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Vale a pena comprar termos de concorrentes? Confira os riscos e as oportunidades!
BranddiIP Team ·
It could be that someone is using a strategy to hunt down users who type your brand name into Google. The practice, known asbuying terms from competitors, places ads from other companies precisely when someone searches for your business.
But is it worth investing in this type of strategy to win customers over your rival? The answer is not simple. Investments in Search Ads grow year after year, making the keyword auction increasingly competitive and expensive.
If you want to understand in depth how this strategy works, what its real risks are and when it can bring a return, check out our complete guide. We explain everything you need to know about buying competitor terms and whether it's worth it!
What is buying competitor terms?
Buying competitor terms is a paid media strategy in which a brand creates campaigns using the names of rival brands as keywords. The objective is simple:appear when a user searches for the name of another company in the same sector or for its products.
It is a common strategy on advertising platforms, with Google Ads being the best-known example. In Google's keyword auction system, any advertiser can choose terms related to competing brands and compete for space in sponsored search results. In other words, buying a competitor's term on paid media platforms is not a crime. But the recommendation is that this strategy be carried out carefully, observing brand rights, competitive loyalty and consumer protection.
In Brazil, the Industrial Property Law (LPI, Law nº 9.279/1996) provides for provisions that deal with unfair competition. Article 195 defines a crime as anyone who “employs fraudulent means to divert, for their own benefit or that of others, the clientele of others”.
Article 209 recognizes the right to compensation for damages caused by unfair competition or violation of trademark rights, regardless of demonstrating concrete damage, in cases where legal aggression is evident.
Casas Bahia (VIA S/A), for example, has already sued Magazine Luiza for misuse of its brands in sponsored links of Google Ads in 2024.
In a recent decision, Superior Court of Justice (STJ) considered that a Purchasing a keyword that contains a competitor's trademark may constitute unfair competition, as long as some requirements are present. abusive.
Another point that distinguishes what is acceptable from illegal is the level of confusion caused to the consumer. If the advertising campaign or sponsored ad misleads the public into believing that they are accessing or interacting with the competitor's brand, or if there is a real risk of customer diversion due to mistaken expectations, then there is a strong indication of abuse.
When is it advantageous to buy a competitor's term?
Buying a competitor's term can make sense when it is linked to a larger company plan. See when this strategy is used:
Situation 1: in the fight for attention in competitive markets
Brands that are in sectors with high competition and low product differentiation (several players offer almost identical solutions) use the purchase of competitor terms as a way to conquer a larger share of the public.
In these cases, gaining prominence in organic search is generally not enough. The user, in this context, is exposed to multiple options and tends to choose the one that presents itself in a more accessible or convincing way at the time of research.
Situation 2: when the brand is not yet known
One of the biggest difficulties for companies launching or expanding is overcoming the barrier of lack of recognition. In markets dominated by established players, gaining qualified traffic requires time and heavy investment in branding and SEO.
However, buying terms from competitors can “accelerate this process”. By positioning itself alongside already established brands, the company is able to quickly reach an audience that already shows interest in solutions in the same segment.
Situation 3: when the public already knows the brand, but is considering alternatives
Modern consumer behavior is marked by the search for options before making a decision. Even after interacting with your company, it is common for them to research competitors before closing the purchase. brand.
Check out the main points of attention:
Inflating CPC
When you decide to compete for a competitor's term on Google Ads, you enter an auction where the brand owner himself is usually willing to pay a lot to protect his position. This creates a dispute that causes the Cost Per Click (CPC) to increase.
In this case, you, as an advertiser, can pay much more for each click than you would on generic or long-tail terms.
Attract unqualified clicks
Most users who searching for a brand may not be open to discovering another option. Often, the user already has the intention of closing with that specific competitor, and this leads to a common problem:people click on the ad, but quickly leave the website, without interacting or converting. legal risk. Brazilian legislation allows the purchase of terms from competitors, but considers abusive the use of a registered trademark in a way that causes confusion to the consumer or diversion of clientele.
If the advertisement or landing page does not make it clear that it is another company, the competitor may allege unfair competition. Paid media is more present because they share some characteristics:high competitiveness, attractive margins and direct disputes between players that offer very similar solutions. Sectors in which the practice is common:
- Technology and software (SaaS);
- Telecommunications;
- Financial services;
- E-commerce and retail;Education;
- Tourism and airlines
How to protect your brand and still grow in paid media?
There are two solutions when it comes to this is to protect your brand from competitors who buy your terms in paid media:
- The first solution is defense, through Online Brand Protection best practices to monitor competitors' paid media actions;
- The second is growth, using more ethical alternatives to scale campaigns.
On the defense front, competition monitoring consists of tracking paid search results linked to your brand name.
The logic is simple: after identifying third-party ads that use your brand term, you can measure the impact on metrics like CTR and CPC. The brand can also challenge inappropriate use on the advertising platform and even gather evidence for legal action based on the Industrial Property Law. of competitors carries risks, including legal ones. If you don't want your brand to become a target, you need to invest in monitoring and auditing processes to identify unfair competition.
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