BMA Google Ads investigation 2026: B2B protection guide

What did the BMA actually do?

On 27 February 2026, the Belgian Competition Authority (BMA) opened a formal investigation into Google for suspected abuse of dominance in online advertising. The probe covers Google Ads, AdX, and ad-buying tools like Display and Video 360 (DV360).

The core suspicion: Google self-preferences its own products and operates opaque pricing structures that systematically disadvantage advertisers and competitors. This isn't a minor compliance check. The BMA has flagged digital ad markets as a top priority for 2026, with 40% of its enforcement resources directed at digital market investigations.

This investigation doesn't exist in isolation either. It builds directly on the European Commission's €2.95 billion fine against Google in September 2025 for similar ad tech self-preferencing. The BMA is now enforcing that logic locally, in Belgium's own ad market.

Why does this hit B2B service firms so hard?

Most B2B founders assume this kind of regulatory action only affects big brands or media conglomerates. It doesn't.

Creative agencies, consultancies, IT firms, legal practices, engineering consultancies, and HR/recruiting agencies are often managing €30,000 to €150,000 in monthly client ad budgets through Google Ads or DV360. That's where the damage happens.

According to the BMA's official investigation file, Google's ad take rates averaged around 35% in 2025 Belgian audits of ad agencies. That means for every €100 a client spends, only €60 to €70 actually reaches ad placements. The rest disappears into Google's ecosystem, without clear disclosure.

The downstream effects are concrete:

Legal and accounting firms targeting GDPR or tax advisory queries face 20 to 30% higher effective cost-per-lead, reducing ROI on quarterly spends of €50,000 or more
IT and cybersecurity companies in Antwerp report CPCs running 28% higher due to self-preferencing in search inventory
Creative agencies in Flanders face margin compression on client retainers when display costs inflate by up to 30% through AdX restrictions
HR and recruiting agencies bidding on talent acquisition keywords see fewer qualified leads at significantly higher cost

We've seen this pattern repeatedly with B2B service firms we work with: the Google Ads dashboard looks fine on the surface, but once you dig into effective spend ratios and compare against alternative platforms, the actual value delivered is much lower than it appears.

What are the likely outcomes of the BMA probe?

The investigation is in its early stages. Google is cooperating, and no outcome has been determined. But based on comparable regulatory actions across the EU, two realistic scenarios are emerging.

Scenario 1 (most likely by Q3 2026): The BMA imposes interim measures that stabilize or reduce ad costs by 15 to 25%. Firms that have already diversified away from Google dependency will be best positioned to benefit immediately.

Scenario 2: No significant change until 2027, meaning firms that wait lose 20 to 30% in avoidable margin erosion over the next 12 to 18 months.

A useful benchmark: similar probes by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority between 2024 and 2026 led to 12% average ad cost reductions for agencies following intervention. Belgium's probe, coordinated with EU-level enforcement, could produce similar or stronger outcomes.

The risk of waiting is asymmetric. If you diversify now and the BMA acts fast, you're ahead. If you diversify now and the probe drags on, you still benefit from better margin visibility and reduced platform dependency.

How can Belgian B2B firms protect their ad margins right now?

This is the question that actually matters. Regulatory outcomes take time. Your next client invoice doesn't.

Here's a practical five-step approach, built around what works for B2B service firms specifically:

1. Audit your current Google dependency (week 1 to 2)

Export six months of Google Ads and DV360 data. Calculate your effective spend ratio: what percentage of your budget actually reaches auction placements? If it's below 70%, you're in a high-risk position. For legal firms, segment by high-value keywords like "belastingadvies Brussel" or "GDPR compliance consult" to see where the waste is concentrated.

2. Test alternatives head-to-head (weeks 3 to 6)

Allocate 20% of your next client budget to alternative platforms. The three most relevant for Belgian B2B service firms are:

Microsoft Advertising: Strong semantic search, LinkedIn profile targeting for consultancies and HR firms, and average CPCs roughly 15% lower on B2B terms. Free migration tools make the switch straightforward.
The Trade Desk: Programmatic display with transparent take rates under 15% and EU data residency. Better suited for creative agencies running branding campaigns. Requires DSP expertise, but the margin transparency alone justifies the learning curve.
Criteo Commerce Audiences: Useful for retargeting in legal, accounting, and HR contexts. Performance-based pricing tiers start around €2,500 per month.

3. Renegotiate client contracts

Insert clauses that cap Google Ads allocation at 60% of total budget and tie platform selection to performance KPIs. A 15% ROAS floor is a reasonable threshold. This protects your agency margin if Google costs continue rising and gives clients a clear rationale for diversification.

4. Build multi-platform tracking

You can't optimize what you can't see. Tools like Improvado unify Google Ads and alternative platform data in a single dashboard, making true take rates visible to both your team and your clients. For HR agencies, this kind of transparency has cut optimization cycles by 30% in pilots we've tracked.

5. Monitor BMA developments and get involved

Track the BMA investigation through the official BMA portal and consider joining Feweb or Agoria for collective industry input. Annual membership costs are modest compared to the policy influence these associations carry in Brussels.

For a deeper look at how HR bureaus specifically can protect their margins during this probe, the article on BCA 2026 Google Ads probe: how HR bureaus can protect margins covers that angle in detail.

What's the actual ROI of diversifying away from Google?

The numbers are compelling enough to make this an easy business case.

According to reporting on the BMA investigation, Belgian B2B service firms collectively lost significant ad efficiency in 2025 due to Google's practices. That trend is projected to worsen in 2026 absent regulatory intervention.

In our experience working with B2B service firms across Belgium, the firms that move fastest on diversification consistently outperform those waiting for regulatory certainty. The margin protection isn't theoretical. It shows up in client retention, profitability per retainer, and the ability to demonstrate transparent performance to clients who are increasingly asking hard questions about where their budget actually goes.

The pattern holds across sectors:

IT and engineering firms running pilots on Microsoft Advertising report meaningful reductions in cost-per-lead compared to equivalent Google Ads campaigns
Consultancies that shifted a portion of DV360 spend to The Trade Desk recovered margin within two billing cycles
HR and recruiting agencies that diversified channels report higher lead quality, not just lower cost, because they're reaching audiences that Google's inventory doesn't cover efficiently

The key insight: diversification isn't just a hedge against the BMA probe. It's a structural improvement to how B2B service firms buy media. The probe just makes the urgency obvious.

Common objections and how to handle them

"Our clients are comfortable with Google Ads."

Run a side-by-side test for one month. Show the lead cost difference. Clients respond to data, not platform loyalty.

"We don't have the technical capacity to manage multiple platforms."

Microsoft Advertising has a free import tool that mirrors your Google Ads campaigns in under a day. Start there. Expand once you've seen the results.

"We're too small to matter to the BMA."

The probe affects every euro spent through Google's ad ecosystem in Belgium. Your firm's size doesn't change the take rate applied to your client budgets.

"We'll wait and see what the BMA decides."

Every quarter you wait is a quarter where avoidable margin erosion compounds. The firms that act in Q1 and Q2 2026 will have data, optimized campaigns, and client trust by the time the BMA issues any formal ruling.

Don't let your website do the same thing your ads are doing

There's a broader point worth making here. The BMA Google Ads 2026 probe is really a story about over-dependence on a single channel and the lack of transparency that comes with it.

Many B2B service firms face the same problem with their websites. They're spending on Google Ads to drive traffic to a website that isn't converting, which means they need to spend even more to hit lead targets. It's a compounding problem.

If your website isn't generating leads independently of paid media, you're permanently exposed to platform risk, whether that's Google's take rates today or the next platform shift tomorrow.

Luniq's Launched solution builds strategy-first websites for B2B service firms that convert organic and paid traffic into qualified leads. Combined with Orbit, our proprietary optimization software, your website becomes a lead source that works independently of any single ad platform.

If you're a consultancy, IT firm, legal practice, engineering company, or HR agency in Belgium wondering whether your current setup is leaving margin on the table, let's talk. The BMA investigation is a good reason to audit everything, not just your Google Ads account.

Sources:

BMA Google Ads probe 2026: what B2B service firms must do now