Using Competitor Brand Keywords For Google Ads Campaign

Using competitor brand names as keywords is an effective strategy that allows businesses to win the competition and drive potential clients to their website instead of them purchasing from another company. However, this approach may have a lot of disadvantages and hidden obstacles. In this article, we’ll explore how to overcome them and whether you really need to use competitor terms for marketing.

TL;DR Summary

• Using competitor brand names in Google Ads is a common strategy when one company bids on keywords related to another brand.
• Brand terms can help your business reach a high-intent audience, but they may also lead to legal, financial, and brand reputation issues.
• Your ad group or campaign may benefit from bidding on competitor keywords if you want to introduce a new, similar product, intercept high demand, or suggest a better value or pricing.

Risks & Considerations

When you decide to run ads and bid on competitor terms, it’s important to think about the issues it may cause. Here are the most common ones:

Legal / Policy Risk

Google generally allows bidding on competitor brand names, but using a competitor’s trademark in your ad text or on your landing page can violate rules. This may lead to ad disapprovals or even trademark complaints.

It can also be tricky if you provide false or deceptive information about your competitor. At first, they may file a complaint with Google, and later may take legal action if you don’t fix the issue right away.

Financial Risk

Bidding on a competitor brand name as a keyword may be rather expensive. For high-volume businesses, competition might be rather high, which drives CPC and can lead to lower rankings. Also, this strategy may cause a high bounce rate because if people look for a specific name in their Google Ads, some of them may leave the site once they see it’s not the brand they were looking for.

Brand & User Perception

When you bid on competitor brand keywords, always remember that some users may start unconsciously associating you with another company. Others might believe that your promotion is too aggressive, as you use competitor targeting. Finally, if your competitor faces severe reputation problems, people may believe that you’re somehow connected to it.

When Can I Use Competitor Brand Keywords in Google Ads?

There are still cases when using a competitor’s brand name may be beneficial and drive a lot of traffic and sales. These are the main reasons to try this approach within your Google Ads strategy.

Intercepting High Intent

You can use competitors’ names as keywords if they have high volume and low competition. When you see that there's a high chance of getting a lot of traffic from this query, maybe it's worth bidding on a competitor’s brand keywords. But make sure you don’t use a trademarked name. Instead, target it only as a keyword to stay compliant while still reaching users who are comparing brands.

Defensive Strategy

If the competitor campaign is targeted at your business and they’re running Google Ads to attract your clients, it may be helpful to bid on both your and your competitor's brand names. Bidding on your own brand guarantees that you capture some of the high-intent traffic that would otherwise go to them. And bidding on the competitor using your brand name can help you intercept potential customers who are already looking for a similar product or service.

New Market Entry

When entering a new market, competitor keywords can help improve brand awareness and introduce your product to the audience searching for your competitors quickly. It may be especially effective if the price of the product is lower than your competitor’s or if you provide more value to the client. Just make sure you ​​use your brand advantages to promote, instead of directly comparing two options.

Other Reasons

You might also use competitor keywords to test messaging, highlight advantages, or compare offers. The rule is simple: stay honest, focus on your value, and avoid misleading claims.

Setup: Step-by-Step

Here’s how to structure a campaign targeting competitor brand keywords safely and effectively:

1. Risk Check

Trademarks as keywords shouldn’t be used in your Google ad copy. Also, you need to avoid placing competitors’ brand names on your landing page. While this may sound simple, in reality, it can save you from many legislative problems.

2. Keyword Research & Match Types

Once you decide to bid on your Google Ads competitor, make sure you choose the right keywords.

• Start with an exact phrase match. This helps you control which searches trigger your ads and prevents irrelevant traffic.
  
• Check search volume and intent. Make sure the competitor business name has enough searches and that these are actually potential customers.
  
• Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI). DKI can improve relevance by inserting the user’s search term into your headline, but never use it with trademarked competitors’ brand names. Limit DKI to general supporting keywords, not competitors’ brand keywords.
  
• Exclude irrelevant queries. Add negative keywords for customer service searches or support requests for your competitor.

3. Campaign Structure, Bidding & Budgeting

Campaigns where you include your competitor’s name should run separately from generic campaigns to monitor performance accurately. This might help you see whether they really bring many potential clients or simply waste your budget.

Focus on high-intent searches and set goals, like clicks, leads, or conversions. You can use manual bidding at first, then switch to automated strategies once you have enough data. This way, you’ll be able to collect analytics and make data-driven decisions. Also, test one company’s brand name at a time, so you know exactly who brings results.

Use Finup VCC for Google Ads to manage budgets safely and efficiently without risking overspending. You can issue a new card to connect it to your Google Ads account immediately, analyze expenses with advanced analytics, and enjoy high spending limits, so you don’t need to worry about finances.

4. Compelling Ad Copy

We’ve already talked about risks for businesses using the competitor’s name in their ad copy. However, there are ways to win the competition without violating any rules.

Highlight your product benefits without mentioning competitor trademarks. Use something like “Looking for [product type]? See why users switch to [your brand]” instead of naming the competitor directly. Don’t include your competitor’s name in this phrase and avoid being misleading.

5. Landing Page That Converts

Your landing page should stay compliant but still feel relevant to people who searched for a competitor’s brand. The goal is to differentiate your brand and lead them to purchase without using the competitor ad name at all.

• Focus on benefits, features, and why people choose you.
• Instead of referencing the competitor, describe the type of product you provide.
• Reviews, ratings, and short success stories help people feel confident.

6. Key KPIs You Need to Measure

Analytics will help you see how well your ads perform or whether you need to change the strategy. Track key metrics: 

• Click-through rate (CTR)
• Cost per click (CPC)
• Bounce rate
• The number of conversions
• Return on investment (ROI)

7. Optimization & Scaling

When you already have some data, it's time to optimize campaigns. Identify keywords and ads that bring the best results, and give them more budget. Turn off low-performing campaigns or test small changes, like headlines, calls to action, or visuals, to see what improves performance.

Scale effective promotions carefully. You always need to keep track of the most important metrics and only increase budgets or expand to new keywords when results stay consistent.

What to Watch Out For

There are several key considerations to keep in mind when bidding on competitor names.

• High bounce rates. People don’t search for your brand, so they may enter your website and leave it immediately.
• Low-quality scores that increase your CPC. If your ads aren’t closely relevant to the search intent, Google may charge more per click.
• Trademark complaints. Avoid using a competitor's name in your ad copy, as this can trigger disapproval or legal issues.
• Overspending on competitive keywords. This strategy always requires consistent ROI tracking. Otherwise, you may spend all your budget without getting real results.

Alternative Strategy

Now you know the answer to “Can I use competitors’ names in Google Ads?” But maybe, instead, you can use your name and attract warm leads already interested in your products.

• Look for keywords related to your product or service that people use. To do this, check the search volume and intent, and select terms that indicate the user is likely to convert.
• Try launching exact, phrase, and broad match types.
• Create ad text and visuals that focus on solving customers’ problems.
• Choose a bidding strategy and create a VCC to manage your budget.
• Once you have enough data, optimize a campaign and scale it.

Key Takeaways

Competitor keywords can be a great source of traffic. But if they feel it is risky, you can also try bidding on your brand name. Focus on product categories, features, or benefit-based keywords instead of competitor names. Retargeting people who visited competitor websites can also be effective. Use Finup VCC for Google Ads for budget control to ensure safe and flexible payment management.

FAQ

Is bidding on competitor brand names allowed in Google Ads?

Yes, Google allows bidding on a competitor name in Google Ads, but avoid using the trademarked name in your promotion if you don’t have permission. If you do, Google may disapprove the campaign, and there’s a high chance of getting a complaint from the competitive company for using their name in your ad.

Can I include a competitor’s name in my ad copy?

It’s better not to use competitor brand names in ad copy. If it’s registered on Google, your promotion will be disapproved. You won’t be banned on Google Ads, but the platform won’t let you promote that specific creative. Instead, you can write about your product’s benefits and features without direct comparison.

How do I avoid trademark complaints?

To avoid trademark complaints, you need to do thorough preparation before launching the campaign.

• Ensure that your brand name and logo aren’t too similar to those of another company on the market.
• Avoid using a competitor brand name in your ad copy. 
• Check trademarks in your region before targeting any brand terms.
• Monitor ad disapprovals and fix the issue right away.

Should I run brand defense alongside conquesting?

Yes, brand defense allows you to outperform competitors bidding on your brand name. While you may try to compete for traffic using conquesting campaigns, defending your brand ensures that potential customers searching for you see your official ads first.