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Ad copy or sitelinks rejected by Google

Google reviews every ad. Google can disapprove individual ads or sitelinks even when it approves the campaign overall. First, read the disapproval reason. Google's reasons are specific. The reason tells you exactly what to fix.

Launch failed: "Google Ads rejected … under its ad policies"​

This error shows after you click Launch in the campaign wizard. Google's ad policies rejected a keyword, a search theme, or a line of your ad while Hero Marketer published the campaign, and Google allows no exception for it. The error names the rejected keywords, search themes, or ad text, for example Google Ads rejected "…" in your ad under its ad policies. Edit it in Check your ad, then try again. For a Performance Max search theme, the error is Google Ads rejected "…" under its ad policies. Remove it in Choose themes and budget, then try again. When Google names no text, the error is Google Ads rejected your ad under its ad policies. Edit the ad in Check your ad, then try again. On Search, Hero Marketer removed the campaign that it started, so nothing spends. On Performance Max and Demand Gen, Hero Marketer builds the campaign in one request, so no campaign is built.

  • A keyword. Remove the keyword on the Choose keywords and budget step. Removing a keyword drops the ad copy of the cluster and your edits to it, and Undo does not bring them back. Click Write ad copy. This writes new copy and uses credits. Check the new ad on the Check your ad step, then click Launch.
  • A search theme (Performance Max). Remove the search theme on the Choose themes and budget step. This drops the ad copy of the cluster, the same as for a keyword. Click Write ad copy, check the new ad, then click Launch.
  • Ad text. Edit the named headline, long headline, or description on the Check your ad step, then click Launch again. Edits are free.

For a policy that allows an exception, the launch does not fail:

  • A keyword (Search and Search retargeting) or a search theme (Performance Max). Hero Marketer asks Google for the exception when Google says that the policy allows one.
  • The ad of a Search or Demand Gen campaign. Hero Marketer sends the ad again one time and asks Google to review the flagged policy topics. Google rejects a topic that it cannot exempt, and then the launch fails with the error above.
  • The text of a Performance Max campaign. Hero Marketer cannot ask for an exception on a Performance Max headline, long headline, or description. The launch fails, and the error names the text.

An exempted keyword, search theme, or ad waits for Google's review, and it serves only after Google approves it. See What the wizard creates.

Where to see the disapproval reason​

To find disapproved items quickly, ask Hero AI: "Which ads or assets are disapproved, and why?" Hero AI reads the Google policy status of your ads and assets, with Google's reasons.

To get an alert when an ad is disapproved, create a custom alert. Open Settings > Alerts and click Create custom alert. To open Settings, click your profile picture at the bottom of the sidebar, then click Settings. Pick the signal Ad approval status, and set Alert when status becomes to Disapproved. Custom alerts run only while daily checks run. See Create a custom alert.

To see the reason in Google Ads:

  1. Open Google Ads.
  2. Find the campaign.
  3. Open its ads or assets tab.
  4. Disapproved items show a "Disapproved" status with a reason.

The reason text is the most important thing on the screen. Match it to a section below.

Trademark in the headline or description​

Only the trademark owner, its authorized resellers, or informational sites about the trademark may use another company's trademark in ad text. A competitor's name in your headline or description sits outside those exceptions. The trademark owner can then file a complaint that triggers a disapproval. Google usually applies the disapproval to your whole domain on an ongoing basis, not just to one ad.

This catches comparison phrasing too. "Better than Salesforce," "Salesforce alternative," and "Switch from Salesforce" all use the Salesforce trademark and fall under the same rule, even though they are framed as a comparison. They often pass automated approval. The risk is the complaint that lands later.

If you ran the campaign through Hero Marketer's wizard and set Search type to Competitor search, the generated copy already avoids competitor names. If you see this disapproval anyway, the trademarked term likely crept in through a manual edit. Or you built the campaign as Brand search or Category search with a competitor name in the search term. To check the search type that you picked, read the campaign name. Unless you changed the name, its second part is Competitor, Branded (Brand search), or Non branded (Category search).

To fix it:

  • Rewrite without the trademarked term. "Top alternative," "A faster legacy CRM swap," and "Switch in minutes" carry comparative weight without naming the competitor.
  • Ask Google to authorize the trademark only if you genuinely have written permission from the owner (rare). See Google's trademark help for advertisers.
  • Keep bidding on the competitor's name as a keyword. That stays allowed. Only the ad text is the problem.

Misleading or unverifiable claims​

For example, Google disapproves "Best CRM in the world," "Guaranteed to double your sales," or "10x faster than X," unless you can substantiate them. To fix it, remove the claim, soften it, or replace it with a verifiable specific. For example, use "Built for fast moving teams" instead of "Fastest CRM," or use "Used by 5,000 teams" if true.

Unreachable or broken landing page​

Google checks that your landing page loads, does not redirect to an unrelated page, and matches the ad's promise. A page that is down, slow, or failing Google's quality checks gets the ad disapproved. To fix it, open the URL in an incognito window. Confirm it loads, does not redirect to your homepage or an unrelated page, and matches the ad. For example, an ad about "pricing" should land on a pricing page, not the homepage.

Excessive capitalization or punctuation​

Google disapproves ALL CAPS headlines and excessive punctuation (for example, "Free!!! Sign up!!!"). Rewrite in sentence case or title case with normal punctuation.

Health, finance, or other regulated claims​

If your product touches healthcare, finance, legal, or another regulated category, Google applies stricter rules. Specific claims, for example medical outcomes, financial returns, or legal advice, need disclaimers or certification. Review Google's policy for your category, add the required disclaimers, or rewrite to avoid regulated claim language.

Restricted product or service​

Some categories are restricted outright, for example gambling, pharmaceuticals, or weapons. Others are limited to specific countries or require certification. Check Google's restricted products policies. If your product genuinely falls into a restricted category, you may need certification before ads can run.

How to fix a disapproved ad​

You have two paths: a fresh ad or a small edit.

  • Ask Hero AI for a replacement ad. The Ad Copy Agent pulls your product context, the ad group's keywords, and your existing copy, then drafts new headlines and descriptions. This is the fit when the disapproval is about trademark, a claim, or relevance and a rewrite is the fix.
  • Edit the existing ad in Google Ads when you want a small change, not a new ad.

When you click Approve and apply on the Hero AI card, Hero AI updates the existing ad or creates a new ad. An updated ad stays live. A new ad starts paused, and the card says Responsive search ad N created as paused. Enable it when ready. Ask Hero AI to enable the new ad and to pause the disapproved ad. Or do it in Google Ads. To reverse the change, click Undo on the card. Undo puts an updated ad back as it was and removes a new ad.

After you edit an ad or add a new one:

  1. Google reviews the ad automatically.
  2. Review usually finishes within hours, sometimes a day.
  3. When Google approves the ad, the ad can serve. A new ad from Hero AI serves only after you enable it.

Sitelinks are reviewed independently of the main ad. A disapproved sitelink stops showing but does not pause the campaign. Fix it in the assets section of Google Ads:

  1. Find the sitelink.
  2. Edit its text and destination URL.
  3. Save. Re review starts automatically.

Sitelinks that Hero Marketer wrote with Write with AI are account-level assets in Google Ads. A disapproved one affects every campaign that can show it. Edit or remove these sitelinks in Google Ads, in the assets at account level. Hero Marketer can write new sitelinks only when you create a new campaign in the wizard. See Add sitelinks.

How to appeal a disapproval you think is wrong​

Google sometimes flags ads incorrectly. To request a manual review:

  1. Open the disapproved ad in Google Ads.
  2. Click Appeal or Request review.
  3. Explain why you believe the disapproval is incorrect.
  4. Submit. Manual review takes 1 to 3 business days.

Manual review can reverse an incorrect disapproval. It does not reverse a disapproval that is correct under the policy. For those, the rewrite above is the path.

Most or all of my ads were disapproved at once​

When nearly every ad comes back disapproved, the cause usually affects the whole account, not one ad:

  • A landing page that is down.
  • A category Google does not allow ads in.
  • A suspension that affects the whole account and all its campaigns.

Check your account status in Google Ads first. If the account itself is suspended, resolve that with Google before troubleshooting individual ads.

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