Stop Competitors Bidding Your Name

Competitors bidding on your name is legal. Stop them: 95%+ impression share, cover all variations, make conquesting unprofitable. $5-15/click defense.

Competitors are bidding on your firm name. When potential clients search for you specifically, they see competitor ads first. You can’t stop it completely. But you can make it unprofitable for them.

The Hard Truth First

You cannot completely prevent competitors from bidding on your brand name as a keyword. Google allows it. Bing allows it. It’s legal as long as they don’t use your trademarked name in their actual ad copy.

What you can do is make it expensive, ineffective, and ultimately not worth their while.

The 6-Step Protection Process

1

Own Your Brand Terms

Bid on your own name. Your paid ad + organic listing = maximum real estate. You have a quality score advantage (lower costs, higher positions). Branded clicks cost $3-15, nothing compared to losing a case worth thousands.

2

Cover All Variations

Firm name (exact), firm name + location, firm name + practice area, attorney names, misspellings, “reviews,” “phone number,” “near me.” Every variation you don’t cover is an opportunity for competitors.

3

Build Defensive Campaigns

Separate branded from non-branded. High daily budgets for 100% impression share. Aggressive bids on exact match. Brand-specific landing pages matching CTV messaging.

4

Monitor Competitor Activity

Check auction insights report. Regular incognito searches monthly. Google Alerts for your firm name. SEMrush/SpyFu for competitor targeting data.

5

Consider Trademark Filing

Trademark doesn’t prevent keyword bidding, but it prevents competitors from using your name in their ad copy. Google will remove ads that include your trademarked name in text.

6

Make Conquesting Unprofitable

95%+ impression share. First position consistently. Strong CTR. Quick page load and conversion. Eventually, competitors realize they’re spending money without results.

Option A

Option B

What Works

Google trademark complaint for ad copy violations. Competitors using your name in their text can be reported and removed.

What Doesn't Work

Trademark infringement claims for keyword bidding (it’s not infringement). Cease and desist letters (keyword bidding is legal). Bar association complaints (unless ads are actually misleading).

The legal route is mostly a dead end for keyword bidding. Competition through better campaigns is more effective.

Budget Allocation

Rule of thumb: 5-10% of your CTV budget should go to branded search protection.

BUDGET BENCHMARKS
$1-2K branded search budget for $20K CTV spend
$2-4K branded search budget for $40K CTV spend
$3.75-7.5K branded search budget for $75K CTV spend
$5-10K branded search budget for $100K CTV spend

This assumes CTV is generating meaningful branded search volume. If you’re not running awareness advertising, branded search spend can be lower.

Measuring Success

Protection Metrics

  • + Impression share: Target 95%+ on exact match brand terms
  • + Average position: Should be 1.0 or close to it
  • + Competitor presence: Track how often they appear over time

Efficiency Metrics

  • − Branded search conversion rate should remain stable or improve
  • − CTV-to-lead efficiency should improve as you capture more searches
  • − 40% more likely to visit your website after CTV exposure

The Coordination Factor

Branded search protection is most important when you’re running awareness advertising. CTV creates branded search demand. Protection captures it.

Viewers exposed to CTV campaigns are 40% more likely to visit an advertiser’s website. Make sure that visit comes through your door, not a competitor’s.

See CTV and Search Coordination for the complete integration strategy.

References