Destination Mismatch Google Ads: Why Your Ads Get Disapproved?

The destination mismatch Google Ads policy indicates that users should not be redirected when they click on a Google Ads.

For web-based campaigns, it is recommended to use the Branch link instead of the tracking template URL. This is because parallel tracking is possible and attribution is not compromised.

Learn how to prevent Google Ads disapproval due to destination mismatch Google Ads.

Now let’s get started.

What does Destination Mismatch Google Ads Mean in Google Ads?

In Google Ads, it is a policy not to redirect a visitor to another URL. Their goal is to ensure visitors have the best experience possible.

Google can disapprove of your ad if a visitor clicks on your ad and lands on another website or page after clicking on your ad.

What are the Destination Requirements for Google Ads?

Let us now look at why you may face destination mismatch Google Ads.

Google Ads wants consumers to have a positive experience with their ads. It is therefore important for ad destinations to offer unique value to users as well as to be functional, useful, and easy to use. Here are some examples of what not to include in your ads.

Destination experience

It is not permitted to do the following as they may result to destination mismatch Google Ads:

Not allowed Destinations or content that are unnecessarily difficult or frustrating to navigate

Examples:

• A website with pop-ups or interstitials that hinder a user’s ability to view the requested content
• A site that disables or interferes with a browser’s back button.
• An application that requires downloading to view a landing page (aside from common browser plug-ins) or doesn’t load quickly on most popular browsers and devices.)

Links that initiate a direct download from the ad or that lead to an email address or a file

Examples:

• Images
• Video
• Audio
• Documents

Note: Adverts for pharmaceutical companies may use PDF landing pages. PDF landing pages are allowed for pharmaceutical-certified advertisements and accounts, but with a caveat.

Destinations that contain abusive experiences

Examples:

• A website that automatically redirects the user to another page without the user’s involvement.
• A website that displays ads that look like system or site warnings and errors.

Insufficient original content

It is not permitted to do the following as they may cause destination mismatch Google Ads:

Destination content that is designed for the primary purpose of showing ads

Examples:

• Utilizing arbitrage and other methods to drive traffic to destinations with too many ads
• The content is scanty or non-original
• Too much advertising

Destination content that is replicated from another source without adding value in the form of original content or additional functionality

Examples:

• Mirroring
• Framing
• Scraping content from another source
• Templates or pre-generated websites that provide duplicate content

Destinations that are solely designed to send users elsewhere

Examples:

• Bridge page
• Doorway
• Gateway
• Other intermediate pages that are only used to link to other sites

Destinations that display a message of the destination not providing any services

Examples:

• Domains that are parked
• Websites intended solely for reserving web addresses
• Displaying messages such as “Under Construction”, “Coming Soon” or similar

Destinations that are incomprehensible or don’t make sense

Examples:

• Pages with no content
• Landing page content that is gibberish

Destination mismatch

The following will result to destination mismatch Google Ads:

Ads that don’t accurately reflect where the user is being directed

Examples:

• Linking to a landing page with the URL “www.youtube.com” but using the display URL “www.google.com”
• Incorporating keywords as part of the top-level or second-level domain of your display URL, like “www.[keyword].com”.

A domain or domain extension in the display URL that doesn’t match the final and mobile URLs

Examples:

• Display URL: google.com and Final URL: example.com
• Display URL: example.com and Final URL: example.org

Failing to use a subdomain to clearly identify a site from all other sites hosted on that domain or from the parent domain

Example:

• Display URL: blogspot.com and Final URL: mycompany.blogspot.com

Redirects from the final URL that take the user to a different domain

Example:

• The final URL http://example.com redirects to http://example2.com

Tracking templates that don’t lead to the same content as the final URL

Example:

• Tracking templates direct users to specific product pages rather than a product category page

Destination not working

The following is prohibited:

Destinations that don’t function properly or have been incorrectly set up

Examples:

• Sites that return HTTP client or server error codes
• Authentication error on a site
• Sites that aren’t compatible with common browsers and devices

Destination not accessible.

The following is not allowed:

Destinations that are not accessible in the targeted location

Examples:

• Websites that restrict access based on location (e.g. “This website is not available on your location”).
• Sites that display messages related to access limitations in targeted locations (e.g. “you don’t have permission to access this page”)

Destination not crawl-able

The following is not allowed:

Destinations that are not crawl-able by Google Ads

Examples:

• Restricting access to an entire site or the majority of a site by using exclusion files (such as “robots.txt”)
• Limiting crawl capacity disproportionately to the number of ads submitted

App or web store policy violation

The following is not allowed:

Destinations that violate their app or web store policies

Examples:

• Incompliant Chrome Developer Program extensions or Google Play Apps

Unacceptable URL

The following is not allowed:

URLs that do not follow the standard syntax

Using an IP address as the display URL

Example:

• 45.678.90

Display URLs that use unacceptable characters

Examples:

• Characters such as !, *, #, _, @

Unacceptable phone number

Location extensions, call extensions, and call-only ads cannot include the following:

●     Phone numbers that are inaccurate, inactive, irrelevant, or that don’t connect to the advertised company.

●     Fax numbers, premium numbers, or vanity numbers

Example of premium numbers:

• Any number that requires additional fees or charges to complete the call, such as 1-900 numbers in the United States or 871 numbers in the United Kingdom

Example of vanity numbers:

• Phone numbers where numbers have been replaced by letters, such as “1-800-GOOG-411” instead of “1-800-466-4411”

Phone numbers that are not local or domestic for the country you are targeting

Example:

• An ad targeting Canada uses a local German number

Virtual phone number services or personal numbering

Example:

• Currently, only the UK and Spain offer this service.
• Numbers without active voicemail

How do I Change the Destination URL on Google Ads?

• Choose the items you wish to edit. You can edit text ad final URLs by selecting Ads > Expanded Text ads.
• Select the rows you want to edit from the data view. Use the tree view or advanced search to filter the data view so that you see fewer rows.
• You can change URLs by going to Edit > Change URLs.
• Select the URL type from the “Perform action in” drop-down menu
• Make your changes here.
• Click the Change URLs button.

How To Fix A ‘Destination Mismatch’ Error?

Here are a few ways to fix destination mismatch Google Ads in Google Ads:

Geo-target your Google Ads

Use Google Ads to geo-target your visitors as you do with geo-redirecting. You need to run separate Google Ads for each redirected URL. If you redirect UK traffic to another URL, then run a separate ad for the UK and ensure the ad is geo-targeted to the UK. You can geo-target Google Ads – and the ad link goes to your UK site.

You should also exclude anyone from the UK from your original ad. It will keep the visitor’s clicks seamless and prevent them from getting redirected.

Manually ask for approval from Google

If your Google Ads are still disapproved after geo-targeting. Explain your situation to Google Ads support and they should be able to manually approve your ad.

Disable the redirect for ads using s’Redirect Disable’ feature

Google provides advanced settings to help you disable redirects if a particular string is in the Google Ads URL. You can use the ‘Redirect Disable’ and add a parameter to disable any redirect.

How PPC Signal Helps You Optimize And Manage Your Ads To Prevent From Destination Mismatch?

Your ads can be disapproved for a number of reasons. Google Ads get disapproved for a variety of reasons, including a malfunctioning destination or malicious software.

The process of dealing with Google can take time since they have a multi-level support system. Consequently, if you want to solve the problem quickly, you need to understand the problem and take the necessary steps (if necessary).

Then you can inform Google so they can review and resolve this as soon as possible. When you are not sure what to do, tools like PPC Signal help you select the metrics that need your attention. Then you can take action based on them, which will improve your marketing ROI.

Think about a campaign you’re running for your online business. The goal is to optimize conversions so that you know if your customers are landing on the right page and then becoming customers.

When you don’t get any conversions, but are getting clicks, it means your customers are not matching. Click on the conversion from the dashboard of PPC Signal. You will receive an automated signal to show you the progress of your conversions.

You can get graphical data of your campaign by clicking the explore button. This will allow you to see how long your conversions have been declining.

Additionally, you can view the data in tabular format to see which other campaign metrics are affecting your conversions.

With this analyzed data, you can gain actionable insights from your data and increase your sales. Using this tool, you can take action faster to improve your PPC campaign and increase sales. People click on your ads but don’t convert if the final URL of your campaigns is mismatched. Your destination URL needs to be fixed.

FAQs:

Why are my Google Ads being rejected?

There are certain ethical standards that Google adheres to. The result is that your ads will be rejected if you promote illegal or unethical products or services. Ads promoting counterfeit products, or those containing illegal substances (such as drugs, explosives, and tobacco) are included in this category.

What is a destination link?

Destination links allow you to link your ads to a website. Consequently, your followers will be directed to this website when they click on your ads.

Wrap Up:

Destination mismatch Google Ads can cause your Google ads to be disapproved. This is because Google wants to ensure that users are being sent to the correct websites. Make sure that all of your destinations are correct before submitting your Google ads for approval.

You will be able to troubleshoot ads faster with Google’s increased transparency and clarity regarding disapprovals. You will be able to restore your ads faster if you identify a disapproval issue as soon as possible. Don’t let Google Ads disapprovals hold you back. You can prevent destination mismatch Google Ads and keep your ads running by using tools like PPC Signal.