Google Ad Update: Account Pausing on Violation and Misrepresentation of Ad Policy

Google | June 16, 2020

  • Google continues a busy few months of ad policy updates and changes, this time dealing with ad creative and imagery, along with pausings for violations.

  • It’s been a busy few weeks for Google Ads and their policy updates.

  • Two more are added to the list: account pausing for violations and additions to their Misrepresentation policy.


It’s been a busy few weeks for Google Ads and their policy updates. Today, two more are added to the list: account pausing for violations and additions to their Misrepresentation policy.

Account Pausing Due to Violation

The statement is somewhat vague, and oddly lumped in with an update about the identity verification program. This is curious, given the policy language, which is “we may temporarily pause accounts to conduct investigations if we identify potentially harmful advertiser behavior. Paused accounts cannot run any ads.”

It notes the same action will be taken for accounts that do not complete the identify verification process.

Google has announced the same day that identity verification is rolling out to 4 new countries: Canada, India, Russia and Ukraine.

Read more: Google updates ad policies for employment, housing and credit ads

Misrepresentation Policy

Also announced today are interesting updates to their policies surrounding “misrepresentation.”

Starting in July, there will be a “Clickbait Ads” policy. It will specifically address instances of sensationalized text and imagery that’s forces the viewer to click on the ad in order to understand its context. Ads participating in that type of behavior will not be allowed to run.

What does this mean, exactly? Here is how Google defines these types of ads:

Clickbait text and imagery:

• Claims of secret or scandal revelations

• Language that implies the click will give context (i.e. “click here to find out” or other similar phrases)

• Imagery featuring altered body parts, mugshots and disaster photos

• Before and after imagery of the human body

Negative life events to evoke emotion that causes action:

• Events can include things like accidents, illnesses, bankruptcy, arrests, etc

• Ads using imagery to provoke fear or shock

Google does not provide specifics on how these items will be identified, whether by AI or human.

Who Will This Affect?

Quite a few industries, especially those that sell to solve the types of problems outlined above. Law firms, bail bonds, diet pills, exercise equipment, and many others may be relying on messaging that will now violate these rules.

Some of these are crossovers with Facebook ad violations, so in those instances advertisers may be ready with alternate creative messaging already.

Read more: Google ads announces beta for explanations to speed up diagnose of conversions, impressions and click volume

For those who are not, they have only a few weeks to figure out alternative creative treatments.

What’s With All the Policy Updates?

While there’s been no formal statement or lawsuit that would seem to point to all these policy updates, it’s hard to ignore how many there have been.

Just last week, Google followed suit with Facebook’s previous mandate about targeting capabilities for housing, credit, and employment advertisers.

Google also recently announced a business identify verification requirement, so all advertisers will need to submit identity proof. That verification time was shortened less than a month ago.

The environment has been ripe for policy updates with the scramble to address restrictions made with Covid-19. Stories are still popping up of ads showing misinformation on platforms, along with recent discovery of Google Ads serving advertiser display creative on sites with untruths.

Some of it also may have to do with Google’s push to try and start dominating more in the TV landscape, and its latest foray into grabbing some of the top of funnel paid social budget that gets eaten by Facebook and Instagram. Facebook has taken its lumps with its privacy and targeting concerns, and no doubt Google has been paying attention.

The latest policy updates cited here are located on their policy updates page.

Spotlight

In this video, we'll be discussing how ChatGPT is transforming the world of advertising and customer service. As an AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT offers numerous benefits to businesses looking to improve their customer engagement and advertising strategies. From predicting advertising trends to providing personalized customer support, ChatGPT is quickly becoming a must-have tool for any business looking to stay ahead of the game. Join us as we explore the many ways ChatGPT can help revolutionize your business.

Spotlight

In this video, we'll be discussing how ChatGPT is transforming the world of advertising and customer service. As an AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT offers numerous benefits to businesses looking to improve their customer engagement and advertising strategies. From predicting advertising trends to providing personalized customer support, ChatGPT is quickly becoming a must-have tool for any business looking to stay ahead of the game. Join us as we explore the many ways ChatGPT can help revolutionize your business.

Related News

AD TECH AND MARTECH

AiAdvertising Announces Its Recognition as Google Premier Partner

AiAdvertising | March 10, 2023

On March 9, 2023, AiAdvertising, Inc. announced that it has achieved Google Premier Partner status. The company specializes in AdTech and employs artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to meet the needs of today's marketing leaders. By partnering with Google, AiAdvertising affirms its commitment to combining the strengths of human marketers and machines to revolutionize traditional advertising. AiAdvertising has the advantage of being a Google Premier Partner, which allows them to utilize Google's cutting-edge technologies and tools to benefit their clients. Through this partnership, AiAdvertising can integrate its Campaign Performance Platform with Google's machine learning technologies, including automated bidding and audience targeting, to enhance the effectiveness of ads and achieve higher returns on investment. The Campaign Performance Platform developed by AiAdvertising is a comprehensive solution to manage personalized campaigns across various channels such as display, search, and video ads. By seamlessly integrating with Google's advertising platforms, marketers can enhance their workflow and obtain more profound insights into the performance of their advertisements. AiAdvertising has recently incorporated ChatGPT, a large language model developed by OpenAI, to automate the creation of persona-driven content. By combining their expertise with Google and utilizing this integration, the company can efficiently expand persona-specific campaigns and deliver even more value to their clients. The collaboration between AiAdvertising and Google as a Premier Partner marks a significant advancement in the fusion of marketer and machine and AiAdvertising's unwavering commitment to driving traditional advertising into the future. By integrating AiAdvertising's Campaign Performance Platform with Google's machine learning technologies, clients can now attain unparalleled performance, productivity, and efficiency levels. In addition, this partnership reinforces AiAdvertising's mission to deliver holistic solutions that assist clients in achieving their advertising objectives. About AiAdvertising AiAdvertising is a company that specializes in providing businesses with AI-powered advertising solutions. It uses advanced algorithms and machine learning technologies to optimize ad campaigns across various platforms, including Google, Facebook, Instagram, and more. The company's solutions are designed to help businesses increase online visibility, reach the target audience more effectively, and drive more conversions and revenue. AiAdvertising offers various services, including ad campaign management, audience targeting, ad creatives, and performance analytics. The company's team comprises experienced digital marketers, data scientists, and AI experts who work together to deliver high-quality solutions to clients across different industries.

Read More

ADVERTISER PLATFORMS

MAGNA Study Explores Listening Rituals and How Audio Advertisers Can Improve Engagement and Purchase Intent by Complementing Daily Routines

Business Wire | April 18, 2023

Rituals, as routine as running errands and doing chores, are also key audio-consumption moments in people’s lives and create positive environments for advertisers, according to new research conducted by MAGNA’s Media Trials unit and leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company, Audacy. The study found that advertisers who aligned with listeners’ rituals saw a greater lift in brand excitement (+10%) and brand relevance (+8%). The study, Aligning with Rituals: The Contextual Foundation of Audio, also noted that consumers experience greater “feelings of connection” with brands that synchronize with their audio rituals, by +12%, compared to +3% for non-aligned ads. MAGNA and Audacy tested both genre-based ads—such as a telecom brand advertising during an entertainment broadcast—and ritual-based ads—such as destination advertising during a “me-time” ritual--to examine the spectrum of contextual-alignment opportunities. “We’ve studied contextual in video before, but this is our first time to study it in audio, so we wanted to explore how consumers reacted to all types of audio advertising, from contextually aligned to non-aligned, across every daypart and layers of the funnel,” said Kara Manatt, EVP, Managing Director, Intelligence Solutions, MAGNA. “We were especially intrigued to note how daily rituals imply moments of calm and continuity in listeners’ lives and that brands that tap into these touchstones benefit tremendously.” Contextually aligned ads have the propensity to both excite (+10%) and create relevance (+8%) for brands, especially among those who are in-market. Further, contextual alignment boosts brand metrics that matter most, such as brand favorability (+8%), search intent (+12%), and purchase intent (+9%). Just what are consumers doing as they stream podcasts and listen to music? A ranking of typical listening rituals featured in a previous Audacy study, Audio Rituals was topped by running general errands (85%) and doing home maintenance (84%). Consumer engagement levels, though, were most heightened during me-time moments (73%), putting my child to bed (70%) and exercising outdoors (68%). Audacy’s Audio Rituals study also determined that 74% of listeners incorporated audio into their daily rituals and 40% planned their day/activities around audio content. “Audio advertisers can amplify the effectiveness of their buys through ritual moments,” said Idil Cakim, SVP, Head of Research and Insights, Audacy. “Study participants agreed that the stronger the match between advertisement and content, the better the outcome for KPIs like brand favorability and purchase intent.” Seventy-eight percent of participants agreed that strong content/ad matches mattered in brand favorability and 80% for purchase intent. Other key findings include: Mood Boosters: Participants who felt “energized or excited” by their audio content also were 24% more likely to state the test ads “caught my attention” (+24% lift) and were more likely to be open to the ads at the time of listening (+16% lift). These engaged and excited listeners also were more likely to search for the brand (+10%). Contextual Enhancement: Contextually aligning ads amplifies the information shared in audio ads – this is especially true among in-market audiences, who agree that these contextually-aligned ads “taught them something new” (73%). Dialed-In Dispatches: Regardless of the type of contextual alignment (ritual or genre-based), each approach has the propensity to drive search intent (+15% and +16%, respectively). Aligning with Rituals: The Contextual Foundation of Audio ran controlled testing among 1,920 weekly audio listeners who listened to 30-minute content blocks, ranging from podcasts to news, sports and music, interspersed with ads from three brands, covering the retail, telecom and travel industries. The participants answered a range of questions to determine advertising effectiveness and establish their mood and receptivity. The full study can be found here. About MAGNA MAGNA is the leading global media investment and intelligence company. Our trusted insights, proprietary trial offerings, industry-leading negotiation and unparalleled consultative solutions deliver an actionable marketplace advantage for our clients and subscribers. We are a team of experts driven by results, integrity and inquisitiveness. We operate across five key competencies, supporting clients and cross-functional teams through partnership, education, accountability, connectivity and enablement. For more information, please visit our website: https://magnaglobal.com/ and follow us on LinkedIn. About Audacy Audacy, Inc. (NYSE: AUD) is a leading multi-platform audio content and entertainment company with the country’s best collection of local music, news and sports brands, a premium podcast creator, major event producer, and digital innovator. Audacy engages 200 million consumers each month, bringing people together around content that matters to them. Learn more at www.audacyinc.com, Facebook (Audacy Corp), Twitter (@AudacyCorp) and LinkedIn (@Audacy-Inc).

Read More

AD TECH AND MARTECH

AdTech Leader Bidease Welcomes Ross Barasch as VP of Innovation

EIN News | May 23, 2023

Bidease, a leading mobile AdTech company, has announced that Ross Barasch is joining it as Vice President of Innovation. In his new role, Ross Barasch will be responsible for leading company innovation projects, including developing new revenue streams, supporting M&A activities, and working with partners to optimize demand and improve performance. Ross Barasch brings over 15 years of experience leading teams in performance marketing, business development, account management, and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining Bidease, he advised several AdTech companies at various stages and was VP, Demand and strategic partnerships at Fyber. “I’m thrilled to join the incredible team at Bidease to build new revenue streams and support existing operations. The company has such a compelling story, from its experienced leadership team to its deep investments in its tech stack and machine learning models. I’m excited to grab a seat on this rocketship to help propel its growth,” said Barasch. Founded in the USA in 2016 and named one of America’s most innovative companies by Fortune in 2023, Bidease is well-positioned to capitalize on the tremendous growth opportunities in the market and provide exceptional service to its clients and partners. About Bidease Bidease is a fully transparent demand-side platform for mobile marketers. Its risk-free programmatic performance solutions help the world’s biggest brands achieve their performance advertising goals. Using a combination of proprietary programmatic advertising technology, machine learning, and first-party data, they optimize campaigns across all major mobile formats for desired post-install behaviours at no risk to their clients' bottom line. The company is on a mission to bring fully transparent, value-driven advertising to the mobile world.

Read More