AdWords generally lets competitors bid on your name, though a trademark in their ad text can be restricted. Check before assuming it was deliberate, run a small ad on your own name, and keep your listing strong.

Your name, their ad

You search for your own business, perhaps to check your hours, and the first result is an advertisement for a competitor.

Your website sits below it, and on a phone you may have to scroll to reach your own name.

It feels like trespass: somebody paying to stand in front of your door and intercept the people looking for you.

Sometimes that is exactly what is happening. Often it is not, and the right response depends on which.

What AdWords allows

AdWords generally lets advertisers choose any keyword, including another business's name. Google does not normally restrict names or trademarks used as keywords, even when the owner objects.

The ad text is different. If a competitor's ad uses your trademark in its wording, the trademark owner can file a complaint, and Google may restrict that use, with some exceptions such as resellers.

An ad that pretends to be your business, or implies a connection that does not exist, falls under Google's rules against misleading ads, whatever the trademark position.

None of this is legal advice. If an ad uses your name in a way that worries you, a lawyer who handles trademarks can tell you where you stand.

Why the ad appears

The second is the one owners rarely suspect. A business named after its town and its trade shares words with every competitor's keywords, and broad matching can treat a search for that name as a search for the trade.

Look properly before reacting

The ads you see depend on where you are, the time of day, the device and your own search history, so one search proves little.

AdWords has an Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool that shows the results for a chosen location and device without counting as a real search. Whoever manages your advertising can run it in a few minutes.

Do not click the competitor's ad to cost them money. Google filters out most repeated clicks as invalid, and the effort changes nothing.

And check your own keywords before calling anyone. Broad matching works in both directions, and your ads may be appearing on their name.

What it actually costs you

Most people who search for your name are looking for you, and many will scroll past an ad to find the name they typed.

The ones at risk are those who half-remember you: a name heard from a neighbour, a van seen in traffic. A confident ad from a competitor catches them more easily.

On a phone, ads take up more of the first screen than on a computer, where your listing usually appears alongside the results.

So the cost is real but limited, and the remedies are mostly in your hands.

An ad on your own name

The most direct answer is to run an ad on your own business name.

It usually costs little per click, because AdWords rewards relevance, and nothing is more relevant to a search for your name than your own site. Your ad will usually take the top position and push the competitor's down.

Use sitelinks, the extra links beneath an ad, for the pages people want most: contact, services, hours or booking.

Once your ad is running, the Auction Insights report shows which other advertisers appear in the same searches and how often, replacing guesswork with a list.

A worked example

A hot tub dealer with one showroom on a highway strip, named after its town and the words hot tubs, found a competitor's ad above its name most times the owner searched.

The owner assumed it was deliberate and was ready to phone the competitor. The ad text never mentioned the dealer; it was a general offer on spas.

The person managing the dealer's AdWords account ran the preview tool. The competitor's ad appeared for almost any search containing the town and the words hot tubs, the dealer's name included.

That pattern pointed to broad matching, not targeting.

The dealer started a small campaign on its own name, with sitelinks to the showroom hours, service and current models, and completed its Google My Business listing with photographs and the right hours.

The competitor's ad still appears at times, now beneath the dealer's own. Nobody needed an angry phone call.

Your listing matters more than the ad

For a search on your name, the results that matter most are the ones you control: your own site and your listing on Google My Business.

Make sure your home page title states your business name plainly, so the result is obviously you. Make sure the listing has the right hours, phone number and photographs, and a run of recent reviews.

A searcher who sees your own ad, your website and a complete listing has three reasons to stay with you and one to wander.

Bidding on their names in return

The obvious retaliation is to bid on the competitor's name.

It is allowed under the same rules, but it is usually poor value. Your ad is less relevant to their name than theirs is, so each click costs more, and people searching for a named business mostly want that business.

The money does more on your own name, and on the searches where people have not yet chosen anyone.

The counter-case

Not every business needs to act.

If you search your name from your area over a week and see no competitor ads, a campaign on your own name may be unnecessary, and the budget is better spent elsewhere.

A business with a distinctive name that nobody shares, and a strong listing, loses little to an occasional ad above it.

But where competitors appear on your name regularly, a small campaign on your own name, alongside a complete listing, is the cheapest protection available.

What to do this week

  1. Search your name on a phone, from your area.
  2. Run the preview tool for a fuller picture.
  3. Read the competitor's ad text for your trademark.
  4. Check your own keywords for the same accident.
  5. Start a small campaign on your own name.
  6. Add sitelinks to your most-wanted pages.
  7. Complete your Google My Business listing.

Step five is the one that changes what searchers see. Everything else is diagnosis; your own ad at the top is what puts you back in front of your door.

A campaign on your own name needs its own budget so it never stops by midday, the problem covered in ads that run out of budget by noon.

Frequently asked questions

Can a competitor bid on my business name?

Generally, yes. AdWords does not normally restrict names or trademarks used as keywords. Using a trademark in the ad text itself can be restricted after a complaint.

Why does their ad appear on my name?

Sometimes deliberately. Often because broad keywords match ordinary words in your name, such as your town and your trade, so a search for you counts as a search for the trade.

Should I click their ad to cost them money?

No. Google filters out most repeated clicks as invalid, and it changes nothing. The Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool shows the results instead.

Is an ad on my own name worth it?

Where competitors appear on your name, usually. It costs little per click because your site is the most relevant result, and it takes the top position.

What if their ad uses my trademark?

The trademark owner can file a complaint with Google, which may restrict that use in the ad text. For anything more, ask a lawyer who handles trademarks.

Should I bid on competitors' names in return?

Usually not. Your ad is less relevant to their name than theirs, so clicks cost more, and people searching for a named business mostly want that business.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Competitor showing up on your name?

Tell us your business name and area. We will check what searchers see and whether a small campaign is worth running.

Start a Conversation