If Google has disapproved your ad, the best source of information is Google Ads Policy Center – but we've also included some of the most common causes here within this article.
The following article will provide you with suggestions on how to obtain Google Ads approval (or provide recommendations on what to do if Google has disapproved your ad)
Possible Reasons Google Ads Rejected Your Ad
1. Information harvesting
Google Ads will disallow websites whose primary purpose is to capture personal information. Do you have a legitimate website/pages? Or is your entire website about capturing information? The latter may cause some friction with Google Ads.
For example, Google may disapprove of a single-page website where the only purpose is to capture personal information.
However, a landing page with a lead capture form on the same domain as a whole, a transparent website with a lot of information about you, your organization, and how to contact you is acceptable.
Read more about information harvesting from Google ».
2. Advertising the promotion of free gifts
Google may disapprove of your website if its primary purpose is to offer free gifts or other incentives in exchange for personal information; this is a type of information harvesting.
Some free gift examples include prizes, offers, videos, eBooks, and quiz or survey results.
3. Page security and SSL
Suppose you're looking to collect personally identifiable sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank account numbers, wire transfer numbers, or national identity numbers (such as driver's license, social security / social insurance, etc.).
In that case, you need to collect this on an SSL network. SSL is available on all current pricing plans.
If you're looking to link from Unbounce to a payment gateway to collect payment information, you can set this up safely and securely in Unbounce. Here are some examples with PayPal or with Shopify.
Follow the steps within our documentation to enable your landing page with SSL.
4. Destination URL matching
If the website you're advertising uses the domain "example.com," then your ad's display URL must also contain "example.com." Google will automatically disallow an advertisement if the display URL and destination URL are on different domains.
*Note: While Unbounce does offer a free "unbouncepages.com" domain to connect to your pages, this is more of a testing domain. We highly recommend setting up and connecting to your domain in Unbounce: Why Should I Connect My Domain?
If Google disapproves of the "unbouncepages.com" domain, be sure to publish your landing pages to your custom domain before submitting an ad to Google. Learn more about connecting to a custom domain within our documentation.
Read more about destination requirements from Google ».
5. Use of redirects
Like reason number 4, avoid redirects, especially if the redirect navigates your page visitors to a different domain than what they clicked on within the Ad. This implies that the display URL in the ad and destination URL are on different domains, which can cause Google to flag this as suspicious or malicious.
6. No privacy policy
You must link to a privacy policy if you're collecting personal information through a lead gen form. Services like iubenda let you easily create and embed a privacy policy in minutes.
See our article to learn more: Adding a Link to a Privacy Policy on Your Landing Page.
7. No content at the root of your domain/subdomain
When you set up your domain (or subdomain) with Unbounce, ensure you have a page present at the root of your domain/subdomain. You might have any number of pages with paths like "try.mysite.com/promo," but it's essential to have a page at "try.mysite.com", as this boosts your credibility with Google.
Avoid having a blank 404 page at the root of your domain/subdomain.
You can customize & create a 404 page directly within Unbounce.
8. Malicious Software
Sometimes, Google can deem the content of your landing page as malicious. This may be highly unlikely, but it's best to check in with Google's Support team on why this might be. Check out our article as well for more suggestions:
Rejected by Google Ads: Malicious or Unwanted Software.
Actions to Take After Making Changes to Your Website/Page
Once you make the above changes to your website, domain, privacy policy, and more, resubmit your ad with Google.
Glossary
Information harvesting: occurs when the primary purpose of your website is to capture personal information.
