Google Ads Suspended FAQ

Your all-in-one guide to Ad Suspensions

 

Introduction

R.I.D. Marketing is a full-service digital marketing company that specializes in Google Ads suspended accounts and Google Ads suspensions.

When consulting with clients on their Google Ads Suspended accounts, addressing as many concerns as possible is essential. So, let’s address the most common questions asked by customers.

In this article, we will refer to Policy Network as a network that defines the Google Ads policy set and processes, how the Google Ads algorithm interprets the policies, and how Google Ads applies violations to accounts regarding those policies.

The Policy Network Google Ads has built could be better, and nuances in the system can be corrected if the right resources are used.

This comprehensive document will provide insight and resources to help guide customers in the account reinstatement process.

An overview of the account reinstatement process

The account reinstatement process could vary depending on the priority of your scheduling and Google Ads responsiveness.

• Account reinstatement could vary widely, depending on the communications between R.I.D., the client, and Google Ads support. For example, some clients see accounts reinstated within a day; for others, it could take several weeks.
• Priority members can pay an additional fee to receive priority response on their Google Ads Suspended account: To view the complete list of priority services for accounts, please consult an expert or visit us online.

The account reinstatement process varies because Google Ads needs to clarify the nature of the violation through their platform or support. Thus, advertisers are left scrambling, looking for answers, and that’s where R.I.D. comes in.

Remember, the Google Ads algorithm could have wrongfully suspended your account, as the algorithm could be better. Sometimes, human intervention is necessary.

We ask and answer the ten most common questions asked by clients when appealing their suspended accounts.

 

What caused my Google Ads account to be suspended?

• Your Google Ads account has been suspended because you’re not versed in the Google Ads Policy Network.
• The Google Ads algorithm suspected your account to be performing fraudulent activity in some way against the Policy Network.
• You lack credible business information, and your business operations need to be verified by the Policy Network.
• The Google Ads algorithm wrongfully flagged your account.
  • If your account was wrongfully flagged, this can be clarified and addressed by Google Ads. Most accounts are reinstated quickly if this is the case and is adequately addressed.

However, three major policy violations result in account suspensions without notice. These violations are considered egregious policy violations and result in immediate account suspensions.

The seven types of egregious policies are included with links to the direct policy below:

• Circumventing systems
• Coordinated deceptive practices
• Counterfeit
• Promotion of unauthorized pharmacies
• Unacceptable business practices
• Trade Sanctions violation
• Sexually explicit content

Several sub-policies could put your account at risk of immediate or temporary suspension. Those are:

• Age Requirements
• Ads Grant Policy
• Unauthorized Account Activity
• Billing And Payment Issues

The table below outlines the three most common policies and each violation that leads to account suspension.

Figure 1.1 – The 3 Main Policy Violations

Policy: Abusing The Ad Network Violation: ‘Circumventing Systems Policies’	Policy: Misrepresentation Violation: ‘Unacceptable Business Practices’	Policy: Billing And Payment Issues Violation: ‘Suspicious Payment Activity’
What many people don’t know about the Circumventing Systems Policy violation is that it’s actually a sub-policy violation defined in the Abusing The Ad Network Policy. Google Ads will say on your account: ‘Your account is suspended - Your account violated the Circumventing systems policy.’ The number of reasons for suspension could vary greatly depending on the other policy violations which could be constituted under the primary policy.	The Unacceptable Business Practices violation is a sub-policy violation defined in the Misrepresentation Policy. Google Ads will say on your account: ‘Your account is suspended – Your account violated the Unacceptable Business Practices policy.’ Most of the time, you’ll find that this policy violation results from including services, ads content, or product data that is inaccurate or misleading.	Billing and Payment Issues is an unofficial 8th egregious policy that results in immediate account termination. Google Ads will say on your account: ‘Your account is suspended – We’ve detected suspicious payments’. This violation is almost directly correlated to incorrect billing or suspicious payment information. An example of what Google Ads might consider questionable payment information is having multiple accounts with the same payment information.

 

A.    How do you fix an account suspended by the Circumventing Systems Policy violation?

Please be aware that this policy is considered egregious and results in immediate account suspension.

First, you must assess each aspect of your business and its online operations to address this violation. Then, when you receive this violation, it could also refer to any of the other policy violations within the context of the policy called ‘Abusing The Ad Network.’

The violations under this policy are as follows:

• Malicious or unwanted software
  • Your website has malicious software or “malware” that may be harmful or attempt to gain unauthorized access to a user’s computer device or network.
    • Google Ads will likely include an ad disapproval notice with this violation if it finds you violate this policy.
  • Ads or destinations that result in an unfriendly user experience.

Solution: Run a website scan for malicious software or application defects. You can utilize R.I.D., as we have developed software to help scan your website for possible issues.

• Unfair advantage
  • Google Ads suspects you’re attempting to gain an unfair advantage against others in the network.
    • Some examples of this include having multiple accounts advertising for the same business or website or using keywords unrelated to your business.

Solution: Ensure you’re not running multiple Google Ads accounts for the same business. Make sure all your keywords are relevant to your business.

• Evasive ad content
  • The manipulation of ad content to bypass detection.
  • Sometimes, spelling a word wrong or including the wrong image in your ads may result in this violation.

Solution: Check all your ad content and review the business information included in the content. The best way to assess whether your ad content is compliant or not is to sign up for R.I.D.’s Account Review process

• Circumventing systems
  • Google Ads believes you have engaged in practices that circumvent or interfere with the Google Ads Policy Network.
  • Examples would include:
    • Cloaking, which could involve redirection to non-compliant content, using dynamic DNS to switch page or ad content, manipulating site content/restricting access to your landing pages, or using click trackers to redirect users to malicious sites.
  • Repeated policy violations
  • Bypassing enforcement mechanisms and detections by creating variations of ads, domains, or content already disapproved. This could also include using techniques in text, images, or videos.
  • Creating a new Google Ads account even though a previous account had been suspended.
  • Abusing Google Ads product features to show non-compliant content to users.
  • Submitting false information to verification programs.

Solution: Allow R.I.D. to check your website for cloaking and non-compliant content. We have developed software to determine where issues may lie. Close out any other Google Ads accounts you may have created. Assess your ad content to diffuse any ad variations that Google Ads may consider suspicious. If your business operations cannot be verified, you must figure out the correct documentation to submit to Google’s verification process.

• Spam Policies for Google Web Search
  • This policy relates to engaging in any practices that violate their Spam Policies for Google Web Search.
    • This might include keyword stuffing, cloaking, sneaky redirect, doorway pages, or spamming social networks.

Solution: Close off redirects, double-check your keywords, and post less on social media.

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How do you fix an account suspended by the Unacceptable Business Practices Policy violation?

Please be aware that this policy is considered egregious and results in immediate account suspension.

First, you must assess each aspect of your business and its online operations to address this violation. When you receive this violation, it could also refer to any other policy violations within the context of the policy called ‘Misrepresentation.’

Advertisers should know and address each possible solution in every violation below. The violations under this policy are as follows:

• Unacceptable business practices
  • When Google Ads suspects you are scamming users by concealing or misstating information about your business, product, or service.
  • Ad destination that uses “phishing” techniques to gather user information.

Solution: Triple-check your business information, website content, ad content, and product content, then put together a brief for Google Ads to explain in detail while your information is accurate and legitimate.

• Coordinated deceptive practices
  • This violation is when advertisers coordinate with other sites or accounts to conceal or misrepresent a business’s identity or other details about social issues, politics, or matters of public concern.
  • When advertisers direct content about politics, social issues, or matters of public concern to users in a country other than your own if you misstate your country of origin or other material details about your business.

Solution: If you’re not affiliated with political or social issues or matters of public concern, clarify this to Google Ads in an appeal. Also, make sure none of your ad content violates country-specific policies.

• Misleading representation
  • Google Ads suspects your business is making misleading statements, obscuring, or omitting material information about your identity, affiliation, or qualification.
    • Some examples could include implying affiliation without knowledge or consent or an affiliate marketer not legally obligated to provide legal services even though they advertise it.
  • Business information or a business name that is inaccurate or disambiguates from other businesses or ad concepts.

Solution: Triple-check your business information. Check your product data, privacy policy, terms, and conditions.

• Dishonest pricing practices
  • Advertisers must clearly and conspicuously disclose the payment model or complete expense the user bears.
  • Advertising products or services as free when they are chargeable.

Solution: Ensure all your pricing and business policies are up-to-date and accurate. This includes shipping, refunds, privacy, and terms and conditions.

• Clickbait Ads
  • These ads use clickbait tactics, sensationalist text, or imagery to drive traffic. Affiliate marketers, this is a big one for you.
    • Some examples include ads that ‘claim to reveal secrets, scandals, or sensationalist information about the product or service being advertised’; ads that use messaging like “Click here to find out” or “You won’t believe what happened” or “Look at what this scientist figured out..”. Ads that have unclear or suspicious images.
  • Ads that use adverse life events to induce fear, guilt, or other strong negative emotions.

Solution: Create robust and compelling ad copies that are meant to produce meaningful and actual results. Avoid referencing real-life events that could be construed as unfavorable.

• Misleading ad design
  • Ads that make it difficult for the user to understand they are interacting with an ad.

Solution: Advertisers are expected to have clear and concise ad copies that can visibly be seen as an ad. Assess your ad content and ensure clear images and site links.

• Manipulated media
  • Manipulating media to deceive, defraud, or mislead others

Solution: Make sure that any videos or images you are advertising with are not misleading and clear on the nature of your business.

• Unreliable claims
  • When a business makes inaccurate claims or claims that entice users with an improbable result.
    • Some examples include claims related to health and weight loss, claims related to financial products or money-making schemes, or claims related to politics, social issues, or matters of public concern

Solution: Check your ad content and website to ensure that all the content states only facts or information the business can be accountable for.

• Unclear relevance
  • Promotions that are not relevant to the destinations

Solution: Make sure no expired promotions are still actively showing in ads on your account.

• Unavailable offers
  • Any products, services, or promotional offers in ad content unavailable or not easily accessible from the landing page destination.

Solution: Ensure your products, services, or promotional offers are easily accessible and available to customers.

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How do you fix an account suspended by the Suspicious Payment Activity Policy violation?

Please be aware that this policy is considered the unofficial 8’th egregious and results in immediate account suspension.

This violation is almost directly correlated with the billing information on the account. Advertisers often find that the billing information must be more accurate or set up correctly. Other times, Google Ads might find that advertisers’ payment methods are suspicious, incorrect, caused a charge-back, unpaid balance, or are connected to another ad account.

This policy is pretty simple to address, and Google Ads states in their article online, ‘About Google Ads account suspensions,’ that this suspension could be related to any of the following reasons under their Billing and payment issues section:

• Promotional code abuse
  • Any advertiser that attempts to sell or use more than one promotional code is in violation.

Solution: Ensure you’re not abusing the promotional code credits applied after spending $500 on new accounts.

• Requesting a chargeback
  • Google Ads does not play nice with chargebacks, and any chargebacks issued by a banking institution for a reasonable charge on a Google Ads account result in immediate suspension.

Solution: If you wrongfully requested a chargeback for a valid Google Ads charge, you can return the money and appeal your account, stating that the money was returned. If you rightfully requested a chargeback for an invalid order made by Google Ads, this can also be clarified in an appeal.

• Suspicious Payment Activity
  • If Google Ads detects what can be considered suspicious or fraudulent payment activity, they will restrict how much the account can be suspended or suspend it immediately.

Solution: Double-check all your billing and payment information. Also, check that your card or billing information is not connected to any suspicious 3’rd party services or another Google Ads account. Then, provide proof to Google Ads in an appeal (like bank statements) highlighting that you are making safe and compliant online transactions with your cards. Also, include photos with the cards and ids for those cards in your appeal.

• Unpaid balance
  • This one is straightforward. If you have an outstanding balance, your account could be subject to suspension.

Solution: Take care of your due balance, then appeal the report stating that the balance is paid off, possibly with a screenshot or two to show them.

 

What To Do?

Once these policy violations are addressed, you’ll want to include evidence supporting each of your claims for compliance when submitting an appeal.

This could and should include screenshots of website scans, business certification, invoices, customer interactions, bank statements, etc., to prove your business’s legitimacy in the digital marketplace. Use concise verbiage depicting what your company has done to meet compliance standards. You’ll want to be as direct and include as much information as possible.

Note the actions you’ve taken as a business, what policies you referred to, and why you feel that your account should now be complying and reinstated. This could also include communications you or R.I.D. may have had with Google Ads on your behalf.

Additionally, it would be best to utilize R.I.D.’s services to successfully appeal and reinstate your account.

You can find the services R.I.D. offers to reinstate Google Ads accounts under these headings:

• Account Appeal Service
  • Hand off the entire appeal process to R.I.D. and allow us to work on the account to reinstate it. This service is inclusive of the test account.
• Account Management Service
  • Hire R.I.D. to maintain, optimize, and keep your account compliant and appeal any future suspensions on the account.

Can I Appeal the Decision to Suspend My Account?

• Yes, you can appeal your suspended account by clicking the ‘Contact Us’ button on the far right of the policy violation notice.

 

• We do not recommend submitting appeals if you’ve not narrowed down the issue. Instead, it’s best to consult an expert, as the more requests you submit, the less your account is prioritized in the appeal queue.

The online business ecosystem is becoming more complex as we move into the rapidly evolving future. Advertisers and online digital marketers are expected to understand the rulesets implemented within the ecosystem.

It’s not as easy to create an online business as ten years ago before Policy Guidelines were heavily enforced in modern platforms. However, if you’re looking to evolve as a business in this modern day of marketing and software, you must address the user-end concerns and abide by those concerns.

Unfortunately, it is not all cut and dry when understanding the policy guidelines enforced by each network.

Fortunately, R.I.D. saw the need for this ahead of time, and we became experts in the Policy Network as defined by Google Ads. Beyond this, we’re specialists in all areas of policy compliance because most Policy Networks are built off the same principal concepts. That is The End-User Experience.

Companies like R.I.D. must appreciate and value the consumer to the point where we understand the consumers’ needs addressed in the Google Ads policies.

To sustain a healthy ecosystem in the online marketplace, R.I.D. has addressed these needs by coming up with solutions for advertisers to be successful throughout their marketing lifespan.

The first of which solutions is the R.I.D. Account Review Service.

R.I.D. Is Like A Hospital For Google Ads Accounts.  

Disclaimer: Before signing up for any R.I.D. services, you must provide authorization to R.I.D. via a written and signed (virtual) agreement so that we may conduct business operations on your behalf as the client. Your E-Signature will ensure liability-free interactions between R.I.D. LLC and Google services and authorize R.I.D. as an entity that performs its operations on behalf of your company.

R.I.D. Account Review Service (Google Ads Account Review Service – R.I.D. (ridofmysuspension.com)

Overview

R.I.D.’s Account Review Service is a service that benefits advertisers by providing them with feedback on their accounts after an account assessment. In addition, businesses can utilize this service to receive a comprehensive report analysis of their accounts.

If your Google Ads account has been suspended, you're not alone. We know how frustrating and overwhelming it can be, so we're here to help. Our account review service is designed to give you a comprehensive understanding of what went wrong and how to fix it.

Our Google Ads experts will dive deep into your account, reviewing everything from campaigns and ads to keywords and landing pages. We leave no stone unturned in our quest to identify the root cause of your suspension. Once we've identified the issue, we'll provide a detailed report outlining our findings and recommendations.

Our commitment to your success goes beyond identifying and addressing the root cause of your Google Ads account suspension. We'll collaborate with you to execute the recommended changes and ensure your account fully complies with Google's policies. Our ultimate objective is to reinstate your account and equip you with the knowledge and strategies to prevent future suspensions. You can rely on us to provide ongoing support and guidance to help you maintain a healthy and high-performing Google Ads account.

We understand that a suspended account can severely impact your business. That's why we're committed to providing you with the best possible service. Our team has years of experience working with Google Ads accounts and has helped countless clients reinstate them.

Don't let a suspended account hold you back. Instead, contact us today to schedule your account review and get back on track to achieving your business goals.

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Figure 1.2 – The 3 Major Pain Points to Address with Google Ads Suspended Accounts

Pain-point 1: Address Your Ad Copy	Pain-point 2: Address Your Website	Pain-point 3: Address Your Business (Billing) Information
When your ad content is copied over, R.I.D. knows that if the test account gets suspended, there is likely an issue with the ad content you’re using to advertise.   R.I.D. will address the ad copies and point out discrepancies that may need to be resolved.	If your website is used for advertising in our test account, and the account is suspended, there is likely an issue with the website you’re using to advertise.   R.I.D. will run website-wide security scans on your website and provide the results in your report.	If the test account doesn’t get suspended, then that more than likely means there is an issue with the current billing information on your account.   R.I.D. will provide consultation in their report on addressing an issue like this.

You can sign up for R.I.D. Account Review Service by going online.

 

R.I.D.’s Account Appeal Service

Skip the account review and hand off your account to R.I.D. R.I.D. will work tirelessly to achieve a resolution with your account in our 3-Step account appeal service.

This service is inclusive of the benefits of R.I.D.’s Account Review Service. Additionally, we will set up and draft appeals for your business, manage and collect documentation necessary to appeal accounts, and set up correspondence and communications with Google Ads on behalf of your account.

We offer an in-depth review of your account and what you need to do to comply with all within our 3-step appeal process:

Step 1: Initial Appeal

Collect the initial documentation necessary to draft an appeal. Next, submit the initial request and create a correspondence between Google Ads and the advertiser account. This step could take two weeks unless you’re a priority member with R.I.D.

If you would like to become a priority member with R.I.D., please add our priority membership product to your purchase or request a free consultation with our experts for a quote on pricing.

An example of such documentation that could be collected could vary depending on the nature of the suspension.

Some examples could include:

• Business Licenses/Certification
• Invoices For Clients
• Emails From Clients
• IDs Or Passports
• Contracts/Affiliate Programs
• Proof Of Deliveries
• Pictures Of Cards/Business Information
• Screenshots Of Website And Software Scans

Step 2: Extended Appeal

If the first appeal is rejected, an extended case must be made. R.I.D. will work with businesses to create a comprehensive document with principalities and responses to those principalities. R.I.D. can then request a manual review of the account before submission to this complete document. That way, you can ensure that your account is looked at by an actual person rather than the algorithm.

 

R.I.D.’s Account Management Service

R.I.D. is committed to finding a solution for businesses in all accounts of the world. Due to such a commitment, we provide full-service PPC Management.

Clients have found that having a management service to manage to advertise, they become less at risk of suspension and don’t have to worry about their accounts staying suspended if it does happen.

R.I.D. will keep client management accounts safe and compliant, and they will appeal any suspended accounts on our management systems without any additional fees.

Request a consultation or learn more about R.I.D.’s account management services online.

 

How can I resolve the issue and get my account reinstated?

First, wait to submit any appeals until you know the issue(s) with your account.

R.I.D. holds to its standards by producing the best results and follows a similar process for every suspended account. All advertisers facing suspension can draw from this process.

Step 1:

Assess the account information, website, and all ad assets. Next, determine what specific policies you may have violated based on the violation notice you received. Then, communicate with Google Ads support to set up a line of communication for Step 4.

Step 2:

Collect initial documentation supporting your claims or evidence against the suspension. Then, put together an extended case with screenshots, documents, and terminology that identifies the legitimacy of your business.

Step 3:

Submit an appeal with a summary of actions taken to ensure the account is compliant and include all supporting documentation.

Step 4:

Set up a line of communication with Google Ads support through phone, chat, or email and request a manual account review. Manual checks are when you request that an actual representative review the account and appeal submission rather than the Google Ads system.

This process could involve any number of sub-processes, which can be found under the heading ‘What caused my Google Ads account to be suspended?’

The best thing you can do is take advantage of the services offered by the experts at R.I.D., which are found under these headings:

• Account Review Service
• Account Appeal Service
• Account Management Service

 

What kind of documentation must I provide to get my account reinstated?

The documentation that could be required could vary greatly, and it ultimately depends on the nature of the violation.

Usually, R.I.D. consultants can assess and debrief you on what documents may be required, but additional communications with Google Ads must be considered.

Businesses are encouraged to consult with a R.I.D. expert to be sure they communicate effectively with Google agents. Support lines are made available to advertisers that offer certain levels of communication, and there are ways to contact Google Ads support through phone, chat, and email. Of course, this assumes that the support lines aren’t down due to COVID.

Some examples of documentation that may be necessary are:

• Business Licenses/Certification
• Invoices For Clients
• Emails From Clients
• IDs Or Passports
• Contracts/Affiliate Programs
• Proof Of Deliveries
• Pictures Of Cards/Business Information
• Screenshots Of Website And Software Scans

How long will it take to get my account reinstated?

The honest answer is: No one knows – not even Google Ads. They cannot provide a timeframe, although they say that the average response time to submitted appeals is 3 to 5 business days.

3 to 5 business days only for most clients to receive a canned response from Google Ads that looks something like this:

Figure 1.3 – Your canned response from Google Ads

Lovely. So, from here, you must open a line of communication with Google Ads, which R.I.D. can do on your behalf.

 

However, it could take less than a day from suspension to reinstatement. Sometimes, it can take several weeks. It depends on the nature of the case and what flags had been raised within the Google Ads algorithm to result in suspension.

Consider each violation of the policies outlined in the question, ‘What caused my Google Ads account to be suspended?’ and the time it takes to come to the solution. You also must consider assessing and collecting the documentation to include with any appeal.

This is all the time necessary to come up with a solid appeal to submit and must be considered. That is why for non-priority members, it could take up to 2 weeks to submit the initial request.

 

What guidelines should I follow to ensure my account remains compliant?

Businesses should always stay up-to-date on Google Ads policies and make sure they understand the nuances of the guidelines.

As R.I.D. experts, We have come to find that those who sign up with our management services have kept their accounts safe by following these three golden rules:

Rule 1: Keep your account compliant by understanding Google Ads policies in-depth.

Rule 2: Always double-check your ad content for discrepancies or keyword issues that may result in suspension. This includes site links or ad assets.

Rule 3: Update/alternate your payment methods on the account.

 

How can I contact Google Ads Customer Service for help?

Google Ads has support lines; you can find their support page here. In addition, they offer support articles and chat, email, and phone support.

Although, keep in mind that the support teams can’t disclose any information regarding your suspended account. They can only open cases to escalate to their offline support teams and provide you with status updates on any outstanding appeals.

Their support isn’t quite where it needs to be, and Google Ads could benefit from having more open and transparent support lines – especially for legitimate and compliant businesses.

 

What should I do if I created multiple accounts?

If you created multiple accounts, you’re most likely dealing with various suspensions at that point. In addition, businesses will want to close down/cancel any statements made after the first account’s break.

This is because the Google Ads algorithm has ways of tracking down users that create multiple accounts. They can track you based on several factors, including but not limited to the following:

• Your IP/Location
• Your business information
• Your payment information
• Your email address

Subsequently, any accounts made after the first account suspension will be ultimately suspended. So, advertisers must close down/cancel any additional advertising accounts and focus solely on appealing the suspended original account.

 

What can I do to keep my account from getting suspended again?

We’ve pretty much addressed this throughout the entirety of the document. If you haven’t already, you can refer to the header titled ‘What guidelines should I follow to ensure that my account remains compliant?’, which discusses the three golden rules we use to keep our accounts secure.

Additionally, you can use R.I.D.’s management services to create or manage your Google Ads accounts. R.I.D. offers full-service PPC management, which means they will not only assist with optimizing and making the best ad copies for your business, but they will also keep your account safe from suspensions without any additional fees other than a PPC management fee.

You can find more information on our PPC management services online or under the header titled ‘R.I.D. Account Management Service.’

FAQ Conclusion

Is your Google Ads suspended? R.I.D. understands and empathizes with businesses, as it can be difficult when your marketing strategies falter because you can advertise. However, advertising is the backbone of most online businesses.

R.I.D. saw and addressed the need for businesses suffering from account suspensions ahead of time. Therefore, we were founded based on alleviating the struggle with suspended accounts.

In 2021 alone, over 5+ million accounts were suspended on Google Ads, and over 3+ billion ads were removed from the platform. You can read more about this in the report on Search Engine Land.

Because of the lack of transparency offered by Google Ads to legitimate businesses, it’s now more difficult than ever for advertisers to know what they did wrong. Due to this lack of transparency, Google Ads is already facing several lawsuits and recently paid 150 million euros to a French company for this lack of transparency. You can find more information on this lawsuit in this article found on CNIL.

R.I.D. stays committed to helping businesses achieve online digital marketing success. As such, we have developed numerous successful services, making us one of the top full-service digital marketing agencies specializing in ad suspensions. Our services include just about everything under the umbrella of digital marketing, and those are:

• Search Engine Optimization/Local SEO
• Website Development
• PPC Management
• Google Ads Suspensions
• Social Media Management
• Content Management