Member Avatar for MktgRob

In the link above is a report that over the last few days, numerous AdWords accounts have been suspended. The owners of the accounts received only an e-mail telling them that their accounts were suspended and that their ads will not appear in Google searches. Most of the people who had their accounts suspended were new to AdWords or had outsourced their AdWords optimization to a 3rd party. The reason given for the suspension was violation/non-compliance with Google's terms of service and ad policies.

If you were one of these unfortunate parties, would you be willing to share what it was you think you did to earn the suspension? And a question for everyone, is it fair for Google to suspend accounts and pull ads without at least one warning (assuming that there was no warning sent, which is what I interpreted from the post)?

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and raised two useful points: enforcement can feel abrupt, and the business impact is real. Google documents how suspensions are handled and how to start a review here:

Practical checklist to follow immediately if an account is flagged:

  • Confirm what Google identified (Policy Manager or the suspended-account notice) and read the cited policy closely.
  • Audit landing pages for redirects, misleading claims, or malware; if an external manager controls destinations, get full access to verify.
  • Check billing and payment history for chargebacks, invalid payment methods, or unfamiliar activity.
  • Collect evidence: screenshots, server logs, transaction IDs, timestamps, and any communications with agencies.
  • Do not open replacement accounts or try to circumvent the suspension; that risks escalated enforcement.

Suggested appeal workflow:

  • Fix the root problem first. A clear, demonstrable fix improves appeal outcomes.
  • Use the account’s official request-review/appeal flow and attach the evidence gathered. State exactly what was changed and when. Keep the explanation factual and concise.
  • If the appeal is denied, escalate via Google Ads support channels and provide full documentation. Expect variable response times; repeat reviews can take days.

Preventive steps going forward: keep billing under advertiser control, require admin access and change logs from any vendor, enable two-factor authentication, run periodic destination/site checks, and diversify channels to reduce single-vendor risk. Addressing these items gives the best chance to recover a suspended account and reduces the chance of recurrence.

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

This is truly scary. Though Google is the leader for paid search, such Google practice will definitely alienate customers and they will instead advertise on Yahoo/Bing. I am also looking forward to members sharing their stories.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

I just cannot comprehend a warning. I realize that they state in their guidelines that there are certain do's and dont's but to act so decisively without a warning is a bit extreme. We are not talking about gun safety where one ignored rule could lead to someone being hurt or killed, these are search engine ads.

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