ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Counterfeit goods
Google disapproves ads that sell or promote counterfeit goods. The clearest trigger is a brand name used next to words such as knock off, replica, imitation, clone, faux or fake, to pass a product off as genuine. Google calls this egregious, and an account can be suspended on detection without warning. Check whether the product is genuine before you edit the wording or remove the ad.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads & assets page, as Disapproved. On a suspension, the account status.
- What stops
- The flagged ad. On an egregious violation, the whole account stops serving.
- How serious
- High. Google suspends the account on detection without prior warning, and reinstates only in compelling circumstances.
What it means
Google defines counterfeit goods as products with a trademark or logo identical to, or substantially indistinguishable from, another party's trademark, which mimic the brand's features to pass as a genuine product of the brand owner. The policy covers both the ad and the website or app.
Google calls counterfeit violations egregious. That is the tier where a single ad can take the whole account, so the first question is whether the product is genuine, not how to reword the ad.
What actually triggers it
A brand name next to a copy word
The ad describes a product with terms such as knock off, replica, imitation, clone, faux or fake, next to a brand name, to pass it off as genuine.
A non-genuine product with brand labels or logos
The product mimics a brand's features, or carries brand name labels or logos, without being genuine.
Another brand's identity used in a misleading way
The ad or site uses another brand's name or identity so that it reads as an official partner or reseller when it is not. Google's best practices say to avoid this and to state any real reseller relationship plainly.
Fix it in this order
- Check the ad and the landing page for the brand name and for any copy word from Google's list.
- Decide whether the product is genuine. If it is not, remove the ad. Google's page says that helps keep the account from being suspended later.
- If the product is genuine and the wording is the problem, edit the ad to use your own name, logo and branding, and remove any brand name that suggests a partnership you do not have.
- If the site or ad names another brand you are not an authorized partner of, consider a disclaimer, as Google's page suggests. If you are an authorized reseller, say so on the site and in the ads. Then select Save on the ad.
When to appeal
Appeal from the account only when the product is genuine and you can show it. For an egregious violation, Google says reinstatement happens only in compelling circumstances, so the appeal needs evidence that the product is genuine, not a restatement of the ad.
Often confused with
Unauthorized use of copyrighted content or of copy protection. This one is about a product that presents itself as a brand's, not about the content a destination uses.