An Insight Into Google Ads New Destination Requirements Policy Update

Author: Myk Baxter

Have you ever wondered why your paid ads have been disapproved of by Google in the past?

Well, the tech giant is now set to provide those answers with the rollout of its Destination Requirements Policy update on March 21st to improve clarity for the world’s advertisers.

Keep reading to learn more about this much-anticipated change.

What changes are being made? 

Unfortunately when an ad is disapproved by Google, it’s not always clear as to why or how this will affect your overall campaign but the new update is set to change that. 

With the main objective of providing clear examples & clarified language of disapprovals, the following changes set to be made are; 

  • Fresh & easy-to-understand examples within the “Destination Not Working” policy.
  • Clarified guidelines for the “Insufficient Original Content” policy.
  • The introduction of a “Destination Not Accessible” policy. 

Changes to the “Destination Not Working” policy

With the goal of improving transparency & clarity for advertisers, the updating of the “Destination Not Working” policy will be flagged if your site features ‘HTTP’ within its URL or a server code’. 

Should this be flagged you will receive a “destinations that don’t function properly or have been incorrectly set up” error message to help resolve the issue. 

In relation to this, you may also be at risk of receiving this disapproval for the following reasons:

  • Your website isn’t compatible with popular browsers or devices.
  • Your site flags an authentication error.

Changes to the “Insufficient Original Content” policy

Previously those websites that featured error messages such as “site under construction” were filed in correspondence with the “destination not working” policy.

However, this is now set to change, sitting under the “insufficient’ umbrella, alongside the following destinations: 

  • Websites that feature “coming soon” messages.
  • Parked domains
  • Websites that are only created with the intention of reserving a web address (no content displayed).

If your website should fall into one of these categories, an example of the updated error message received is “destinations that display a message of the destination not providing any services. 

The introduction of the “Destination Not Accessible” policy

Falling under the umbrella of the requirements or access limitations, you are most likely to be in breach of this policy should your site display a “down for maintenance” message. 

Should this happen a “destinations that are not accessible in the targeted location” error message will be displayed. 

Other examples of why you would receive this disapproval include:

  • Your website displays a location-based access limitation within its targeted location; or other messages related to this including “you don’t have access to view this page”

Why should you take action to avoid this?

The simple answer here is that by identifying a disapproval issue, the quicker you’ll be able to troubleshoot your ads, leading to faster CRO & ROI. 

Remember these policy changes will be activated on the 21st of March, so make sure to have your website and accessibility in the best condition possible to avoid these new disapprovals. 

Reach out to us today to discover how we can support you with this!

www.mykbaxtermarketing.com

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