ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Poorly cropped images
Google disapproves an image asset when a crop hides the subject, so it is hard to tell what the picture shows. A square at 1x1 is required, and a landscape at 1.91x1 is optional. Keep the most important content in the center 80% of the image. Crop the picture square, check the subject is whole, then edit and save.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column on the Assets page, as Disapproved under this policy.
- What stops
- The image does not serve while it stands.
- How serious
- Low on its own. Repeated violations of any policy can lead to a suspension.
What it means
A crop is poor when it cuts into the subject. Google's page sets the test as whether the subject can be distinguished. A square is required, so a wide photograph can lose its subject at the edges when it is cut to a square.
The image picker can crop during implementation, so the crop can be set in the tool that places the image, not only in an editor.
What actually triggers it
A wide photograph cut square
Taking a square from the edge of a wide photograph can cut off a person, a product or the building the picture is about.
The subject placed near the edge
Important content outside the center 80% of the image is at risk of being cut. Move the subject toward the center before cropping.
A crop set by the image picker
Not on Google's help page
A crop set when the image is placed can cut the subject even when the file itself was fine. Check the placed image, not only the original.
Fix it in this order
- Open Campaigns, then Assets, and find the image asset with the status Disapproved.
- Open the original photograph and find the subject.
- Crop a square at 1x1, which is required, and keep the subject inside the center 80% of the picture.
- Hover over the asset, select Edit, make the change and select Save.
When to appeal
Appeal only when the subject is fully inside the center 80% and the asset is still disapproved. An appeal does not change the crop, so re-crop first.
Often confused with
A crop removes part of the picture. Distortion changes its proportions. A new crop fixes the first, but a stretched image needs an undistorted original.