repercussions from Google, and can be pursued legally by your business.
There is an exception to this rule, though:
If you’re in an industry where legitimate resellers might use your products, then they are allowed to advertise as resellers. For more information, take a look at Google’s policy on trademark resellers.
Example of a legitimate reseller:
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers. Before taking legal action, we suggest consulting with a legal professional.
Next, what you need to know about Brand-Name Keywords…
Can Competitors Bid on My Brand Name?
Yes, generally, anyone running Google Ads can bid on any keywords, including brand names, as long as they are relevant to the business.
When a competitor does this, their ad will show up above your organic website when users search for your brand name.
Pro tip: To remain competitive, consider running Google Ads for your own brand name, like how Nike does.
You may wonder: why do competitors even use this tactic? And should you consider using it as well?
The main reason competitors bid on other brand names is to get awareness from users looking for more popular brands. In other cases, it could be an attempt to steal leads and consumers.
Can I Use Competitor Brand Keywords in Google Ads?
Similar to how competitors can bid on your brand keywords, you can also bid on theirs. The same legal rules apply to your business as well: It is good practice not to use their brand name in your Google Ad copy.
There is another thing to be aware of if you decide to use
Is it legal to use your competitor’s name as a keyword?
If you are thinking about advertising to one of your competitor’s brand keywords, one of the important things to avoid is keyword insertion, since it could automatically put your competitor’s brand name into your ad and get you into trouble.
While nothing is stopping you from bidding on competitor brand-name keywords. Whether you should or not is another question.
Should You Bid On Competitor Keywords?
Depending on what your Google Ads Campaign goals are can determine whether it is worth your while to bid on competitors’ keywords.
There are some distinct Pros and Cons to bidding on Competitor Keywords, but there are also more complex considerations that are determined on a case-by-case basis.
Pros:
- If getting impressions and increasing brand awareness is something you’re willing to spend money on, then competitor keyword bidding makes sense.
- More popular brands that get lots of searches can be good to target to get more impressions, so people at least know your brand exists.
Cons:
- Often, bidding on big-name brands will have little to no impact or returns. Picking the right competitors to target is important to seeing any actual ROI for those Google Ad keywords.
- It’s important to note that competitor keywords will be more expensive to run ads for and will likely result in lower conversions, since people are searching for your competitor and not you.
Other considerations:
There are many different ways to accomplish a goal, so just because you can monopolize on using competitor keywords, doens’t mean you should.
If a competitor isn’t already using your brand name for Google Ads keywords and your business starts marketing towards their brand name keyword, it could incite retaliation.
So what else can we do?
Alternatives to Competitor Bidding
Sometimes it’s better to seek a truce between businesses rather than inciting a bidding war for brand-name keywords. So let’s look at other ways to meet Google Ads Campaign goals without encroaching on competitor bidding
There are lots of other ways to reach your Google Ads Goals, from getting impressions to reaching high-quality conversions.
- Optimizing your existing campaign and keywords could turn out to be more lucrative and have better results.
- Biding on more generic terms where your competitor could also show up, can also be a fine way to compete and take leads from a competitor without directly targeting their brand name keyword.
- Target comparison keywords that are adjacent to your competitors.
- Tail extension keywords containing “(competitor name) + alternative” or similar keywords.
Figuring out which keywords to bid on and how to reach your Google Ads Goals is what we do here at Mpire Marketing.
Feel free to reach out to us using our Contact Us Page for a consultation on how we can meet your marketing goals and needs within your budget.