Ad disapprovals within Google Ads are frustrating and becoming more frequent. Google is not only tightening up on its existing policies, Google is also rolling out new policies which affect multiple industries. In this article we will discuss common reasons for ad disapprovals, steps to fix them and what to do if your disapproval reason doesn’t fall in the common category.
There are several reasons your ads in Google might not be running, and disapprovals are one of them. It is important to comply with Google’s policies as not only do ad disapprovals mean your ad will not run, if you frequently run ads against Google’s policies, Google is entitled to suspend your Google Ads account. Some reasons for disapproval are complex but here are 8 common reasons your ads may face disapproval.
8 Common Reasons for Ad Disapprovals in Google Ads
- Your ad makes mention of copyrighted content. If another company has a copyright over certain words, you’ll be flagged for using them, which is important to keep in mind when building out competitor campaigns. On the flip side, if you are legally eligible to be protected from copyright infringement, you may apply for certification to advertise.
- Your ad has too many exclamation points or your ad uses symbols not intended for its original purpose. Only one exclamation point per ad is allowed and zero exclamation points are allowed in the headline of the ad. Google also does not allow the use of symbols such as @ for purposes other than their intention (for example: @t home instead of at home).
- Your ad says, “click here”. Any ad that uses “click here” as a call to action will be immediately flagged. Google defines “click here” as a generic call to action.
- Your root domain is different in the display URL and the destination URL. Google requires that both the root domain in the display URL and the root domain in the destination URL be the same.
- Your ad contains words that are in all caps. Google does not allow you to use all caps except in certain instances. These exceptions include coupon codes, common abbreviations (such as “ASAP”), trademarks, brand names, and product names.
- Your ad is using low quality images or video. Google will disapprove images that are blurry or do not fit the entire space of the image size. You can also not use video with poor sound quality.
- Your landing page houses prohibited content. Google will scrub your landing pages to ensure they do not contain anything that violates their policies. If your ad is approved and you find nothing in the ad itself, look to your landing page to see if it has any violations.
- Your landing page is not yet live. Google will disapprove ads that link to landing pages that are not live which you will need to consider as you build your ads prior to a new landing page launch.
What to Do When Your Ad is Disapproved
When you receive a disapproval, your first step is to determine the reason and if the reason is clear, you can fix the offending ad. Once you update the ad to comply with Google’s policies and save your changes, it will automatically resubmit for review. But what happens when you can’t figure out why your ad is disapproved, or it does not fall in the common reasons listed above?
If you are flagged and believe you were flagged incorrectly or believe you qualify for one of the exceptions listed in the Google Advertising Policies, you can request a review to see if your ad can be approved.
You may also call Google and request a review if you cannot find the error related to the disapproval reason. You can find the phone number and appropriate account information needed under the question mark icon in your Google Ads interface. Google Support will escalate the ad(s) in question and if the disapproval was made in error, Google will approve your ads. Google will also provide you with more in-depth detail of the error if the disapproval was not a mistake. Reasons for being unable to identify the error include landing page errors, especially on complex websites, and new policies that affect previously approved ads.
If you have exhausted all of these efforts, reach out to your Google rep. They have access to new policies that may affect your specific industry.
