A Comprehensive Guide to Avoiding AdWords Account Suspension

Suspension of your Google AdWords account can be devastating for your business. However, with some diligence and care, you can take proactive steps to avoid common issues that lead to suspensions.

In this in-depth guide, we’ll cover the most frequent reasons for account suspensions and provide clear solutions to help keep your account in good standing. We’ll also include an FAQ at the end to address any additional questions you may have.

By focusing on landing page setup, feed specifications, and policy compliance, you can minimize risks and optimize your AdWords campaigns for long-term success. Let’s get started!

Understanding Common Suspension Triggers

Google has policies in place to maintain a good user experience on their platforms. While these rules aim to protect customers, trivial mistakes may cause suspensions that interrupt your campaigns.

Some of the of the top triggers we’ve seen include issues with:

• Shipping costs: Fees in your feed must match what visitors see on your site. Overestimating is allowed.Marketing Land
• Availability: Products listed as “In Stock” must truly be available for purchase. Out-of-stock items can cause suspensions.
• Images: Photos need to accurately depict the item without logos or text. Unsuitable photos violate policies.
• Landing pages: Visitors clicking ads must reach a valid product page without redirects. Back buttons cannot be disabled.
• Currency: Prices shown must match the currency and location of site visitors. Geotargeting helps avoid mismatches.
• Returns: A clear refund policy accessible from every page is required. Hiding this information leads to suspensions.

Paying careful attention to feed quality, landing page functionality, and policy adherence can help you steer clear of these common issues.

Optimizing Your Account Setup

Proactive steps taken on the front-end can make suspensions much less likely to occur down the road.

Setup complete payment solutions: Offering multiple payment options like PayPal gives customers flexibility that demonstrates your legitimacy.

Use geotargeting: AdWords allows targeting ads based on location, language, and more. Use these tools to prevent mismatches between what people see and what your site actually offers for their region.

Install tracking pixels. Place AdWords conversion or view-through pixels on key pages like product listings and checkout. This helps measure IPS and guard against click fraud.

Configure data feeds: structured product feeds ensure accurate information syncing between your listings and landing pages. Automating this process helps avoid human errors. Feedonomics is a useful feed management partner.

Implement quality checks: double check images, pricing, availability and more before submitting new listings or feed updates. Small mistakes can have big consequences without review practices.

Taking a proactive, “defense-first” mindset positions your account for the best long-term success under Google’s policies. Minor adjustments now save major headaches like suspensions down the road.

Specific Landing Page Best Practices

When visitors click your ads, their experience on your site determines whether policies are being followed. Focusing on a few key areas keeps landing pages suspension-proof:

No redirects: Clicking an ad should take users directly to a product or category page about the item. There are no intermediate pages.

Functional back button: Browser back buttons need to work as intended without restrictions after a clickthrough.

Clear calls-to-action: Key actions like “Add to Cart” must be prominently displayed and clickable without overlays blocking interaction.

Responsive design: pages should render properly on any device type without breaking functionality. Test on mobile screens.

Accurate information: product details, images, pricing, and availability shown must match what’s in your feed and advertised in campaigns.

Global visibility: pages must be accessible from any location without region blocking that could create policy violations.

Following these landing page best practices ensures Google finds no issues worth suspending your account when visitors arrive from your ads. Keep pages functional, truthful and accessible worldwide.

Avoiding Common Feed Specification Errors

For automated syncing between your listings and sites, data feeds require strict conformance to Google’s defined specifications. Common errors include:

• Missing or incorrect fields: All required fields, like product title, image url, and price, must be included correctly formatted.
• Formatting issues: dates, URLs, and other data types need the proper formatting in Google outlines, or your feed may be rejected.
• Special character problems: Some punctuation can cause parsing issues. Stick to alphanumeric characters where possible.
• Out-of-sync values: data in your feed and onsite must align closely. Price, availability and other values can’t vary significantly.
• Too few/many products: Feeds need to contain an appropriate amount of listings, typically hundreds or thousands, to avoid policy triggers.

Partnering with a specialized feed management company helps avoid these specification pitfalls. They maintain compliance as specs evolve over time. Consistently well-formatted feeds pave the way for long-term account health.

Additional Suspension Prevention Tips

A few extra precautions make suspensions even less likely to occur:

• Monitor performance: Check for and resolve policy violations, low conversion rates, or other unexpected changes that could signal account review.
• Be responsive. Address any account health or policy notices promptly through the Merchant Center. Delays may result in suspensions.
• Request reviews: If uncertain about any practices, describe your setup to Google through a health or policy request for upfront guidance.
• Use reputable vendors. Outsourcing to experienced partners with positive Google relationships prevents issues their expertise helps avoid.
• Stay current: Follow Google Webmaster Central Blog[Webmaster Central Blog] for updates to specifications, best practices, or other changes.
• Document everything. Keep screenshots, agreements and other records should you need to appeal a suspension. Documentation strengthens your case.

Proactive monitoring, communication, vendor selection and policy comprehension arm you to steer far clear of suspension risks down the line.

Key Takeaways

To summarize, the top tips to avoid an AdWords suspension include:

• Ensure landing page values match your feed data and campaigns
• Carefully validate feed quality, structure and schema
• Implement monitoring for new policy notices or issues
• Partner with experienced vendors where it is helpful
• Maintain proactive communication with Google
• Stay up-to-date on specification or policy changes
• Document your practices should an appeal ever be needed

Following these best practices leads to long-term account health under Google’s policies. Don’t lose valuable campaigns to easily avoidable suspension triggers; take the preventative steps outlined here.

FAQ

Here are some frequently asked questions:

Q: What is the appeals process if you are suspended?
Reach out to your Google rep immediately. Gather relevant records, like screenshots, and feed samples for your case.

Q: Can I still advertise if I am suspended temporarily?
Yes, typically there is a grace period to make fixes before the full suspension takes effect.

Q: How often should I update my feed?
At least once daily if you offer a dynamic catalog. Speed is important for syncing changes.

Q: What are some other common violations?
Challenging ad copy, unauthorized affiliate programs, missing contact information, or compliance issues.

Q: Can suspension harm my website or rankings?
No, suspensions only impact paid search campaigns; other marketing isn’t directly affected.

Q: How can I prevent account hijacking risks?
Enable 2-step verification and a strong password, and only grant account access to trusted partners or vendors.

Q: What if I sell internationally? Any special tips?
Proper geotargeting, local currency listings, and customs and shipping policies displayed per region help avoid regional policy violations.

Q: How long do suspensions typically last?
First-time violations may only suspend campaigns temporarily (1-3 days). Repeated issues increase the risk of longer or permanent suspensions.

I hope this comprehensive guide has provided valuable insights into avoiding common AdWords suspension triggers. Let me know if you have any other questions!