What is Ad Hijacking? How Competitors (or Affiliates!) Might Be Stealing Your Paid Traffic

CATEGORIES (103)

What is Ad Hijacking? How Competitors (or Affiliates!) Might Be Stealing Your Paid Traffic

PPC

You’re spending good money on ads to bring people to your site. You’ve dialed in your copy, your targeting is solid, and the budget’s burning daily—but somehow… your conversions just aren’t adding up.

Could someone be stealing your paid traffic?

If you're running Google Ads, affiliate campaigns, or even just bidding on your own brand name—ad hijacking might be quietly draining your ROI.

Let’s break it down:

What is Ad Hijacking?

Ad hijacking is when unauthorized parties—often competitors or unethical affiliates—run ads pretending to be you. They copy your messaging, bid on your brand name, and redirect YOUR potential customers to their own offers or sites.

Think of it as digital pickpocketing. You do the work, pay for the traffic, and someone else scoops up the rewards.

And the worst part? It often happens without you even knowing.

How Ad Hijacking Works?

Let’s say your company is BestProteinPowder.com.

You’re running paid search ads for your brand name and product keywords. But one day, a competitor or shady affiliate starts bidding on your branded keywords too—but they make their ad look just like yours.

Same headline structure
Similar display URL
Nearly identical ad copy

When someone searches for “Best Protein Powder,” your potential customer might click on their ad, thinking it’s you—and get redirected to either:

A competing product page
A fake version of your landing page that drops an affiliate cookie
Or worse, a scammy site

The result? You lose a sale and pay for someone else’s gain.

Who’s Doing This?

Shady competitors: Trying to steal your customers or poach your leads.
Unethical affiliates: Trying to stuff affiliate cookies without your permission (yes, sometimes your own partners are behind this).
Fake brand impersonators: Looking to scam customers or collect personal data.

How to Spot Ad Hijacking

It’s sneaky, but not invisible. Here’s what to look for:

Brand search results with duplicate-looking ads
Do a search for your own brand name in incognito mode. If you spot ads that look like yours—but don’t link to your official domain—it’s a red flag.
Affiliate IDs in your traffic logs you don’t recognize
Scan your analytics for unusual referral or affiliate traffic patterns.
Sudden drop in conversions despite stable traffic
If your CTR and traffic look fine, but conversions dip, it may be because users are landing somewhere else after clicking.
Surge in branded keyword CPCs
Hijackers bidding on your keywords = rising costs for YOU.

How to Prevent Ad Hijacking

Ad hijacking isn’t always easy to catch—but you can fight back.

1. Monitor Your Brand Keywords Regularly

Use tools like:

Google Ads Preview Tool
SEMrush / Ahrefs
BrandVerity - They help you track who’s bidding on your branded terms.

2. Use Affiliate Compliance Tools

If you run affiliate programs:

Use platforms like Affluent.io or TUNE to track suspicious affiliate behavior.
Set rules: No brand bidding allowed. Make it clear in your T&C.

3. Protect Your Brand Name in Paid Search

Bid on your own brand terms so you control your messaging.
Use exact match and brand modifiers to prevent hijackers from outbidding you.
File complaints with Google if someone is impersonating you.

4. Trademark Your Brand & Report Violators

Having a trademark helps Google take your side when you report unauthorized use.
File a Google Ads complaint: Trademark Complaint Form

5. Enable Click Forensics or Ad Tracking

Use click fraud protection tools like:

ClickCease
Lunio
PPC Protect - They help detect suspicious click behavior and automated bot attacks.

Final Thoughts

Ad hijacking is one of those sneaky marketing threats that flies under the radar until it’s cost you thousands. And with AI shaking up organic search and zero-click searches on the rise, paid traffic is becoming more important than ever.

If you’re spending real money on ads, you owe it to yourself to lock the doors, monitor your brand, and shut down hijackers fast.

Don’t let your hard-earned clicks go to someone else’s cart.

And if you want expert help tightening up your paid strategy, click here to connect with my team.

This entry was posted by Sasi and tagged in Competitors are stealing your paid traffic

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!

CATEGORIES (103)