- Definition
- An authorized reseller is a retailer or partner that a brand has allowed to sell its products, and sometimes to advertise on its brand name.
In plain words
An authorized reseller is a store the brand works with. It sells the brand's products with permission, and may be allowed to advertise them on searches for the brand.
Unauthorized sellers may also appear, which is why brands keep a list of who is who.
Why it matters for brand and paid search teams
Resellers are a normal part of brand search results. Mistaking them for competitors wastes review time and can harm relationships. Missing an unauthorized seller can let grey market or counterfeit offers sit next to the brand's own ad.
Many brands also agree rules with resellers about brand terms, prices or the use of the brand in ad text, so channel and legal teams want to know whether those rules are followed.
How it works
Google's trademarks policy lets resellers use a trademark in ad text when the landing page is primarily dedicated to selling or clearly facilitating the sale of the corresponding products, subject to the conditions it describes.
Shopping ads use each merchant's product data, not keywords, so a reseller's product listings can appear on brand searches alongside text ads.
Agreements between a brand and its resellers can be stricter than platform policy. The platform does not enforce those agreements for you, so the brand's channel team usually checks compliance itself.
Example
peakgear.example is an authorized Northstar retailer. Its ad "Northstar boots in stock, free shipping" appears on northstar boots in Denver and Seattle. A second seller, gearbargains.example, appears on Google Shopping with Northstar boots at a much lower price and is not on the reseller list.
The channel team confirms Peak Gear is within its agreement and opens a review of the unknown seller.
Fictional brands and domains, for illustration only.
Common mistakes and misconceptions
Resellers count as competitors in the report. Label them separately so visibility and alerts reflect real competitors.
An authorized reseller can do anything on brand searches. Your agreement may limit brand terms or ad text. Monitoring shows what appeared; the agreement decides whether it is allowed.
Only text ads matter. Resellers often appear through Shopping listings too, which are built from product data.
How to monitor it in Ads Lighthouse
In the Advertisers report, label each domain as a competitor, authorized retailer, reseller, affiliate, marketplace, publisher, coupon site or other. Brand mention to review alerts skip domains labeled as authorized retailers, while reports still show their ads.
On the Growth plan and above, Google Shopping monitoring lists product ads with the merchant, product title, price and destination, so unknown sellers stand out.
Frequently asked questions
Can an authorized reseller use my brand in its ad text?
Google's trademarks policy describes when resellers may use a trademark in ad text. Your own agreement with the reseller may add further limits.
How do I spot unauthorized sellers?
Keep a list of your authorized domains and merchants, label them in your monitoring, and review any seller that appears on your brand searches and is not on the list.
Does labeling a reseller hide its ads?
No. Labels change how a domain is grouped and which alerts it triggers. Its ads stay in every report so you can still check them against your agreement.
Official sources
Sources checked on .