Brand hijacking or “brandjacking” is the practice of leveraging another business’s brand name for use in one’s own marketing.
Digital marketers should learn everything they can about brandjacking in order to:
- Keep their brand safe
- Know how to do it if their marketing department deems it necessary
This guide is the ultimate explainer of the phenomenon of online brand hijacking. We’ll talk about what it means, how a brand can do it, how a company may be able to prevent it from happening to them, and what to do after experiencing a brand hijack.
What is Brandjacking?
Brandjacking can be a difficult concept to fully comprehend because “brand” can encompass many different things, especially in the often-nebulous world of the internet. Nevertheless, several clear situations constitute brandjacking. While specific statistics on brandjacking incidents in 2024 or 2025 are scarce, likely due to underreporting or proprietary data, the practice continues to be a significant concern in digital marketing.
Examples of Brandjacking
Here are some of the most common examples of brandjacking:
Brand name mentions
Writing a blog post, article, or any type of content that contains a competitor’s brand name is perhaps the most common and simplest form of brandjacking. If a company’s content is authoritative and well-optimized, there’s a possibility that it may rank ahead of a competing brand’s website when someone searches for the brand name.
One example is creating a list-type article, also known as a “listicle”, about a particular topic within a specific niche or geographical region. Let’s say a company’s main product is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) applicant tracking system (ATS) and they’re creating a post about the best SaaS ATS on the market today. By mentioning other ATS software brand names in their listicle, a company increases the chances that their own website will appear on search results if someone looks up the competing brands online.
Social media piggybacking
Social media piggybacking, or piggyback marketing, is drafting on another brand’s viral posts and/or hashtags on social media platforms or social networks in order to redirect the traffic to their own channels. It can also mean posting about, interacting with, and sending messages to that brand’s intended audience.
A real-world example of social media piggybacking happened in 2017 when a teenage boy messaged the official Wendy’s Twitter account to ask for a year’s worth of chicken nuggets. Wendy’s playfully replied that they would – if he could give them 18 million retweets.
A recent example from May 2023 involved brands piggybacking on a viral X post by Ryanair, which humorously roasted a passenger’s complaint about legroom. Companies like easyJet and even non-airline brands like Oreo jumped in with witty replies and promotions, leveraging Ryanair’s viral moment to boost their own visibility.
The incident started hundreds of piggyback marketing attempts from all over the internet. The most prominent brand was United Airlines, which promised the boy a free roundtrip flight to any Wendy’s around the world if he achieved his goal.
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is using a domain name or social media handle that includes the competitor’s brand name or something close to the brand in order to appear on their audience’s search engine results.
This also includes registering as a trademark a brand that is not one’s own or creating social media pages with names similar to competitor brands.
A notable example from November 2022 involved a fake X account impersonating Eli Lilly & Co., posting ‘insulin is free now,’ which misled followers and impacted the company’s stock value. Another case in 2023 saw a fraudulent Facebook page mimicking King Power, a major retailer, to trick consumers.
A company may buy multiple domain names that resemble their own well-known brand to prevent cybersquatting, but this usually just ends up benefiting those who sell domain name registrations. Clever cybersquatters know how to use the power of Google to maximum advantage.
Google Ads brandjacking: bidding on search keywords
Google Ads brandjacking refers to bidding on Google Ads keywords that include another brand’s name.
In a nutshell, brandjacking redirects “Brand A”‘s traffic to the properties that “Brand B” controls so that Brand B can benefit from it.
Brand hijacking can have side effects for both the brand owner as well as the hijacker. That said, doing it effectively means that a brandjacker can reap benefits when it comes to their marketing efforts.
Businesses can minimize potential damages when another company attempts to use its own brand to market against them. The more businesses know about the process of brandjacking, the better they can protect themselves against the practice.
What is Brandjacking on Google Ads?
Brandjacking can take many different forms, and each one can be effective in its own right.
However, one of the most effective ways to gain traffic from another brand’s name is through bidding on those brand name keywords on Google Ads.
Google Ads works on a bidding system. Traditionally, a Google Ads advertiser will bid for keywords that directly relate to their business proposition. For example, a medical device engineering business may bid on the term “medical device engineering companies.”
The presumption is that people searching for those words on Google have high buyer intent.
There’s another way that companies can ensure that potential searchers go to their website: they can bid on their own brand name.
Brand names are “high buyer intent” searches, which means that individuals who search a brand name are typically doing so because they already know it exists, and they want something they know that company provides, be it products or services.
Therefore, bidding for a competitor’s brand on Google potentially redirects a percentage of these high-intent searches away from them. Then, when their audience searches for their brand name, the brandjacking company’s website may show up high in the search results, resulting in their prospective customers potentially becoming theirs.
Is Brandjacking Legal?
It may seem surprising, but brand hijacking isn’t illegal.
In fact, in 2011, there was a United States Court Ruling about this exact matter.
The case started when one firm placed a bid on the other firm’s brand name on Google Ads. Whenever someone searched for something like “XYZ firm” on Google, the “ABC firm” website and map location would show up on the ads instead.
The first party took action, calling it an unfair violation of privacy. That said, the second party, also the brand name bidder, won using a freedom of speech defense.
The defense’s expert witness testified that such hijacking tactics have these benefits:
- Gives consumers–or in this case, clients–greater freedom to choose which company they want
- Encourages competition by allowing smaller firms with more skilled advertising to compete against large companies
- Is appropriately aggressive for business competition
This means that brandjacking has been ruled legal and Google can “sell” searches for a brand name to whoever bids the highest.
As of February 2025, this ruling remains in effect, with no major legal challenges altering the legality of bidding on competitor brand names in Google Ads. However, trademark misuse in ad copy can still lead to disputes.
Pros and Cons of Bidding on a Competitor’s Brand in Google Ads
With brandjacking still legal in 2025, companies may see it as an appealing tactic to gain an edge. However, legality doesn’t guarantee success—its effectiveness hinges on context. Recent trends show mixed outcomes, so weighing the pros and cons is crucial before diving in.
Benefits
There are some obvious advantages to a company from a successful brandjacking initiative on Google Ads.
1. Reaches similar customers: Showing up in searches for a rival’s name puts a company in front of people already hunting for related products or services, ripe for a better offer.
2. Boosts brand visibility: Ads popping up for a competitor’s searches introduce the company to new eyes, even if the rival’s better known.
3. Taps cheaper clicks: Many brands skip bidding on their own names, leaving room for others to snag cost-effective ad spots.
4. Sparks sharper rivalry: When competitors spot their traffic being siphoned, they often step up their own game, pushing everyone to fight harder.
Disadvantages
Brandjacking might sound somewhat appealing, but it’s not always advantageous. A company that does brandjacking may face negative consequences as well, so it’s good practice to weigh the advantages and disadvantages before engaging in it.
Bidding wars cost money
Bidding on competitor keywords on Google Ads requires sufficient capital for additional expenses.
Companies also bid on their own keywords to prevent an easy takeover from their competitors, adding to the expense of engaging in brandjacking. Companies not bidding on their own brand name leaves competitors free to bid on it for cheap, which would negate the advantages of brandjacking in the first place.
In that case, the two companies might as well just switch keywords!
Additionally, if a competitor is also implementing expensive advertising campaigns, a bidding war may ensue. This will increase the price per keyword due to the sudden demand from both competitors.
It also means having to allocate a significantly bigger budget than normal–it’s like managing two brands instead of one.
Potential traffic may be limited
While hijacking a brand on Google Ads may seem like it has plenty of advantages, the truth is that customer conversion is far from guaranteed.
Brandjacking might work to divert traffic away from a competitor – but only for specific types of searchers. When loyal customers of that brand search for them, it’s likely because they intend to buy from that store and that store alone.
This means that a brandjacking campaign will usually only divert the traffic of undecided or merely curious individuals who are not loyal to a competitor’s brand – and who may not even be thinking of buying something right now.
Therefore, companies do their due diligence to decide whether or not Google Ad brandjacking will bear fruit.
Fosters bad business relationships
Lastly, brandjacking can reduce the chance of having a healthy business relationship with the competitor’s name that was hijacked.
Publicly bidding on a competitor’s brand keywords is an aggressive move. They may retaliate, and if their efforts are serious enough, the company that made the first move may suffer lost revenue if they’re in a weaker position.
They may also reduce their chances for positive networking, especially if the industry is a tight-knit niche.
How to Bid on Competitor’s Brand in Google Ads the Right Way
Companies considering hijacking competitor brands need to understand how to maximize the benefits while reducing the downsides of such a campaign.
Here are steps that a company can follow to profitably hijack a competitor’s brand.
1. Secure own assets
The first thing a company has to do to improve its brand management is to secure its own brand’s identity on Google Ads.
This means investing in some market research to determine which of their ads and keywords convert the most.
They might also want to consult a search engine optimization (SEO) expert to learn the specifics of preventing potential competitors from hijacking their brand on Google Ads.
2. Know when to bid on competitor brands
Brand hijacking might be generally profitable – but this doesn’t mean that a company needs to do it every single time.
Therefore, knowing when to bid on a competitor is just as important for companies who are considering engaging in brandjacking.
One way companies do this is by looking at their business goals and budget. If everything looks good, do they still have a reason to take over another brand’s keywords?
Moreover, if a company doesn’t have the budget, they may think twice.
Brand hijacking can get expensive fast, and if a company doesn’t have the capital for it, they could just as quickly end up on the losing side.
The best time for brandjacking could be when a company is falling short of its business goals but still has some budget to spare.
3. Choose the right competitor brand to hijack
One of the most critical mistakes digital advertisers make is not identifying the correct competitors.
For example, a local restaurant doesn’t have to compete with McDonald’s or other big-name fast food joints. While it’s roughly in the same industry, they’re in an entirely different league. They’re not the ones taking the smaller business’s customers away.
Instead, it would be best if they looked at other small local restaurants.
At the same time, companies generally only try to take traffic away from businesses that they feel they have an actual competitive advantage over, whether in terms of prices, quality, or customer service.
After all, nobody wants to be all bark and no bite.
4. Aggressively bid on mobile
Mobile is playing an increasingly significant role in traffic and conversion strategies, so companies often bid aggressively in that channel.
This is especially true for local businesses.
Intent can be quite different on mobile. When people search for something on their phone, the chances of them buying something are much higher than on desktop.
Therefore, a company interested in brandjacking may allocate some resources to researching and taking over mobile phone traffic.
5. Take a multi-channel approach
Hijacking a competitor brand’s keywords on Google Ads is an effective strategy. But if a company wants to take a holistic approach, it can also hijack a brand on the social media frontier.
Social media brandjacking is an entirely different type of campaign. If a company wants to maximize its brandjacking initiatives, they’re likely going to want to dominate the social media scene as well.
Protecting From Brand Hijacking
Even if a company doesn’t want to conduct brand hijacking itself, it’s still beneficial to know everything about it to prevent others from engaging in the practice against them. But that’s not all – there are also concrete steps that companies can take to protect themselves from brand hijacking.
In 2025, a key strategy to combat brand hijacking involves proactive monitoring with AI tools. Companies can use platforms like Brandwatch or Hootsuite Insights to track mentions of their brand across social media and the web in real-time, catching unauthorized uses early and responding swiftly.
1. Send out a “cease and desist” order
The first thing a company can do is initiate a dialogue using a cease and desist order, which is a letter written by an attorney warning the recipient that legal action may be taken if they don’t stop engaging in a particular activity.
Brand hijacking on Google Ads is legal, so, technically, they’re not doing anything wrong. It’s also true that a cease and desist order may not do anything to dissuade their efforts.
Nevertheless, this first course of action humanizes a company’s struggle and sends a message that they’re not going to tolerate brandjacking if it goes on for long. Sending out a cease and desist order has the dual effect of taking the high road with competitors while simultaneously asserting authority.
It’s recommended to give other parties a reasonable period–no more than a week, ideally less–to stop the attack.
2. File a trademark complaint
If a company’s brand name is trademarked, it’s possible to file a complaint with Google Ads for trademark abuse.
If the complaining company compiles the necessary documentation and dialogue with Google Ads – Google is likely to take action. Keep in mind that this is unlikely to curb all infringement activity outright, but it can reduce it significantly.
3. Aggressively bid on one’s own brand name on Google Ads
A company can bid on their own brand name as soon as they’ve conducted the first step: since they’re not bidding on the other party’s keywords, the latter shouldn’t see it as an act of aggression.
Bidding on one’s own keywords is an excellent way to assert authority while still trying to de-escalate the situation.
4. Attempt a takeover of the aggressor’s brand keywords
If they still have not ceased their brandjacking attempts, the next action companies often take is to reciprocate.
This is done by aggressively bidding on the other party’s keywords. The competitor may not have enough capital to outbid the attempt, especially if they’re not expecting a bid on their own brand.
That said, speed is key when attempting a takeover. Ideally, a company that’s being brand jacked is ready for a brand bidding campaign shortly after sending out a cease and desist letter, to give the adversary less time to come up with the needed funds.
Engaging in a bidding war with a competitor is a matter of survival: if the brandjacked company doesn’t do anything in response to a hijack, its online presence can suffer. The least they can do is to make the takeover attempt costly by increasing the prices of their own keywords and their adversary.
5. Launch new marketing campaigns to highlight advantages
If a competitor is bidding against a particular company, chances are they believe that they have an edge on certain aspects of the latter’s business. To counter this, the brandjacked company can get ahead of the narrative by aggressively marketing its edge against its competitors.
The company’s brand managers can conduct marketing initiatives on social media, away from the Google Ads battle.
This multiplies the front lines of their virtual battle, and if the other party is responding in kind, they may already be scrambling and burning up their resources just to keep up.
Bidding on a Competitor’s Brands on Google Ads In 2025
As of 2025, brandjacking remains a potent strategy, particularly with the rise of social media influence and mobile search dominance. Small businesses increasingly leverage these tactics to compete, adapting to a hyper-connected online world.
Understanding brandjacking—whether to execute a successful campaign or shield against competitors—equips companies to thrive in the cutthroat realm of digital marketing.
Brandjacking in 2025 cuts both ways—growth potential meets risks to brand trust. Keeping up with tactics like AI monitoring or mobile bids, while weighing ethics against competition, prepares businesses to handle this game well.
