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As an advertiser, getting your Google Ads account suspended is perhaps your worst nightmare. Surprisingly, one of the biggest reasons behind account suspension is misrepresentation in advertising.
When it comes to advertising policies, Google is pretty strict. It strives to promote a good user experience for people viewing ads on its platform. That’s why it has set ad policies that compel advertisers to strictly follow the applicable laws in the regions where their ads are being shown.
Every new ad you create is submitted for review. Likewise, any changes you make to your current ads are also reviewed to ensure they adhere to Google’s advertising policies. If your ad violates these policies, it will be disapproved.
Want to keep your Google Ads account up and running? Discover six potent ways to avoid misrepresentation in advertising.
Google Ads naturally wants its users to trust the ads that are running using their platform. That’s why they strive to ensure that all ads are clear and honest and offer relevant info that the audience needs to make well-informed decisions.
When using Google Ads, you aren’t allowed to create ads or links to destinations that mislead the audience by omitting relevant product info. Similarly, Google strictly prohibits providing misleading information about your product, service, or business.
If you really wish to keep your Google Ads account safe and operational, you have to avoid misrepresentation in advertising at all costs.
Not sure how to do it? Here’s what you can do to protect your Google Ads account from suspension.
If there’s one thing that turns Google advertising gods off, then it has to be missing info.
So, make sure that you mention the payment model and full charges that your customer will have to bear. Consider including the total price, shipping costs, and other billing-related info. Also, mention interest rates, late payment fines, or recurring subscription cost, if you’re advertising such a service.
Likewise, you should also include legitimate physical contact info. For instance, if you’re a bank that fails to display its physical address, then Google may reject your ad.
Always include relevant information when soliciting a charitable donation. For instance, display a tax exemption number for charitable donations.
Carefully review your ad and its destination to see where you might have missed important information.
Keep a watchful eye on the following:
Ensure that the landing page or app associated with your Google ad clearly and conspicuously discloses the full cost that a customer will have to pay. Also, it should explain how your billing process works so that there are no confusions.
When determining whether or not the info you’re provided is clear and visible, Google takes into account various factors.
For example, your pricing info should be visible and obvious for the audience. If you fail to mention pricing on the landing page or hide it, it is deemed as a bad start because Google believes customers should have access to this info before they decide to buy your product/service.
Also, your customers should be able to easily see and understand the total expense they’re going to incur. So make sure your landing page is designed in such a way that makes the pricing visible and obvious. Avoid tactics such as displaying costs in blue characters over a blue background, using barely visible font size, or showing other design elements over the pricing information.
Google also determines whether the pricing structure is easily understandable. For instance, the formula you present to explain how you’ve set the pricing of the service should be as simple and straightforward as possible.
If your advertisement or landing page is asking for tax-exempt donations, it’s important to clearly specify your tax-exempt status on the landing page or donation page. Plus, also include your charity number. For example, in the US, 501(c) (3) or 501(c) (4) status indicates the required tax-exempt status.
It is recommended to remove any content from your Google Ad creative that misguides the customers to believe that your app is free to download when it is paid.
Include all the required information in your ad’s destination (app or landing page). If it is not possible to edit that destination, consider linking your ad to a new destination that is compliant with Google’s ad policy.
If your ad already complies with Google’s policy, but you’ve changed the destination, consider editing the ad content according to the updated destination. You’ll then have to save and resubmit it as well as the destination for review.
Google usually reviews ads within one business day. However, some ads can take longer if they require a more in-depth review.
According to Google Ads policy, you aren’t allowed to promise products, services, or promotional offers that users can’t easily access from your destination. For instance, do not promote out-of-stock products or a deal that is no longer active.
Likewise, avoid promoting something in your ads if it doesn’t feature in your landing pages. Give a specific and clear call-to-action (CTA) in the ad that correlates with the content of your landing page.
For example, suppose your ad mentions “Buy smartphones, starting from $100”. But, when a user clicks your ad, they don’t find any smartphones available for purchase at $100. This practice may result in getting your ad disapproved and your account suspended.
Misleading content is an important part of Google Ads’ misrepresentation policy. That’s because Google doesn’t want the audience to feel deceived or misguided by ads running on its network. Consider creating content that provides only honest, upfront info so your customers can make well-informed decisions.
Avoid making any false statements about your identity or experience. For instance, if you’re an unlicensed service provider, do not claim to be licensed.
Also, do not make ambitious promises that attract the customer with an unlikely outcome (even if it’s possible). For instance, running a weight-loss ad that encourages you to eat whatever you want while losing 25 pounds in a month will be considered as a false claim.
Another big no-no is falsely implying your affiliation with, or endorsement by, another individual, organization, product, or service. For instance, do not mislead customers by using or mimicking official government websites, stamps, seals, or agency names.
Do not create ads that trick the audience into interacting with them. For instance, avoid ads that look like website warnings or error messages. Similarly, do not design ads that simulate messages, dialog boxes, menus, or request notifications.
Google also prohibits ads that depict features that do not work, like close buttons, text input boxes, multiple-choice options, download or install buttons in image ads, etc.
Google doesn’t allow ads that aren’t relevant to the destination. For instance, your ad talks about selling a product while your landing page promotes a free eBook.
Similarly, avoid using ad titles that are not relevant to your ad text.
Your ad should indicate if the resulting destination is a search results page. Plus, it should accurately describe what the customer will see on the destination.
Do not conceal or misstate info about your business, product, or service. For instance, do not entice viewers to send you money or submit their info under false or unclear pretenses. Do not present a false identity, business name, or contact info. Avoid misrepresenting or concealing your country of origin or other material details about yourself.
If your account is suspended due to misrepresentation in advertising, you can submit an appeal. Choose ‘Misrepresentation’ in Google ads appeal form, as seen in the picture below.
Next, enter the required information and click ‘Submit.’
Google requires all advertisers to comply with its advertising policies to ensure a safe and positive experience for the audience.
Ads that violate Google’s policies will be disapproved, and the Ads account can be suspended, which a major setback for a company is hoping to grow its business through paid advertising.
If you want to keep your Google Ads account safe from suspension, you should keep these points in mind to avoid misrepresentation in advertising. You can learn more about Google Ads suspensions on our blog about, circumventing system policy violation in Google Ads.
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