Affiliate marketers who have tried running ads on Google Ads multiple times know firsthand how strict the ad review process can be on this platform. At the same time, most ads are not reviewed by human moderators, but by bots trained with artificial intelligence. Google treats even harmless things with paranoid suspicion. This makes life difficult not only for grayhat affiliates but also for whitehat affiliates.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at what types of advertising Google considers questionable or "grayhat" and can lead to account restrictions or bans. We'll also discuss how to drive traffic in a "whitehat" compliant way.
Several points in Google's ad policies state that it is prohibited to promote pages that do not contain necessary information about the product, service, or company. In other words, advertising anything that is not a business owned by the advertiser is seen by Google as a potential policy violation that could warrant a permanent ban on your account.
The only exceptions are advertising agencies that have Google Partner status. Such agencies' advertising accounts have an elevated level of trust and several other advantages from the platform. Access to Google's trusted advertising accounts is also provided by specialized services such as YeezyPay.
Additionally, Google Ads guidelines state that to attract new and existing leads, you should provide all the information about your business that can be shown to users. But if the company name does not exactly match the domain name being promoted or the name specified during advertiser verification, advertising campaigns in such an account may not be approved by the moderation system.
Another rule that complicates life for many affiliates and media buyers promoting affiliate offers and services is attempting to circumvent Google's tools for checking ads, landing pages, and other content.
Even if an affiliate uses well-prepared farm accounts, high-quality proxies, and an anti-detect browser with a solid history, often an account ban or ad disapproval can be received just for using a pre-landing page in an ad link.
As a result, as of 2023, affiliates and direct advertisers whose offers and services Google deems prohibited or restricted have a few options for stabilizing their work with the advertising platform:
In October 2023, Google tightened rules and began requesting advertiser verification even before the campaign launch. Still, the YeezyPay team has already adapted to this change and offers users a solution requiring manual moderation at the account creation stage.
If the affiliate doesn't take actions inside the account that could trigger Google's algorithms, an advertising campaign launched even in grayhat verticals can earn tens of thousands of dollars and last up to a year.
The second option of working with Google Ads is also effective but requires more time and money investment. Additionally, it's unlikely that the remainder of the ad budget will be returned from some accounts, and running the accounts themselves become more expensive due to the increased bans.
With the tightening and constant updating of policies, purchasing traffic to niches considered grayhat by Google using standard approaches with farm accounts is not as straightforward as before. But one method that remains effective to this day is leveraging agency advertising accounts with elevated trust. Affiliates can access this effective solution through the YeezyPay service.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at what types of advertising Google considers questionable or "grayhat" and can lead to account restrictions or bans. We'll also discuss how to drive traffic in a "whitehat" compliant way.
Google Ads’ complicated requirements for advertisers
In addition to being known for closely monitoring account credibility, payment methods, and other signals, Google also checks all account data for associations with grayhat affiliate marketing. Behind the scenes, Google views the use of affiliates to promote one offer or service as a form of unfair competition. However, in the platform's rules, this is described in dry terms. Failure to comply with these rules can result in advertising accounts of even the most legitimate and transparent businesses receiving sanctions.Several points in Google's ad policies state that it is prohibited to promote pages that do not contain necessary information about the product, service, or company. In other words, advertising anything that is not a business owned by the advertiser is seen by Google as a potential policy violation that could warrant a permanent ban on your account.
The only exceptions are advertising agencies that have Google Partner status. Such agencies' advertising accounts have an elevated level of trust and several other advantages from the platform. Access to Google's trusted advertising accounts is also provided by specialized services such as YeezyPay.
Additionally, Google Ads guidelines state that to attract new and existing leads, you should provide all the information about your business that can be shown to users. But if the company name does not exactly match the domain name being promoted or the name specified during advertiser verification, advertising campaigns in such an account may not be approved by the moderation system.
Another rule that complicates life for many affiliates and media buyers promoting affiliate offers and services is attempting to circumvent Google's tools for checking ads, landing pages, and other content.
Even if an affiliate uses well-prepared farm accounts, high-quality proxies, and an anti-detect browser with a solid history, often an account ban or ad disapproval can be received just for using a pre-landing page in an ad link.
How to earn Google's trust and stay compliant
Based on the above, in order to work consistently with Google Ads, not only media buyers and affiliates but also direct advertisers need to regularly register new domain names and advertising accounts, investing money and time in building up their trust and credibility. And if the goal is to maintain the image of an above-board, whitehat campaign to increase ROI across all advertising efforts, then - however absurd it sounds - you'll have to constantly borrow data from other companies to link to the advertising accounts.
As a result, as of 2023, affiliates and direct advertisers whose offers and services Google deems prohibited or restricted have a few options for stabilizing their work with the advertising platform:
- Use trusted advertising accounts from verified Google partner agencies.
- Establish a constant cycle of account farming and warming up, purchasing payment instruments, proxies, and other necessary items.
In October 2023, Google tightened rules and began requesting advertiser verification even before the campaign launch. Still, the YeezyPay team has already adapted to this change and offers users a solution requiring manual moderation at the account creation stage.
If the affiliate doesn't take actions inside the account that could trigger Google's algorithms, an advertising campaign launched even in grayhat verticals can earn tens of thousands of dollars and last up to a year.
The second option of working with Google Ads is also effective but requires more time and money investment. Additionally, it's unlikely that the remainder of the ad budget will be returned from some accounts, and running the accounts themselves become more expensive due to the increased bans.
Conclusion
In its desire to make its activities as transparent as possible for users, Google sometimes takes things to the point of absurdity by demanding the same transparency from all advertisers. These realities make advertising difficult not only for affiliates but also legitimate advertisers.With the tightening and constant updating of policies, purchasing traffic to niches considered grayhat by Google using standard approaches with farm accounts is not as straightforward as before. But one method that remains effective to this day is leveraging agency advertising accounts with elevated trust. Affiliates can access this effective solution through the YeezyPay service.
