I received frantic calls and emails from 4 different advertisers yesterday (2/17/10) who all received a final warning from Google stating their accounts were to be suspended if their landing page quality score issues were not fixed immediately.

Here is an Excerpt from a Google Email:

Advertisers Receiving Emails from Google

These emails need to be taken seriously because advertisers who do not act immediately do run the risk of suspension from Google AdWords.

This issue is extremely difficult for advertisers because Google shares very little info about *why* these advertisers are in violation of site quality guidelines.  Google shares a small list of the possible reasons a landing page can be of poor quality but there are many other reasons for low landing page quality.  Many advertisers have no idea what they are doing wrong and Google will not give advertisers much direction when it comes to exactly what the issue is and how they can fix it.

If you are facing a possible suspension for Landing Page & Site Quality Guidelines and do not know what is wrong with your website there are services such as the AdWordsPI who can help you identify your issue.

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Posted by: Kim Clinkunbroomer, GAP

Owner of Clinks Web Service & AdWordsPI in Chicago, Illinois

Twitter: Kim Clink on Twitter – AWHE on Twitter

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Google used blog URL’s as a great example in a recent Inside AdWords post.

Google’s Example:

“Let’s say I wanted to create an ad linking to this blog: http://adwords.blogspot.com. In the past, blogspot.com would have been an acceptable display URL. Because there are so many independent blogs hosted on http://blogspot.com however, we now require the display URL to reflect the specific blog reached upon clicking the ad– in this case: adwords.blogspot.com.”

For advertisers that have found their ads disabled minor changes need to be made to correct the URL.

Example of an incorrect URL setup:

destination URL:  http://www.yourblog.blogspot.com

display URL:  blogspot.com (incorrect)

….

Example of a correct URL setup:

destination URL:  http://www.yourblog.blogspot.com

display URL:  yourblog.blogspot.com (correct)

Google states that:

“Going forward, ads that don’t include this additional information in their display URLs will be disapproved. A suggested display URL will be provided in the disapproval email notification, but we encourage you to proactively adjust any ads that you think might be affected by this change.”

I am unsure if this policy change will effect existing advertisers or only new advertisers.  Googles wording indicates it effects new advertisers only.  If I find info indicating it effects current advertisers I will post an update.

Posted by: Kim Clinkunbroomer, GAP, AdWords Top Contributor

“Initially for URLs exceeding character limit we used to give exception on a case-by-case basis. However, please note we’ve revised our guideline on short display URL exception and sorry to inform you that we no longer provide exceptions to the display URL policy for domains that exceed the character space, which is limited to 35 characters for text ads and 20 characters for mobile ads.”

Not allowing exceptions is going to require advertisers to take out a new domain name.

How will this effect advertisers who have already been provided an exception?  When they enter a new campaign or ad group will they be stopped and required to obtain a new URL under the 35 character limit?

Tip for advertisers who encounter this problem.  Try dropping the www from your URL name and see if you can get under the 35 character limit.

UPDATE:

After speaking with Google customer support I have learned that this new policy taking effect today 11/20/09 will effect all advertisers who have been given an exception in the past.  In other words they will now receive notification of disapproved at text in relation to all their display URL’s.

I asked the Google Rep to tell me what Google’s suggestion was for these advertisers and she told me the only option was to get a new domain.  Google is enforcing this policy in the best interests of user experience so that potential visitors are given more transparency about the domains they will be visiting.

This could have a negative impact on many advertisers who will now have to take a second domain and create a mirrored site.  Many people have too much vested in their now disapproved URL to let it go.

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Article by:  +Kim Clinkunbroomer Clinks Web Service  a  Google AdWords Partner Company Subscribe: RSS Feeds  |  Follow me on Twitter

A new round of AdWords bans were brought to advertisers attention by Barry Schwartz at Search Engine Land November 16, 2009.

Barry Schwartz writes…”Google will begin to notify advertisers that they have been permanently banned. They will receive an email with details of this ban and the email will explain how to appeal the ban. I am told that banned advertisers can reply to the email to start the “appeals process.” Every reply should get a response from a dedicated Google representative.”

A Sample of the messaging that advertisers see:

“We are writing to let you know that your Google AdWords account has been disabled due to one or more serious violations of our advertising policies related to Landing Page and Site Quality.  As a result, your ads will no longer run through the Google AdWords system and we are unable to accept advertising from you in the future.  Please note that future accounts you open will also be disabled.

As part of our commitment to making the AdWords experience safe and effective for our users and our advertisers, we routinely review the landing pages that our advertisers promote through our search and content networks.  If we find that an advertiser has submitted a landing page that egregiously violates our policies, we reserve the right to take immediate account-level action.

Landing pages advertised via AdWords must have relevant, original content, and must be transparent about the nature of the business being promoted. Further, advertising certain types of sites will lead to immediate account disabling.  These types of sites include, but are not limited to:

* Sites that charge users or collect personal information in exchange for a product that is never delivered
* Sites that charge for “free” software
* Sites that trick users into paying for fake or poor-quality content
* Sites that charge users for information that makes unrealistic promises of financial or personal gain
* Sites that install malware software on a visitor’s computer”

Good on Google’s part to provide messaging and also a relief to see advertisers have the ability to appeal the ban.  This is a new way of handing bans by Google and I am glad to see them go in this direction.

Update: AWP (AdWordsPro) in the adwords forum stated when replying in a help thread today:

“For those advertisers who have received this email, the one way to ask further questions and/or dispute the decision is to reply directly to the email. Doing so will send your reply directly to the right team – whereas contacting AdWords support in any other way will not.”

Posted by: Kim Clinkunbroomer, GAP