What brand bidding is, why it matters, and how to protect your commissions and account standing?

Note: This article is for affiliates. If you're an advertiser looking to manage brand bidding on your program, see Paid Search Brand Bidding. For a full overview of paid search compliance rules on Commission Factory, see Paid Search Compliance.

What is brand bidding?

Brand bidding (also known as trademark bidding) is when an affiliate runs paid search ads using an advertiser's brand name or a variation of it, and directs users to the advertiser's website via an affiliate tracking link.

Here's a common example: a user searches "BrandName shoes" on Google, an affiliate ad appears for that search, and the user is redirected through an affiliate link to the brand's website.

Why does it matter?

When affiliates bid on branded terms, they enter the purchase journey at a point where the customer already knows the brand. The advertiser may end up paying commission on traffic they would have received directly.

This can:

Push up the advertiser's paid search costs
Create internal competition for branded keywords
Result in commissions paid on existing demand rather than new customer acquisition

The goal of affiliate marketing is to drive incremental value. Brand bidding, when unapproved, works against that.

Is brand bidding allowed?

Brand bidding is not permitted unless an advertiser has explicitly approved it. As an affiliate, you're responsible for understanding the rules before you run any campaigns.

You must:

Review each advertiser's paid search policy before launching
Avoid bidding on brand names, misspellings, or combinations like "BrandName discount code" unless you have written approval
Make sure your campaigns don't appear on branded search terms through broad or phrase match targeting

Paid search compliance also covers related violations, including broad match infringements and ad hijacking, where an affiliate impersonates an advertiser's own paid search ads. These are treated as serious breaches. See Paid Search Compliance for the full ruleset.

Failing to comply may be treated as a breach of paid search policies and can result in removal from the program, commission reversals, or further sanctions under the Commission Factory Code of Conduct.