Unacceptable Business Practices in Google Ads: How to Avoid Suspension

As the world continues to go digital, Google Ads is becoming more popular and powerful than ever. As a marketer, you can leverage this platform to drive awareness, branding, traffic, and conversions. If you fail to take advantage of it, you could be leaving a lot of money on the table.

Still, there are certain best practices that you need to keep in mind when advertising on Google’s platforms. Google relies on advertisers to produce revenue. However, without the many users Google Ads has, there would be no one to keep the platform in the business. For this reason, the “customer” comes first. In this case, it is the user.

In order to provide relevant and safe results to searchers, Google has certain policies to weed out bad advertisers. There are unacceptable business practices in Google Ads for these reasons. We will look at what they are and how to avoid them:

What are Unacceptable Business Practices in Google Ads?

Google takes this kind of violation very seriously. Not only could your account be suspended, but you could also be permanently banned. Let’s take a look at some examples of things that qualify as unacceptable business practices in Google Ads:

• Potentially deceptive, misleading, or harmful business propositions.
• Making misleading, false, or unsubstantiated claims during the promotion of a product or service.
• Promoting misleading information or omitting vital information on pricing, payment terms, or expenses the user will incur.
• Promoting offers or deals that are not available or easily located on the landing page.

Remember that Google Ads wants users to have a lot of trust in their platform. Therefore, Google always strives to make its ads honest, straightforward, and clear about the kind of information, product, or service being offered.

This helps users make better informed decisions. If your ads or destinations deceive users in some way, then Google will act swiftly to stop or limit your abilities as an advertiser on their platform.

What Do Advertisers Need to Know About Unacceptable Business Practices Policy In Google Ads?

Anyone advertising on Google Ads should set aside enough time to become familiar with all of their policies and guidelines. This will be essential for your brand or business going forward. Any kind of content that you promote will be tied to your account, and thus you are responsible.

This extends beyond Google’s rules and into local laws and regulations about paid search advertising. If you need to check your status or request an expedited review, you can do so at Google Ads UI through your account. This is one of the first steps to take if you realize you have violated a policy or that your ads are not running.

What Happens if You Violate This Policy?

You might expect some kind of warning via email or perhaps else your campaign may get paused. This does happen sometimes. However other times there is little to no recourse available to you after a suspension. And it bodes worse if you are hoping to lift a ban on your account.

Google deems some offenses so egregious that they permanently punish you via a suspension that can’t be lifted. This of course affects your ads and your entire account. That means you can never advertise with Google ever again in the future regardless of your business or employer.

Specific Examples that Cause Suspension

1. Misleading Information – You provide misleading information or conceal information about your product, service, or business. You use a false business name, identity, contact information, or more. You direct content to another country that involves politics or social issues of public concern. You misrepresent the country you’re from.

For example, claiming to be an official representative of a company or product that does not employ you or has business ties with you.

2. Lack of Proper Information – You need to include as much information as possible to appease Google. And there is certain information that must be present to avoid unacceptable business practices in Google Ads. This includes a physical address, email, and phone number that are all displayed on your website.

For example, not revealing the primary location or official business location for the product or service you are advertising.

Remember, misrepresentation is another kind of policy violation that you can also understand by which your account may get suspended.

3. Phishing – Your ad destinations utilize phishing techniques. These can be forms, programs, or simply asking for certain sensitive information in an attempt to steal someone’s identity, finances, or more.

For example, faking email addresses to impersonate officials or institutions.

Understanding Phishing

Phishing is the attempt to trick a person into sharing valuable personal information online. Typically, phishing occurs via email, advertisements, or fake websites.

For instance, a common phishing tactic is to send an email that looks similar to your bank’s email account. Then, they might ask you to confirm your account number.

Information that phishing sites may ask for:

• Usernames and passwords
• Social Security numbers
• Bank account numbers
• PINs (Personal Identification Numbers)
• Credit card numbers
• Your mother’s maiden name
• Your birthday

Beware that as an advertiser, you can also be the victim of phishing. If you receive a mysterious email claiming to be from Google, you should be on the lookout. They might be asking for personal information or other data about your business or finances. If at all possible, you need to confirm that it is legitimate.

You should open the site in a new window.  This way, if there is some kind of malware in the link, you won’t trigger it. And remember that Google will never send messages that ask for personal information or passwords.

Business Ethics and Best Practices to Prevent Suspension

Having good ethics is a key aspect of business. It also lowers your chances of receiving accidental suspensions. Here are some factors to consider:

Product Information

It’s important to provide complete product information. The features and benefits of your product are a must. If you don’t include a feature of your product, it could negatively affect consumers.

Truthful Advertising

Advertising needs to remain truthful. You should be able to back up claims with real results.

Product Endorsements

You need to state the reason you are endorsing something. If you have false endorsements, then it could trigger a violation.

Another form of account suspension is because of counterfeit policy violation. Your ad may go on hold to approve for a longer period of time.

Vulnerable Customers

You can display ads to certain demographics. You should keep in mind that some groups are more sensitive to discrimination or emotional struggles.

Outsourced Operations

Sometimes, you rely on outsourced labor. This could be physical or mental. Either way, there are local laws, pay scales, and other issues to be addressed. They should be within the laws of your company’s incorporation.

Avoid Politics

Don’t engage in political, social, religious, or ethnic comments on your social media. Today, anonymous users on social media and coordinated “witch hunts” can damage brand images due to having the wrong ideas or thoughts about sensitive social issues.

Have Respect for Privacy

There is a lot of data to work with online today. However, with the increased access to this data comes more responsibility. As a marketer, you need to keep in mind that extracting information from certain platforms and using them on other platforms could be illegal in your area.

Troubleshooting Violations

When your account is suspended for unacceptable business practices in Google Ads, it’s time to rethink your approach. In other words, your account will likely be permanently suspended or banned instead of being reinstated. Prepare for the possibility of this. However, there are two things you can do to troubleshoot:

Contact the Google Team

You can call the Google Team at 1-866-2-Google to talk with a representative. While these reps do not have control over suspensions, they can shed light on why your account may have been suspended.

Fix the Suspended Site

Once you have talked with a Google Ads rep, you will have a better idea of what is wrong with your ads or destinations. From here, you can follow a strategy to fix the site and submit it for review. If you make the appropriate corrections, your suspension may be lifted.

Wrap Up

The Covid-19 shed light on a trend that has already been happening. More and more people are choosing to search for products, information, and services online. Because of this, there is an unprecedented opportunity for marketers to generate campaigns that produce real results for their businesses and clients.

However, to get the full value from advertising platforms like Google Ads, you need to know the rules. This way, you can play the game without being suspended on an ad, campaign, or account level. This is why it is crucial to understand unacceptable business practices in Google Ads.

By knowing what to avoid, you can prevent suspension in the first place. And if you are experiencing an account suspension due to violating Google policies, review the troubleshooting section to quickly assess and correct the issue. That way, you can keep generating leads and conversions for your business.