Imagine for a moment that you are on a break at work and you decide to search your company name in Google.
When the search results are returned and display on your screen you are shocked to see that a competing company has not only purchased your company name for one of their advertisements, but it also displays higher on the page than your website’s organic rankings!
At this point you have just learned that your company brand has been hijacked by a competitor.
What is Brand Hijacking in Google Ads?
Brand hijacking is exactly what you would think it is. A competitor stealthily buys your company name in the Google Ads auction and assigns one of their advertisements to it hoping that they can divert website visits, phone calls, online purchases and more to their website instead of yours.
In competitive industries such as legal, ecommerce, financial services, home improvement and more this is a very common practice among Google advertisers. However, the current policies in place allow for this to occur and sometimes without impunity.
What Does It Cost You When Your Brand Is Hijacked?
Having your brand hijacked in Google ads for an extended period of time can cause the following to occur for your business:
- The loss of search impressions and website visits from new and repeat customers
- The loss of inbound lead generation and online purchases
- Damage via infringement to your company brand
If you are curious about the financial impact of this happening, here are some additional things to consider:
- Think about the overall search volume for your brand keywords under which you find competitor advertisements
- If the advertisement is in the top position of the search results, you can be fairly certain that it is getting a significant amount of attention in the form of impressions, website visits, and possibly sales
- Think about your own website visit-to-lead or visit-to-sale conversion rates
- Do some kitchen table math and take your conversion rate X your average sale amount and this will provide a rough estimate on the direct cost of your brand being hijacked by competitors
How to Combat Ad Hijacking?
If you suspect that your brand has been hijacked by a competitor in Google Ads, here are some simple and quick steps to take to begin addressing the issue:
- Determine the important keywords that describe your band, such as your company name, primary services, trademarked services and products, etc.
- Search these terms in Google or utilize keyword monitoring tools to determine their overall activity
- Determine if competitors are using your branded search terms in their advertisements. Or you can use the Free Ad Check tool from GetRank.
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If you discover that your brand is in fact being hijacked in Google Ads, don’t panic. GetRank is truly a risk-free solution for protecting your brand in Google ads because we offer a 30-day money back guarantee, your satisfaction is guaranteed.
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