Limited ad serving

To protect the integrity of the Google Ads advertising ecosystem, Google limits impressions of ads that are more likely to result in negative ads experiences. This policy is specific to a certain set of ad-serving scenarios. In these instances, only qualified advertisers will be able to serve ads without impression limits.

Advertisers in certain industries might separately have to Apply to advertise certain products & services using Google Ads.

On this page

• About Limited ad serving
• Limited ad serving on Google Search
• Limited ad serving on YouTube

About Limited ad serving

Why will certain advertisers be limited?

Ads from unqualified advertisers will be limited in specific scenarios to decrease the potential for negative user experiences when interacting with these ads. This helps increase user and advertiser trust in the Google Ads platform.

If you're not promoting ads within these scenarios, your ads won't be limited by this policy. Google Ads considers the following information when determining if a particular scenario is more likely than others to result in a negative ads experience:

• User feedback
• Prevalence of abuse
• Industry trends

Who is a qualified advertiser?

Google will consider various factors to determine whether an advertiser is qualified, such as:

• Account attributes
• User activity and reports
• Account maturity
• Ad format usage
• History of policy compliance
• Advertiser industry
• Advertiser verification status

If you're a qualified advertiser, your ad impressions aren't limited by this policy.

What can I do to become a qualified advertiser?

You're required to build trust to become a qualified advertiser. You can do this by ensuring that you comply with all Google Ads policies and completing advertiser verification if your account is eligible. You should continue to build campaigns and creatives with positive user engagement while your account is assessed. Google Ads will automatically update your ad serving limits based on this assessment and review.

How will I know if my ad serving has been limited?

Unqualified advertisers who have a meaningful proportion of impressions in scope of this policy will receive an in-account notification. Individual ads will not be disapproved. To appeal this restriction, complete the Limited Ad Serving Appeals Form. Google will reinstate an advertiser once they become qualified.

We will automatically review and update advertisers' ad serving limits as we continue to monitor your accounts. Unfortunately, we can't say how long this might take.

If any issues are detected after lifting a limit, Google may need to reinstate the limit while we evaluate further.

Limited ad serving on Google Search

Google may limit ad impressions from unqualified advertisers on searches that are more likely than others to result in negative ads experiences.

Qualifying to advertise on searches with higher potential for negative ads experiences

When deciding whether an advertiser is qualified, we take user reports about that advertiser especially seriously. When users have persistently and disproportionately reported that an advertiser’s content, products, or behavior do not meet their expectations, we may consider that advertiser unqualified and limit its impressions on certain searches.

We also want to ensure that the identity of the advertiser the user chooses to engage with is unambiguous. While an advertiser may not intend to purposefully mislead a user or misrepresent themselves, ads that reference other brands and generic ads that have no branding at all may confuse users about the identity of the advertiser. In these cases, we may limit impressions on certain searches for all branded and generic ads for that advertiser.

Additional restrictions, like certification requirements, may apply to advertisers advertising in certain high-abuse verticals.

Best practices for qualifying on Google Search ads

Apply the best practices outlined in the “What can I do to become a qualified advertiser?” section of this page.

Maintain clear branding to avoid confusion about your identity or your association with other brands.

• Clearly display your own brand in your ads and on your landing page.
• If you reference other brands, be clear about your association with them and make sure your own branding is clear.
• Use specific language: Avoid generic ad copy and landing page content.
• Clearly identify your brand by pinning your domain. Pin your domain to the front of the ad title, especially if you're a new advertiser or your brand is less well-known. This feature may not be available for all ad or campaign types. Learn more about how to Pin headlines and descriptions to specific positions.

Steps to pin your domain

1. On the Ads page in your Google Ads account, create or edit a responsive search ad.
2. For the field that contains your domain, select the Pin icon .
3. Select Show only in position 1.
4. Select Save.

Appeal the policy restriction

Unqualified advertisers who have a meaningful proportion of impressions in scope of this policy will receive an in-account notification. Individual ads will not be disapproved. Complete the Limited Ad Serving Appeals Form to appeal this restriction.