In December, we introduced the Ad Exchange Real-Time Bidding Optimization Series on the developer's blog with our first post on
post-filtered bids.
Today, we’ll address one of the common causes: Disapproved ads.
We’ll revisit the definition of disapproved ads, review the main reasons for disapproval, and the steps you can take to ensure your ads will not be disapproved.
What is a disapproved ad?
A
disapproved ad is an ad in which the bid response is filtered out due to one or more reasons. To determine the reason for which your ad was disapproved, review your
snippet status report. The
snippet-status-report-proto.txt file lists all the issues described in the
<DisapprovalReason> section of the report.
Note: As a proactive measure, the
creative REST API provides methods for submitting a creative for verification, checking the status of a creative that you have submitted, seeing disapproval reasons for your submitted creatives, and retrieving a list of all your approved creatives before bidding on the creative ad.
Most disapprovals occur when ads fail to comply with the DoubleClick Ad Exchange policies for content and creative, or data and third-party ad serving.
Content & Creative: DoubleClick Ad Exchange reserves the right to disapprove ads in breach of the content and creative policies outlined in the
Google AdWords Advertising Policies and to suspend entire accounts for certain violations. Here are the most common content and creative policy violations that may cause your ad to be disapproved:
Incorrect Destination URL Declaration means the actual destination URL does not match the declared destination URL.
Length of Image Animation means the length of the image animation is longer than allowed.
Adult Image/Video Content means the ad contains adult images or video content.
Landing Page Disabled means the landing page does not conform to Ad Exchange policy.
Pop-Up means the ad causes a pop-up window to appear.
Media Not Functional means that something is wrong with the creative itself. Please preview your third-party ad tag in a browser to make sure it is working properly.
Broken URL means the click through URL does not work properly. Please test your third-party ad tag in a browser to make sure it is working properly.
Data and Third-Party Ad Serving: In order to run ads on the Google Display Network through the DoubleClick Ad Exchange, buyers must follow the
requirements for third-party ad serving. Here are the most common data and third-party ad serving violations that may cause your ad to be disapproved:
Problem with Click Macro means there is a problem with the way the click macro is used.
Invalid Fourth-Party Call means the ad makes a fourth-party call to a vendor that is not approved. See this
list of vendors who are allowed to be on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange platform.
Usage of Locally Shared Objects (LSO) means the creative sets an LSO object.
No Border means the ad had a white or black background and no border.
Blank Creative means the ad serves a blank creative. Please preview your third-party ad tag in a browser to make sure the creative is loading properly.
Incorrect Ad Technology Declaration means the ad technology declaration is not accurate.
Google has an
approved list of vendors who are allowed to be on the DoubleClick Ad Exchange platform.
Use of Raw IP means the ad contains a URL that uses a numeric IP address for the domain.
Please make sure to use the domain, and not the IP address.
Remember, each disapproved ad that is filtered out is a valuable impression you’ve missed out on. Therefore, always:
- Leverage the creative REST API to submit creatives for verification, check the status of a creative that you have submitted, see disapproval reasons for your submitted creatives, and retrieve a list of all your approved creatives before bidding on the creative ad.
- Review any disapproved ads in the snippet status report.
Have questions or want to enable the
creative REST API or review your
snippet status report for your disapproved ads issues? Reach out to your Ad Exchange account team.
Posted by the Ad Exchange Team
