ICYMI: Google Ads Updated Destination Requirements Policy
In case you’re not aware, Google Ads have updated their policy regarding destination requirements which were done last March 21,2022. They have done this to improve the policy’s clarity for advertisers. Do note that the changes done did not impact any of the current policies.
These changes should benefit you if you have encountered disapproved ads in the past.
What Changed?
When your ad gets disapproved, most of the time you’re not sure why it got disapproved in the first place.
The main reason why Google updated their destination policy is to provide examples which will clarify the reason in the first place and they also updated the language of disapprovals as well.
The changes includes the following:
- Clearer guidelines for the policy of “Insufficient Original Content”
- “Destination not accessible” which was a new policy that was introduced
- Updated examples of the “Destination not working” policy
Insufficient Original Content
As mentioned above, the first change impacted the policy for “Insufficient Original Content”.
This policy affects websites that specifically have messages on their website, such as “site under construction”. If your website has this specific messaging, it will be affected by this policy.
Before the update, these error messages correspond with the “Destination Not Working” policy.
The websites that have the following will encounter this error message:
- “Coming Soon” or “Under Construction” websites that has no content on it
- Parked domains
- A website that is intended to reserve a domain with no content on it
Below is an example of the updated language that Google Ads will be using:
Destination Not Accessible
The second update is a new and independent policy from Google that falls underneath the requirements of access limitations.
You will receive this error message from Google Ads If your website is down and a message of of “Down for maintenance” appears in your website.
Other examples of disapprovals includes:
- When your site displays a message that prohibits an access due to location based limitations.
- When your website displays a message that is related to access limitations such as “You don’t have access to view this page”
Destination Not Working
And lastly, Google Ads also updated their examples regarding “Destination Not Working” policy. The sole reason for this update is to improve their transparency and clarity for advertisers.
You will receive this message once your site got disapproved due to a server error code or it contains “http”.
Additionally, your ads is also at risk of disapproval if:
- The website you’re advertising doesn’t work on common browsers or devices
- The website you’re advertising returns an authentication error
With these updates, Google is being more transparent and clear around disapprovals so you will be able to troubleshoot ads faster. Hence, you can quickly identify disapproval issues and get your ads back and running.