Google’s guidelines state: “we value honesty and fairness, so we don’t allow the promotion of products or services that are designed to enable dishonest behaviour”. They would not reveal the specific reasons for pulling the ads, and instead stated "This ad violated Google's Advertising Policies". For the pay-per-click world, this gives some authority to the Google Ads policies and the enforcement of those policies, as even big political brands aren't being cut any slack.
Google’s advertising guidelines
Ultimately, Google has measures in place to keep users safe and ensure the best experience possible when interacting with ads and businesses on Google. To protect users, and to give businesses a fair opportunity on Google ads, the search giant has a set of advertising policies which advertisers are required to follow when submitting ads and posting ads on Google.
The categories in which Google has guidelines and restrictions are:
Prohibited content
• Counterfeit Goods
• Dangerous products or services
• Enabling dishonest behaviour
• Inappropriate content
Prohibited practices
• Abusing the ad network
• Data collection and use
• Misrepresentation
Restricted content and features
Many of the items listed in this category are simply restricted and have some requirements to follow for ads to be able to be shown. For example, political content can be shown but may only be shown in areas where elections are going on and if the ads follow guidelines outlined elsewhere within the listed policies.
Don’t panic if your products or services fall within these categories, Google doesn’t want to prevent you from advertising on these terms but you do need to get permission and follow specific rules.
• Adult Content
• Alcohol
• Copyrights
• Gambling and games
• Healthcare and medicines
• Political content
• Financial services
• Trademarks
• Legal requirements
• Other restricted businesses
• Restricted ad formats and features
Editorial and technical requirements
Ultimately the aim is to deliver ads that are engaging for users without being annoying or hard to interact with, so Google has got some editorial requirements to be able to monitor this.
• Editorial
• Destination requirements
• Technical requirements
• Ad format requirements
If you are unsure if your ads comply with Google’s policies, then you can submit your campaigns or ads and see what the response is. Otherwise, you could try and contact Google to discuss your ads with them and gain a better idea as to whether your ad will be accepted.
Alternatively, if you are struggling to write engaging ads that comply with Google’s advertising policies, then get in touch with the experts at AdPilot today to see how we can help you.