ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Limited ad serving
Google limits how many times your ads show when it has not yet qualified the advertiser as trustworthy. The decision is made on the advertiser, not on one ad, so the ads do not have to break a policy for this to happen. Complete advertiser verification and fix the branding first. Use the appeal form only after both are in order, and expect no fixed timeline.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- An in-account notification about Limited ad serving.
- What stops
- A share of the impressions the ads would otherwise win. The ads keep running with fewer impressions.
- How serious
- A restriction, not a suspension. Google reviews limits automatically.
- How long
- Google says it cannot say how long this might take.
What it means
Limited ad serving is Google's cap on impressions for advertisers its systems treat as unqualified. Google limits ads that are more likely to result in negative ad experiences, and the limit applies only in certain ad-serving situations.
Google weighs more than one signal. The help page names account maturity, policy compliance history, ad format use, industry and verification status. On Search it also names unclear branding, meaning branding that leaves people unsure who is advertising.
What actually triggers it
A young account with no compliance record
Account maturity is one of the signals Google names. A new account has not yet built a record of compliant ads, so it reads as less qualified than an older account, even when nothing in it is wrong.
Users reporting the content, the product or the behavior
Google lists persistent user reports as a cause. The reports can be about the content, the product or the business's behavior, so the first question is what people are reporting, not only what the ad says.
Branding that leaves people unsure who is advertising
On Search, unclear branding that confuses people about who is advertising can trigger limits. A business name on the ads that differs from the domain or the verified legal name is one form of it.
Verification not completed
Verification status is one of the signals, and completing advertiser verification is one of the fixes Google lists. An open verification task in the account is the cheapest thing to check first.
Fix it in this order
- Check the account for an open advertiser verification task, and finish it before anything else.
- Check the business name on the ads against the domain and the legal name in Admin > Policy > Account, and correct any mismatch.
- Make the branding clear on the landing page. The business name and logo should be easy to find there, and the logo should be one logo that matches the business and its domain.
- On Search, pin the domain to position 1 when that suits the campaign. Google lists it as a branding step.
- Keep running campaigns that earn positive engagement, and leave the limit for Google to review. Google reviews limits automatically.
- If the limit still stands after these steps, send the Limited Ad Serving Appeals Form.
Google can reinstate a limit after it has been lifted. Keep the verification and branding in place rather than reverting them once the ads serve again.
When to appeal
Appeal only after verification and branding are fixed. An appeal sent before then has nothing new for the reviewer to judge.
Say in the appeal what changed and when, and name the verification status and the branding fixes.
Often confused with
That is a disapproval of a specific name asset, shown on the asset. A limit is about the advertiser's standing, so the ads can be approved and still serve fewer impressions. Check the ad status to tell them apart.
A disapproval
A disapproval blocks one ad, asset or policy. A limit leaves the ads approved and cuts how many impressions they get. Read the status on the affected ad before choosing a fix.