ReferenceGoogle Ads account suspension
Coordinated deceptive practices
Google suspends an account on detection, with no warning, when it finds coordinated deceptive practices: hiding who is behind political or social content across accounts or sites. The policy applies only to content about politics, social issues or matters of public concern. Check every linked site and account for content that hides its owner or origin, fix it, then appeal through the contact link in the suspension notice.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The suspension notice at the top of the account, which names the policy.
- What stops
- Every campaign in the account stops serving at once.
- How serious
- Severe. The account is suspended on detection, with no prior warning, Google says the advertiser can't advertise with Google Ads again, and reinstatement happens only in compelling circumstances.
What it means
The policy covers two things. One is coordinating with other sites or accounts, or concealing or misrepresenting your identity or other material details, when your content relates to politics, social issues or matters of public concern. The other is directing that kind of content at users in another country while hiding where it comes from. Google files it under its wider Misrepresentation policy.
Google treats a violation as egregious. The account is suspended on detection, with no warning first, and Google may review your ads, your website, your accounts and third-party sources to decide whether the policy applies. A clean ad can still be pulled into a review by what the site it links to does.
What actually triggers it
A second site or account pushing one public-issue message
Google's own example is using several accounts or sites together to push political or social content while hiding who runs them. A company that runs a second site on a public issue, and does not say which company is behind it, fits that description.
Content about a public issue aimed at a foreign audience
Google also names targeting users in a foreign country with political or social content while hiding your true location or origin. The test is whether the site and the ads tell a visitor who is speaking and from where.
A sponsor left off the ad or the site
Not on Google's help page
Google's page does not mention sponsors, but political or social content that never says who paid for it or who runs it is concealing identity in plain terms. Checking that the owner and any sponsor are named on the site is the first check to run.
Fix it in this order
- Open the suspension notice and read the policy it names. If it is not Coordinated deceptive practices, use the page for that policy instead.
- List every account, site and page tied to the business, and the content each one carries about a political, social or public-interest topic.
- For each piece of that content, check that the owner and any sponsor are named on the site and in the ad. Add the name where it is missing.
- Remove content that hides who is behind it, or that was pushed across accounts or sites in coordination. Google may review every account and site involved, so clean up all of them before the appeal.
- If the account asks for identity verification, complete it before you appeal.
Appeal from the suspension notice once the content is cleaned up. Say what changed and attach proof of who owns and runs the business.
When to appeal
Appeal through the contact link in the suspension notice, then complete the appeal form. The account shows Appeal pending until the decision arrives by email.
Some advertisers must pass identity verification before they can appeal. After three failed attempts, the account cannot appeal, so send exactly the documents the verification asks for.
Google reinstates an account only in compelling circumstances, such as a mistake. Appeals should be thorough, accurate and honest, so send only what you can prove. A rejected appeal can be sent again through the same process.
Often confused with
Misrepresentation
The wider policy Google files this under. It covers ads or sites that misstate a product, a business or its affiliations. A false claim of a partnership or a hidden price is handled there, not as a hidden owner behind public-issue content.
Unacceptable business practices
A suspension for hiding or misstating the business, claiming a brand or government affiliation it lacks, selling what it cannot deliver, or impersonating another business. The work there is removing claims you cannot prove. This policy is about who is speaking on a public issue and where it comes from.