How to fix disapproved Google Ads

Find the specific disapproval reason in Google Ads or Merchant Center, not just the fact that something is disapproved. The reason names the policy, whether it is a landing-page issue, a prohibited claim, a feed attribute, or an image problem.

Fixing the wrong thing wastes a review cycle, so start from the precise reason.

Trace the disapproval to its source. A landing-page policy issue may be content on the page, a missing privacy policy, or a broken link. A feed disapproval may be a missing GTIN, a price mismatch, or an image below the size threshold.

Confirm the cause before editing, because policy disapprovals often have a non-obvious trigger.

Health, supplement, men's health, sexual wellness and skincare ads are disapproved under different policies, and each one needs a different fix. A Healthcare and medicines disapproval usually means the ad, keyword or landing page touches something Google restricts by location or certification, such as prescription drug terms. An Unapproved substances disapproval means Google will not allow the product at all, whatever you change in the copy. A Dangerous products or services disapproval is about the product being harmful, not about how you describe it.

Supplements most often trip Unapproved substances. Google's list includes herbal and dietary supplements with active pharmaceutical or dangerous ingredients, products that imply they work as well as prescription drugs, and products marketed as safe or effective for preventing or treating a disease without government approval. One listed ingredient, or one sentence that implies a medical outcome, is enough. Check the full ingredient list against Google's non-exhaustive list of unapproved pharmaceuticals and supplements before rewriting anything.

The claims that get flagged are the ones that promise a health outcome: disease or treatment language, before-and-after images, and comparisons with prescription products. Remove them from the ad and from the landing page, because Google reviews both and a clean ad pointing at a page that still makes the claim stays disapproved. In Merchant Center, keep restricted products separate in the feed so one flagged product does not hold back the rest. Where a category needs Google certification, apply through Google's own policy page rather than working around the flag.

Correct the underlying issue where it originates. For feed problems, fix the product data in the store so the correction persists through refreshes rather than being overwritten. For ad or landing-page issues, edit the actual content.

A fix applied only in the surface layer often reverts on the next sync.

Once the cause is fixed, resubmit the ad or product for review. Most reviews complete within one business day, though complex reviews take longer. In Policy manager, choose Appeal on the affected ad and pick either Dispute decision or Made changes to comply with policy.

Google limits each ad to three appeals, and asks you to wait at least 24 hours between appeals on the same ads. If an appeal fails after a genuine fix, make a minor edit to the ad text or final URL to trigger a fresh crawl rather than appealing again.

If a disapproval is wrongful or persists after a genuine fix, contact Google support or your Premier Partner rep with the specifics. Some cases require a manual human review, particularly in sensitive categories.

Document the fix you made so the escalation is concrete and fast to resolve.

Set up alerts or a regular check for disapprovals so the next one surfaces immediately rather than bleeding budget silently. For feeds, run a periodic audit of key attributes.

The cost of a disapproval is the time it goes unnoticed, so fast detection is the real defence.