Advertising with Google Ads
Under review is a status assigned to Google Ads ads that are reviewed to ensure they are safe, appropriate, and compliant with advertising policies .
The following video explains the ad approval process.
Index
- How the ad approval process works
- Duration of the review process
- How to check the approval status of an ad or extension
- Meaning of each state
How the ad approval process works
Once you have created or edited an ad or extension , the review process begins automatically. All the contents of your ad are reviewed: title, description, keywords, destination, any images and videos. During this process, the status of the announcement will be “Under review”.
- If you pass the review, the status changes to “Approved” and the ad is published.
- However, if the policy compliance check detects a violation, the status changes to “Not approved” and the ad will not be able to run. In some cases, Google will tell you which policy has been violated and will also tell you what to do. In more complex situations, such as with Google Shopping ads, you may not receive details and you will have to contact support and wait several days. To contact Google Ads support you can use the question mark symbol (?) At the top right of the Google Ads interface, or you can use this form . Anyway, it’s a big hassle especially if you’re in a hurry to start a campaign.
Duration of the review process
Most ads are reviewed within one business day. However, some reviews may take longer if more detailed review is required for an announcement. If your ad is under review for more than two business days , you will need to contact support for more information.
How to check the approval status of an ad or extension
After you have created or edited an ad or extension, you can check if it has been reviewed in the “Status” column.
To check the status of an ad:
- Log into your Google Ads account.
- Click Ads & Extensionsin the page menu to see a list of your ads.
- To check the status of an ad, look in the “Status” column. Hover your mouse over a state to find out what it means.
To view more detailed policy information (or to check the status of a paused ad), activate the Policy Details column.
- Go to the Ads page in your Google Ads account.
- First click on the Columnsicon above the statistics table and then on “Edit Columns”.
- In the “Attributes” section, click to select the checkbox next to “Policy details”.
- Click Apply.
The Policy Details column provides information about whether an ad was disapproved or why an “Approved (limited)” ad is limited to a particular audience.
Meaning of each state
A status is displayed both before the ad or extension is approved and after review. Prior to review, the ad will have one of these states:
- Eligible:Ad is still under review. However, please note that:
- If you see this status for responsive or app campaign ads, it means that some combination of assets (images for example) have been approved and can be served.
- If you see this status for video ads, it means the video has been reviewed and approved for serving in some contexts.
- Under review:The ad is still under review and will not run until it has been approved.
After review, your ad can run if it has any of these statuses:
- Approved:The ad complies with Google Ads policies and can therefore serve for all audiences.
- Approved (limited):Your ad may run, but not in all situations due to restrictions under the Google Ads advertising policies, such as those on trademark use or gambling-related content.
- Approved (limited to all locations):The ad cannot run in the target locations due to policy restrictions and targeting settings. However, the ad can be shown to people interested in your target locations.
- Publishing:You have approved the video ad to be published on YouTube.
After review, the extension can be published if it has one of the following statuses:
- Approved:The extension complies with Google Ads advertising policies and can therefore be shown to all audiences.
- Approved (Limited):The extension may be posted, but not in all situations due to policy restrictions, such as trademark use or gaming and betting related content.
After review, your ad can’t run if it has one of the following statuses:
- Disapproved:The ad can’t run because the content or destination violates Google Ads policies. Additionally, the ad may have another unrelated status to its approval such as Paused, Finished, and Pending.
