SERP Tracker Rule Settings

  • Updated

Advert Text Policy

You may report advertisers who misuse your trademark in the ad title or description. However, Google does not accept trademark complaints related to the use of a brand name in an advertiser’s display URL, as this alone does not necessarily indicate misuse or deception.

Google permits the use of trademarked terms in display URLs under certain conditions, such as:

  • Authorized resellers or distributors: An advertiser may use the brand name to indicate that they legitimately sell the brand’s products.
  • Referencing or reviewing: Websites that mention, compare, or review a brand (e.g., in blog posts or articles) may use the brand name in the display URL for context or commentary.

Navigate to Settings

To access SERP Tracker Rules, go to the left-hand navigation menu, click on Brand Protection and select SERP Tracker from the dropdown list. On the right side of the screen, click Settings.

Rule Overview

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This view lists all configured rules and their current status. Each row shows whether a rule is active, how many recipients are linked to it, and the available actions. Users can pause, reactivate, or delete rules directly from this page.

The table includes the following details:

  • Rule – Lists existing rules.
  • Status – Indicates whether a rule is active or paused.
  • No. of Recipients – Shows how many users receive daily infringement summaries via email. To edit, click the rule name to open it, then add or remove recipients as needed.
  • Action – Allows you to pause or activate a rule.
  • Trash Can – Deletes the rule. Note that if an SERP Tracker Rule is missing from your account, we cannot track who deleted it, as this information is not recorded.

Rule Management

Before creating a rule, you need to set up hourly terms. For more information, see Search Term Settings. Once the terms are added to the Hourly Terms Group, click New SERP Tracker Rule. 

  1. Rule Name - Enter a name for the rule, i.e., 'Brand Bidding | Google | Desktop'.
  2. Rule Type - Select the search engine and device you wish to monitor. While Bing can be monitored, it's not available in all regions. For details on where Bing monitoring is supported, please refer to this article: Adthena's coverage – SERP & page depth.
  3. Notification email(s) - Enter an email address to receive a daily summary of all infringements. You can add multiple addresses—click Add after each one. Note: All recipients must have an Adthena login to view infringement previews.
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4. Selecting a rule allows you to configure the following settings:

  • Search terms - These are the hourly terms you would like to monitor within your rule. Existing hourly terms will be available for selection, and any updates can be managed via Search Term Settings. If you update your hourly terms after the rule has been created and want those changes to be reflected, you will need to manually apply the updates to each relevant rule.
  • Competitors - To monitor specific competitors, like your affiliates, choose Only the following domains. To exclude certain domains (e.g., your own), select All domains except the following. You can add domains one at a time by entering a valid domain (e.g., "adthena.com") in the text box - suggestions will appear, but you can add any domain even if it's not listed. Press Enter to add each one. To add multiple domains at once, click Bulk Add, paste your domains into the dialog either one per line or separated by commas, then click Add Domains.
  • Ad Text - Use this section to monitor adverts containing specific words or phrases. If you want to report on all adverts, you can skip this step.
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  1. Enter a phrase (e.g., "Discount") and select where to monitor it: Title, Description, Display URL, Click URL, or all four. 
  2. Choose how to match the phrase: contains, contains (whole word only), doesn’t contain, or doesn’t contain (whole word only). 
  3. To track multiple phrases (optional), click + Add group. To refine with additional words or phrases, click + Add row. For example, use + Add row to track ads mentioning both your brand name and “Discount.”
  4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all phrases.
  5. When finished, click Save at the top left of the page.

Use Cases

Report Trademark Infringements

It is important to keep this rule up to date. If a competitor uses your trademarked brand term in their ad copy, you can report it to the Publisher, who will then remove the ad. To set up:

  1. It’s recommended to select all hourly terms.
  2. Competitors: exclude your own domain, affiliates, and authorized resellers.
  3. Ad Text - Include all variations of your trademarked brand term.

Monitor Brand Bidding

This rule monitors who is bidding on your brand. To set up:

  1. Select hourly terms that contain your brand.
  2. Competitors: exclude your own domain, affiliates, and authorized resellers.

If a competitor frequently bids on your brand, consider creating a separate rule to track them. Also, if you have a non-bidding agreement with a competitor, set up two rules—one to ensure they honor the agreement, and another to monitor your own compliance, especially when working with a team or agency.

Affiliate/Reseller Management

If you have contracts with specific sites, you can monitor them to ensure they avoid banned terms and follow rules on ad messaging and pricing. To set up:

  1. Select which hourly terms to monitor.
  2. Competitors: List of affiliates or resellers to track.
  3. Ad Text: Prohibited phrases in their ads, such as “Cheap” or “Discount,” that violate your agreement.