ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Destination not crawlable
Google Ads disapproves an ad when AdsBot cannot crawl its landing page, because robots.txt blocks the site or the file cannot be read. Check the robots.txt file at your domain first, then allow AdsBot and confirm any click tracker is not limiting crawling. Edit the ad and save once the page can be crawled.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Ads & assets page, as Disapproved.
- What stops
- The ad stops serving until the destination can be crawled and reviewed.
- How serious
- Violations do not cause immediate suspension. Google gives a warning at least 7 days before any suspension.
What it means
Google's destination requirements say an ad must link to a page that its AdsBot crawler can read, so the visitor lands on something relevant. The crawler reads robots.txt before the page. A file that disallows the site, or one that times out, stops the crawl before the page is seen.
Two causes sit outside robots.txt. Click trackers in front of the page can limit crawling, and a very large batch of new ad destinations can exceed what the site lets the crawler take in. Google's advice for a large batch is to split it over several days.
What actually triggers it
A robots.txt that disallows the site
A file that blocks most or all of the site, such as a disallow-everything rule left over from a staging build. Google lists this as a common cause.
A robots.txt that cannot be read
The file is unreachable or times out when Google reads it, so the crawl stops before any page is fetched.
A click tracker that limits crawling
A redirect or tracking layer in front of the landing page that takes up the crawl capacity the site allows.
A large batch of new destinations
Many ads submitted with new destinations at once, more than the site's crawl limit can take in one pass.
Fix it in this order
- Open the robots.txt file at your domain and look for a disallow rule that covers the landing page or the whole site.
- In Google Search Console, run the URL Inspection tool on the landing page to see whether it can be crawled and what the crawler receives.
- Remove the block from robots.txt, or ask your web developer to allow AdsBot, then confirm the file loads.
- Check any click tracker in front of the page, and remove it if it limits crawling.
- If you changed the destination, hover over the ad, select Edit, make the change and select Save. Then check the status on the Ads & assets page after review.
When to appeal
Appeal only after the page can be crawled and robots.txt is confirmed open to AdsBot. Appeal from the account if the decision is still wrong.
A robots.txt that still blocks AdsBot does not change when you appeal. Confirm the file first.
Often confused with
Not working means the page or domain fails to load, for example a subdomain that does not resolve. Not crawlable means the page loads for people but robots.txt or bot blocking stops AdsBot. In one real account, the records with a DNS error all sat on subdomains, which a robots.txt check would not reveal.