ReferenceGoogle Ads disapproval
Trademarks
A trademark owner complained to Google, and Google now restricts that term in ad text from your domain, so those ads are limited or stopped. Take the term out of the ad, or, if you sell the genuine product or a compatible one, make the landing page show prices and a way to buy, then appeal. The owner can also authorize you.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- The Status column, as Eligible (limited), Approved (limited) for an asset, or Disapproved, with Trademarks in the Policy details column.
- What stops
- Ads that use the term in their text, in the countries and industries where the owner showed rights. Keywords are not restricted.
- How serious
- Low on its own. Google warns before any account suspension, but the restriction carries over to every new ad on the same domain.
What it means
Google follows local trademark law. A trademark owner files a complaint, and Google restricts the term only against the specific advertisers the owner names by URL, in the countries and industries where the owner has shown rights.
The restriction is about the term in the ad itself, not on the landing page. Using a trademark as a keyword, or in the second-level domain of the display URL, is not restricted. Once applied, the restriction generally carries on to any ad that uses the same second-level domain in its final URL, so new ads meet it too.
What actually triggers it
A competitor's brand name in a headline
Use by a direct competitor in ad text is the case the policy restricts, along with any use that is confusing, deceptive or misleading about who is advertising.
Selling a brand without a way to buy on the page
Resellers and sellers of components, replacement parts or compatible products may use the term, but only when the landing page mainly sells those products, gives a clear way to buy, shows commercial details such as prices, and makes clear the advertiser is a reseller. A page that only mentions the brand does not qualify.
A new ad on the same domain
The restriction follows the domain, not the ad. A fresh ad from the same site with the term in it is restricted straight away, and Google says creating such ads after an appeal keeps the restriction in place.
An ordinary word that is also a trademark
Descriptive use of a word in its ordinary meaning is allowed. When a common word in the ad happens to be someone's brand, the ad can still be caught, and that is a case for an appeal rather than a rewrite.
Fix it in this order
- Open Campaigns, then Ads, and read the Policy details column to confirm Trademarks and note which term and which ads.
- Decide which case applies: a competitor's brand, a brand you resell or support, or an ordinary word that happens to be a trademark.
- For a competitor's brand, hover over each ad, click Edit, remove the term from the text and Save. Keep it as a keyword if you want; that is not restricted.
- For a brand you resell or support, make the landing page show the products, prices and a way to buy, and say plainly in the ad and on the page that you are a reseller. Then appeal.
- For an ordinary word, appeal and explain the descriptive use.
- If you have the owner's permission, ask the owner to authorize your ads through Google's Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter, which has a route for owners to do that.
Do not create new ads with the term while an appeal is open. Google says restrictions generally stay in place when new ads that use it are created after the appeal.
When to appeal
Appeal when the use is descriptive, or when you resell or support the genuine product and the landing page shows it. Google's troubleshooter names both as cases that should not be restricted. Follow the steps in the notification, or use Policy manager.
Do not appeal a competitor's brand in ad text. That is the use the policy exists to restrict, and the restriction will hold.
Often confused with
The general status for an ad restricted by any policy. A trademark restriction is one cause; the Policy details column says which.
Can a competitor's brand still be a keyword?
Under this policy, yes. Google lists trademarks as keywords as not restricted. What is restricted is the term in the ad text, so an ad shown on that keyword must not repeat the brand where a complaint applies.