Site icon Creatopy Blog

Oops, my banner ad got disapproved! 7 possible explanations

7 Banner Ad Got Disapproved Bannersnack
3 minutes read

So, it happens sometimes. You’ve learned how to make a banner, created and uploaded it to your online advertising campaign and you wait for the approval.

Ad networks and Google Adwords especially have a set of policies in place to ensure both a standard for the online advertising industry and a standard for the regular web user experience. Naturally, in order for your banner ads to run, you need to comply with these.

However, if you get a your-ad-has-been-disapproved message, don’t despair.

Below are the most frequent causes for banner ad disapproval and how to fix it.

1. Landing page

One of the most common reasons for ad disapproval is the landing page to which you want to direct users to.

How does the landing page affect ad approval? Well, the landing page is a part of the user experience. A landing page doesn’t provide a good experience will get your ad disapproved even if your banner ad complies with all the technical and content guidelines in place.

To fix it, first make sure that you’re linking to a working website. You are not allowed to link to error pages, use short links or redirects.

Second, make sure that your page enables a good user experience. Landing pages must:

  • feature good navigation links;

  • provide useful, relevant information to what is being advertised;

  • promote trust and transparency (have a privacy policy in page, tell users what they will receive).

2. Poor image quality

If you’ve used blurry, unprofessional or distorted images and/or text and your banner ad got disapproved, you shouldn’t be surprised. The images you use in your banner ads need to be clear and easily recognizable. Also, text must be legible. (Psst: you know that Creatopy features 500+ professional stock photos ready to be used for free,r ight?).

3. You’ve used copyrighted material

You are not allowed to use material  (trademarks, logos) for which you do not own copyright or for which you do not have distribution rights. If you want to use trademarked items, you need to submit an application with the ad network to prove that you have distribution rights from the copyright owner.

4. Animations run longer than 30 seconds

Animations in animated or interactive banner/image ads are limited to 30 seconds. If you’ve submitted a GIF or a flash banner ad and it got disapproved, check if your animation length does not exceed 30 seconds.

Also, your animation can be looping, but again it needs to stop after 30 seconds. In Creatopy, you can easily fix this by ticking the “Stop on this slide” checkbox on your last slide. If you’ve used Flash or other software to create the banner, use existing features to stop the loop before 30 seconds.

Bonus: Make sure that the frame speed complies as well. GIF banner ads are allowed a frame speed of up to 5 frames per second and Flash files are allowed 24 frames per second speed or slower.

5. You have embedded a video in your banner ad

Banner ads can feature animations or interactivity, but you cannot embed videos in banners ads. While this feature is available in Creatopy, we recommend it only for banners used with embed codes. If you embed a Youtube video in a banner ad and submit it to Google Adwords for review, it will get disapproved as there is a special format for video ads.

6. You’re trying to trick the user into clicking your ad

For a good user experience, web visitors need to be able to easily discern the ads featured on a page from the content of the page itself. Site warnings, system dialogue boxes, error messages  – anything that blurs the distinction and tries to trick the user into clicking results in ad disapproval.

Also, make sure that the offer or product can be easily identified in connection to your brand, logo or name. Additionally, if you’re using PNG files with transparent background or ads that feature a white background, you need to add a 1 pixel border to make your ad stand out from the website.

7. The content you’re advertising is not approved

Adult services, gambling related products and services, health and dietary supplements, smoking, gun, drugs and so on – all those are subject to additional restrictions, especially when it comes to Google Adwords. Make sure the product or the service that you want to advertise for is under special regulation.

Well, this is it – the most popular reasons for banner ad disapproval and how to fix them. If you’ve created your banner ads with Creatopy, you can easily make the changes you need to get your banner approved.

 

If you have any questions, submit them in the comments below!

Exit mobile version