Q: I caught an affiliate bidding on my brand name. What's my response playbook?

Q: I caught an affiliate bidding on my brand name. What's my response playbook?

Brand bidding is a partner buying ads on your own brand keywords, then taking commission on traffic that was already yours. Handle it in steps:

— Confirm it's them. Run an ad-monitoring check or search your brand in an incognito window from the target geo and capture the ad with their tracking link.
— Check your terms. If you banned trademark bidding, you have grounds; if you didn't, fix the terms first.
— Reach out before you ban. Many partners do it because the rule wasn't clear. A firm email pulls most offenders immediately.
— Reverse commissions earned from brand traffic in that window, per your terms.
— Repeat offense: remove them and withhold the disputed earnings.

The caveat: a few partners genuinely convert on brand+modifier searches like "brand review" and add value. Don't blanket-ban all brand-adjacent terms. Define exactly which keywords are off-limits, so enforcement is clean and you keep the legitimate help.

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