A competitor buying your business name as a Google Ads keyword is generally permitted, and there is usually no way to stop it. What they cannot do, once you object, is put your name in the ad text itself. For most small trades businesses the right response is not a defensive ad campaign but owning your own first page of results.
What is actually happening
You search your own business name and above your listing sits an ad for a competitor. It feels like theft, and it is jarring the first time.
Mechanically, they have added your business name to their keyword list. When someone searches it, their ad becomes eligible to appear. Your organic listing is still there; it has just been pushed down.
The rule most people get backwards
There are two separate questions and they have different answers.
Can they bid on your name as a keyword?
Generally yes. Google's advertising policy permits advertisers to bid on competitors' trademarked terms as keywords, and this is treated as ordinary competition rather than misuse. The main regional exception is the EU and EFTA area, where Google may restrict trademarks as keywords.
So in Canada, a competitor bidding on your name is playing by the rules as written.
Can they put your name in the ad itself?
This is where you have leverage. Google restricts the use of a trademark in ad text when the trademark owner submits a valid complaint. Enforcement is complaint-driven: Google does not monitor for this, so nothing happens until someone reports it.
Complaints generally require you to identify the specific advertisers, the relevant countries and URLs, and your trademark rights. There are narrow exceptions for resellers and certain informational or descriptive uses.
The practical summary: the keyword is usually untouchable, the ad copy is not.
One more distinction worth holding onto. Platform approval is not a legal ruling. Courts assess whether consumers are likely to be confused about who they are dealing with, which is a different and broader question than whether Google allowed the ad to run.
Where small businesses differ from the advice online
Almost everything written about this assumes a brand with a legal team and a registered trademark. A two-van plumbing company is in a different position in three ways.
- You may not have a registered trademark. A complaint rests on demonstrable rights. Unregistered names can carry some protection through use, but registration makes the process considerably more straightforward. In Canada, registration goes through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, and it is neither instant nor free.
- The traffic at stake may be small. If forty people a month search your name, the arithmetic looks very different than for a business with forty thousand.
- Your time is the scarce resource. Monitoring, filing, and following up costs hours you do not have, and the outcome may be that one competitor stops while another starts.
Working out whether it matters
Before doing anything, establish the size of the problem.
- Confirm it is happening. Search your name from a phone not signed into your accounts. Ads vary by location and time, so check more than once.
- Check whether they used your name in the ad text. This determines whether you have a complaint or merely an irritation.
- Estimate the volume. Search Console shows roughly how many people reach you by searching your name.
- Ask new customers. If nobody mentions nearly calling someone else, the practical damage may be smaller than it feels.
Worth knowing that someone searching your exact business name usually has already decided. They typically scroll past a stranger's ad, and the well-documented tendency of people to distrust the ad block works in your favour here.
Your options, honestly assessed
Do nothing
Frequently the correct answer, and the one no agency will suggest because there is nothing to bill for it. If the traffic is small, they are not using your name in the copy, and customers are still arriving, then the cost of responding exceeds the damage.
Own your entire first page
The cheapest genuinely effective defence. If someone searching your name finds your website, your Google Business Profile with reviews, and a couple of legitimate profiles, a single competitor ad sits in a crowd of you. This work also pays off in every other way, unlike defensive advertising.
File a complaint, if they used your name in the ad
Worth doing where it applies, since it is the one lever that reliably works. Gather screenshots with dates, identify the advertiser, and be ready to evidence your rights in the name.
Bid on your own name defensively
Effective and slightly galling, since you are now paying for traffic that was free. Brand terms are usually inexpensive because your own site is highly relevant to them. Treat it as a temporary measure with a defined budget, and review whether it is actually changing anything after a month.
Retaliate
Bidding on their name in return is permitted and occasionally satisfying. It also tends to escalate, and you both end up paying for traffic you previously had at no cost. Consider whether you want that arrangement to become permanent.
The related problems worth checking while you are there
Brand-name searches surface other issues that are often more damaging than a competitor ad:
- Directory listings outranking you. Frequently these carry outdated details and competitor advertising alongside your name.
- Old profiles you forgot. A dormant social account or a stale listing with a disconnected number.
- Duplicate Google Business Profiles. Often created years ago, sometimes holding reviews you do not know you have.
- Review pages you have never claimed. Worth knowing what people see.
The short version
They are allowed to bid on your name. They are not allowed to write it into their ad once you object. And for most trades businesses, the strongest and cheapest response is to make your own name return a page full of you, which is worth doing regardless of whether anyone is bidding on it.
Related: Google Business Profile vs your website covers the assets that make that first page yours.
Frequently asked questions
Can a competitor legally bid on my business name in Google Ads?
Generally yes. Google's advertising policy permits bidding on competitors' trademarked terms as keywords and treats it as normal competition. The main regional exception is the EU and EFTA area, where Google may restrict trademarks as keywords.
Can a competitor use my business name in their ad text?
Not once you object. Google restricts trademark use in ad text when the trademark owner files a valid complaint, though enforcement is complaint-driven so nothing happens until it is reported. Narrow exceptions exist for resellers and certain informational or descriptive uses.
Do I need a registered trademark to file a complaint?
A complaint rests on demonstrable trademark rights, and registration makes the process considerably more straightforward. Unregistered names can carry some protection through use, but the practical path is easier with registration, which in Canada goes through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
Should I bid on my own business name to defend it?
Sometimes, as a temporary measure with a defined budget. Brand terms are usually inexpensive because your own site is highly relevant. The drawback is that you are paying for traffic you previously received free, so review after a month whether it changed anything.
How do I find out if someone is bidding on my brand name?
Search your business name from a phone that is not signed into your accounts, and repeat it at different times, since ads vary by location and time of day. Advertising transparency tools and competitive reporting inside Google Ads can also show which advertisers appear alongside your terms.
Is a competitor ad on my brand name actually costing me customers?
Often less than it feels. Someone searching your exact business name has usually already decided, and many people scroll past ads. Estimate the search volume for your name and ask new customers how they found you before spending money to respond.
West Coast Media Solutions Inc. builds websites for trades and service businesses across Canada. This article reflects patterns we see in practice; your own results depend on your trade, market, and customers.
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