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A competitor can bid on your business name in Google Ads, and Google allows it: its trademark policy says it will not restrict trademarks used as keywords. What you can stop is a rival using your name in the ad itself, if you hold a trade mark. For most local firms the better answer is cheaper: your own ad on your name, and a Business Profile with strong reviews on the same page.
Why does a competitor's ad show when people search your name?
Because they chose your name as a keyword, or their broad settings caught it. Brand bidding means advertising on a business's name, your own or a rival's, and in Google Ads it is allowed.
Say Grace runs a commercial cleaning firm in Croydon, called Hollins Cleaning for this example. A rival adds "hollins cleaning" to their keywords. Now when an office manager who was given Grace's name searches for it, the rival's ad can appear above Grace's website. It is not always deliberate: broad keyword settings or Google's automated campaigns can show a rival on your name without them ever typing it in.
How to see who is bidding on your name
Search your name as a customer would, on a phone and a computer, at different times of day, and screenshot anything you find with the date showing. Then look the advertiser up in Google's Ads Transparency Center, which Google says you can search "using the advertiser or website name". It also shows who pays for the ads.
If you run your own ads, the Auction insights report lists other advertisers in the same auctions. Google's help page on Auction insights, checked on 12 November 2026, says it "doesn't show insights when impression share is less than 10%", so it will not catch everything.
What does Google's trademark policy allow in the UK?
Google allows your name as a keyword but may restrict it in the ad text. Its trademark policy, checked on 12 November 2026, lists "Using trademarks as keywords" under "Google Ads will not restrict" and "Using trademarks in an ad from a direct competitor" under what it will restrict.
| What the rival does | Allowed by Google's policy? | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Bids on your name as a keyword, with an ad in their own name | Yes | Ask them to stop, run your own ad, strengthen your Business Profile |
| Puts your trade mark in their headline or ad text | Restricted after a complaint | File a trademark complaint with Google |
| Writes an ad suggesting they are you or connected to you | Restricted as confusing or misleading | Complain to Google; take legal advice if customers are misled |
| A reseller or information site uses your name | Allowed in some cases | Google's policy lists exceptions for these |
If your name shows in a rival's headline, it may be a setting rather than a choice. Google's help page on keyword insertion says it can "automatically update your ads with the keywords in your ad group that caused your ads to show".
Bidding on a rival's name is not automatically a trade mark infringement in UK law either. In Interflora v Marks and Spencer, the Court of Appeal in 2014 sent the case back for a retrial and set out the question: can a reasonably well-informed and reasonably attentive internet user tell that the ad comes from the advertiser, not the trade mark owner or a business connected to it? If customers are genuinely confused, speak to a trade mark solicitor. This guide is not legal advice.
How do you file a trademark complaint with Google?
Use the complaint link on Google's trademark policy page. Google says it "will only accept complaints against specific advertisers identified on the basis of their URL(s)", and only where owners have "demonstrated trademark rights".
- Hold a trade mark. The simplest proof is a registered UK trade mark. GOV.UK, checked on 12 November 2026, says registering one "costs at least" two hundred and five pounds and usually takes around 3 to 4 months.
- Collect evidence: screenshots of the ad, the search, the date and the advertiser's website address.
- Submit through the policy page, naming the advertiser by website, and keep a copy.
Check first that your name can be protected at all. GOV.UK says a trade mark cannot "describe the goods or services it will relate to" or "be too common and non-distinctive". A name like "Croydon Commercial Cleaners" describes the service and the place, so it is unlikely to be registered, and a rival bidding on those words is simply bidding on the service. A distinctive name, like Hollins Cleaning in our example, stands a much better chance.
A short, polite email to the rival often works too. Many local firms do not know their agency or Google's automated settings are showing them on a neighbour's name.
Should you bid on your own business name?
Usually yes, if a rival is showing on it. Your ad is the most relevant answer to a search for your own name, so it tends to rank well for less money and puts you back at the top. It is a waste when nobody else bids on your name and your own listings already fill the top of the page.
There is no rule that the owner wins. Google's help page on Ad Rank, checked on 12 November 2026, lists six factors, including "Your bid" and "The quality of your ads and landing page", and says what you pay "is often less" than your bid. Relevance helps you, but a rival who bids enough can still show above you.
Back to Grace. Say 150 people a month search "hollins cleaning" and one in ten clicks the rival's ad: 15 people a month who already wanted her, looking at someone else. If one office contract is worth three thousand pounds a year to her, losing even one hurts. Now assume her own ad gets 60 of those clicks at fifty pence each: thirty pounds a month to keep her name on top. These are made-up figures; her own account would show the real ones within a few weeks.
When it is a waste
- Nobody else is bidding. If no rival appears over a few weeks, the ad mostly buys clicks you would have had free.
- It flatters the report. People searching your name already chose you, so those clicks turn into enquiries easily. If someone runs your ads, ask for your name reported separately. Our guide on who should run your Google Ads covers what a fair report includes.
- You keep searching for your own ad. Google's help page on finding your ad says that if you repeatedly look for it without clicking, "you might stop seeing it entirely". Use the Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool in your account instead.
A small campaign on your own name is covered in our guide on how to set up Google Ads.
Is your Business Profile the free defence?
Yes. When someone searches your name, your Google Business Profile can show on the same page as the rival's ad, with your reviews, photos, phone number and directions. Google's help page says you can manage how your business shows on Maps and Search "at no charge".
A rival's ad says what they want to say; your profile shows what your customers said. A full profile with recent reviews and replies makes it obvious which business the searcher meant, and Google's page on local ranking says "More reviews and positive ratings can help your business's local ranking." For steady ways to collect them, see how to get more Google reviews.
Common questions
Can you give me an example of brand bidding?
A London electrician bids on the name of a better-known rival electrician nearby, so their ad appears when someone searches for that rival. The other kind is bidding on your own name, so your ad sits at the top when customers look for you. Both are allowed in Google Ads; putting a rival's trade mark in the ad text may not be.
Is it legal for a competitor to bid on my business name in the UK?
Usually, yes. Google's policy does not restrict trademarks as keywords, and UK courts have asked whether the ad leaves a reasonable searcher unsure who is behind it. An ad clearly in the rival's own name is unlikely to be a problem. One suggesting it is you, or connected to you, may be; take legal advice if customers are confused.
Should I bid on my competitors' names in return?
Usually not. Your ad is less relevant to a search for their name, so each click tends to cost more, and people searching for a named firm mostly want that firm. It can also start a bidding war on both names that only Google wins. Spend that money on searches for your services instead.
What to do this week
Search your business name on your phone and screenshot any rival ads. If you find one, look the advertiser up in the Ads Transparency Center and send them a polite note. Check your Business Profile is complete and ask your last five happy customers for a review. If rivals keep showing, run a small campaign on your own name for a month and see what it costs.
Our guide to Google Ads for small businesses covers the rest. If you already run ads and want to know what your name is costing you, our free PPC audit is a hand review of your account on a 20 minute call.