One of the biggest threats to your Adwords account is not playing by the rules of Google. Many advertisers who thought they were untouchable because of their large ad budget have faced the grim reality of getting banned from advertising on Google.
Google is so big they can turn their backs on advertisers who are spending thousands of dollars a month and not think twice. In many cases Google is more concerned about their reputation than their bottom line. Plus when you generate billions of dollars in revenue a year, Google can have a more strict approach.
There are many ways you can get suspended from Advertising on Google. Here are just a few.
Disapproved Ads
This might seem like a trivial issue. However, if your ads continue to get disapproved Google can suspend your account. Disapproved ads can be anything from broken URL’s, to punctuation problems. A good daily task is to check your account for any disapproved ads, and correct them.
Double Serving
I have seen this black hat paid search tactic backfire on advertisers. This is an attempt to own more shelf space the search results by running multiple accounts. With this approach it’s possible to have more than one ad display on the search network. The problem for advertisers who play this game is that Google eventually finds out. And when they do they bring the hammer down. I have known people who have tried this and their account got suspended. It can be almost impossible to get reinstated what Google imposes the ban upon you. Rule of thumb, stay away from this tactic.
Advertise banned or prohibited products
Google used to turn a blind eye to certain categories. For example there was a time when you could advertise butterfly knives. Those days are over since Google classifies butterfly knives as a weapon. If you try advertising products from a blocked category Google won’t allow you to run your ads. Google does try to outline which categories are off limits, before venturing into the paid search waters with your products or services, be sure to verify that the category is Google friendly.
In summary. The time of playing chicken with Google has come and gone. Black hat PPC tactics will only work for so long. You will get caught, and your account will be suspended. The bottom line is play by Google’s rules.