Brand bidding

What is brand bidding?

Brand bidding is bidding on brand names in Google Ads, both on your own brand and on those of competitors. When someone types a brand name, they can see your ad. Bidding on a competitor’s brand name is allowed, but using someone else’s trademark in ad text is restricted by Google’s policies.

Why is brand bidding important?

• Protect your own brand: competitors can bid on your name.
• Control over your message: you decide the headline, offer and landing page for your brand name.
• Reach people comparing options: bidding on competitors can reach people who are still orienting.

Examples of brand bidding

• A plumber bids on his own company name, so competitors do not appear above him.
• A software company bids on a competitor’s brand name, with its own ad text that does not mention that name.
• A web shop keeps brand and non-brand in separate campaigns, so it sees the results of each separately.

How do you use brand bidding?

Put searches for your own brand name in a separate campaign and measure them apart from the rest. Read Google’s ad policies on trademarks before you bid on competitors. Want this set up properly? See our Google Ads approach.