Google Ads Brand Hijacking/Affiliate

[googlermarket]

I'm seeking for help for people that have experience in running affiliate links/doing brand hijacking.

I have access to affiliate networks, tracking software and can generate tracking templates.

Do we need cloaking here or is there a different way to achieve protection against brands reporting us?

Right now, the brand sees traffic as "no referrer", and we'd like to pass the traffic as it is coming from our website that we applied with on the affiliate platforms.

If you know anything or know anyone who knows anything, let me know.

TL;DR: We want to bid on brand keywords using affiliate links on Google Ads, impersonating brands to receive afiliate fees.

 

[myblogginglab]

You want to do Brand Bidding on Affiliate Offers ? But these days Specially Nutra Companies hired in-house teams who manually search ads on hourly bases and banning accounts manually. They are search keywords from different locations/states manually and track affiliate ID's to ban them as soon as you get sales and EPC gets insane they start manual checking of ads from Google Search.

 

[googlermarket]

You want to do Brand Bidding on Affiliate Offers ? But these days Specially Nutra Companies hired in-house teams who manually search ads on hourly bases and banning accounts manually. They are search keywords from different locations/states manually and track affiliate ID's to ban them as soon as you get sales and EPC gets insane they start manual checking of ads from Google Search.

Yes, I want to do brand bidding on affiliate offers. Is there a way to hide from those that are manually searching, while still impersonating brand's ad?

 

[myblogginglab]

Yes, I want to do brand bidding on affiliate offers. Is there a way to hide from those that are manually searching, while still impersonating brand's ad?

No there is no way to block manual searching all you can do is to limit your targetting states instead of targetting Whole USA target limited states start with 10 to 15 states max then monitor the Sales and ROI if it is profitable keep going if sales stops or negative ROI remove states and add more new states.

Note: Don't start with bigger states like NY/CA/AZ etc

 

[googlermarket]

No there is no way to block manual searching all you can do is to limit your targetting states instead of targetting Whole USA target limited states start with 10 to 15 states max then monitor the Sales and ROI if it is profitable keep going if sales stops or negative ROI remove states and add more new states.

Note: Don't start with bigger states like NY/CA/AZ etc

That's a good point. Do you know how to show the affiliate network that the traffic is coming from a domain, like the one that we used to register at the affiliate network.

Right now the path is - 1. generate a certified affiliate link 2. create a google ads tracking template on maxconv 3. use it on google ads.

The ads get approved, we get traffic, but when we go to the affiliate platform - it shows traffic coming from "no domain". Do we need cloaking to achieve traffic coming from a certain domain?

 

[FocusFocus]

We want to bid on brand keywords

Google Ads allows the usage of brands in keywords, but not in ad texts.

using affiliate links on Google Ads

You must not use affiliate links in Google Ads. Buy a domain and create a landing page / website.

 

[googlermarket]

Google Ads allows the usage of brands in keywords, but not in ad texts.

You must not use affiliate links in Google Ads. Buy a domain and create a landing page / website.

I'm doing brand hijacking, not the usual affiliate model with a legitimate landing page and partnership.

 

[SilentBlaze]

If you still want to promote affiliate links through Google Ads, here’s a legal and white-hat approach:

1. Use non-branded keywords – Target keywords related to the product’s features or the problems it solves, rather than the brand name.

2. Create a bridge landing page – Provide valuable content, reviews, or comparisons, and clearly disclose the use of affiliate links.

3. Avoid misleading copy or pretending to be the official brand – Always be transparent in your ad and landing page.

4. Check with the affiliate manager – Make sure your promotional methods comply with the brand’s terms before running any campaigns.

 

[humblepanda]

I think I know someone who can help. Still not sure BHW platforms allows that.

 

[NoGoZone]

running affiliate links

Never directly use affiliate links in Google Ads. Ad will get disapproved or if you are really unlucky, then account will get suspended. If account suspended, then appeal the suspension.

We want to bid on brand keywords

As per Google Ads policies, one can use brands / brand keywords in the keywords, but not is the ad texts.

 

[PatrickL]

I think I know someone who can help. Still not sure BHW platforms allows that.

Can you recommend one?

 

[Retracra]

Yeah, if you're bidding on brand terms with direct affiliate links, you're walking a tightrope. Most brands hate it, even if the network says it's allowed. If you're not cloaking, sooner or later the brand or Google themselves will catch it—especially if the final URL doesn’t match the display or if GCLID ends up in affiliate logs.


Passing referrer as your “clean site” is part of it, but it won’t fully protect you. You’ll need cloaking to separate Google reviewers from actual users—smart redirects, rules based on IP/user-agent/device/time, etc. People doing this at scale usually run it through agency accounts to reduce bans, because personal accounts get clipped fast.