Haven't configured your keywords? See the instructions here before you continue.
Overview
The Overview is the first page you see when you open Brand Bidding. It gives you an at-a-glance view of every advertiser detected across all your monitored keywords.
This is where you triage: scan for advertisers you don't recognise, keywords that are being heavily targeted, or activity in markets where you have strict affiliate rules. From here, click View Ad to dig deeper into any entry that raises a flag.
Advertiser Insights table
Dimension | What it shows | What to look for |
Advertiser | The company name as registered in Google Ads | Recognise this name? It could be a known competitor, a reseller, or an unknown third party worth investigating |
Category (user-assigned) | This is where you can classify advertisers as Competitor, Partner (Affiliate or other partner), Self (this is marking you as the advertiser), Other (for those that don't sit within the defined catgeories) | This allows you to see at a glance what category of advertiser are bidding on the keywords. |
Ads Detected | The number of ads captured from this advertiser | A high number suggests sustained, deliberate bidding rather than a one-off |
Keyword | Which of your configured keywords triggered the detection | Helps you see which brand keywords are being targeted |
Location | Where the ad was seen and configure by you | Useful if you run region-specific activity or want to prioritise by market |
Date Detected | When the ad was first observed | Helps you establish how long this has been happening |
View Ad | Opens the Keyword Page for that specific ad | Your next step when you want to investigate further |
Keyword - Inspect the ad
Accessed by clicking View Ad on the Overview page, this page shows you the details of a specific ad detected against one of your keywords.
Use this page to gather evidence. If you spot affiliate parameters in the tracking URL, take note of the advertiser name, ad creative, keyword, and date - this gives you everything you need to raise a violation with your affiliate network or directly with the publisher.
What's on the page
Ads Detected – the total number of ads captured from this advertiser for this keyword
Keyword – the configured keyword that triggered the detection
Location – where the ad was seen
Date Detected – when the ad was observed
Ad Creative – a reconstruction of how the ad appeared in Google Search, including the headline and display URL
The Tracking URL
This is one of the most important features on this page. The Keyword Page provides the Google redirect URL for the detected ad, which you can use to:
Visit the final landing page - confirm where the ad is actually sending traffic
Check for tracking parameters - if the URL contains affiliate parameters (such as a publisher ID or click reference), this is evidence that an affiliate may be claiming commission through that ad.
Why this matters: If an affiliate is bidding on your brand keywords and passing their tracking parameters through the ad URL, they may be claiming commission on sales that would have happened organically. This is a common T&C violation in affiliate programmes.
Advertiser - Build a full picture
Accessed by clicking an advertiser's name from the Overview page, this page shows you the full history of a single advertiser's activity across all your monitored keywords.
Use this page to assess severity and build your case. Ask yourself:
Is this systematic? Multiple keywords affected and a high ad count suggests intentional brand bidding, not a mistake.
Is this ongoing? If the Last Detected date is recent, the behaviour is active and needs prompt action.
Is there a pattern? Ads appearing consistently across locations and over a long time period strengthens your case if you need to escalate.
If you confirm a violation, copy the ad creatives and tracking URLs from this page as supporting evidence when contacting the advertiser, your affiliate network, or legal team.
Summary Stats
Ads Detected - the total volume of ads from this advertiser across all keywords
Keywords Affected - how many of your brand terms this advertiser is targeting
First Detected - the earliest date they were spotted. It helps you understand how long this has been going on
Last Detected - the most recent activity. It tells you whether this is ongoing or has stopped
Ad Creative Detected
Below the summary, you'll see a full list of every ad captured from this advertiser, each showing:
Location – where the ad was seen
Date Detected – when it was observed
Ad Creative – how the ad appeared in search
Tracking URL – the redirect URL to inspect for affiliate parameters
Putting it all together - Your Brand Bidding workflow
Here's how Lunio's Brand Bidding works as part of a regular brand bidding process:
Monitor - Check the Overview regularly (or set up a scan frequency that matches how closely you want to monitor). Look for new advertisers or spikes in ad volume.
Investigate - Click View Ad to open the Keyword Page. Review the ad creative and inspect the tracking URL for affiliate parameters.
Assess - Click the advertiser's name to open the Advertiser Page. Review the full history to understand whether this is a one-off or a persistent pattern.
Act - Use the ad creatives, tracking URLs, and detection dates as evidence to raise a violation with the affiliate, their network, or your legal team.
If you have questions please reach out to your CSM or email us at [email protected].