Running ads on Google sounds simple—set a budget, choose some keywords, and watch the leads roll in. But for many businesses, the reality is far more frustrating. Ads get disapproved, accounts are suspended without warning, and budgets disappear without any real return. And when things go wrong, getting help from Google can feel like shouting into the void.
So, what’s changed?
In 2024 alone, Google suspended over 39 million advertiser accounts—more than double the number from the year before. Most of these weren’t blatant scams. They were everyday businesses that unknowingly triggered a policy, got caught by automated detection, or didn’t set up their campaigns quite right.
Google Ads is no longer a platform you can approach casually. It’s a powerful tool, yes—but it’s also increasingly unforgiving. And that’s exactly why having a dedicated Google Ads specialist in your corner isn’t just helpful—it’s necessary.
In 2024, Google suspended 39.2 million advertiser accounts—a staggering 208% increase from the year prior. While some of these were linked to fraudulent activity, a growing number involved legitimate businesses. These suspensions weren’t the result of malicious behaviour, but rather unintentional violations of Google’s increasingly rigid advertising policies, flagged and actioned by automated systems.
Most suspended accounts fall into one or more of the following categories:
What has changed—and why this matters now more than ever—is Google’s growing reliance on AI-driven enforcement. These systems are designed to detect patterns at scale, but they don’t allow for nuance. Context, intent, and legitimacy are often ignored in favour of pattern recognition and probability. The result? False positives are becoming increasingly common, with accounts suspended based on what the system thinks might be problematic.
And once you're suspended, you're placed into a recovery process that’s equally opaque. Appeals are handled through limited channels. Responses are often templated, and reinstatements are rarely immediate—even in cases where the issue is minor or clearly unintentional. The absence of direct human escalation makes it difficult for advertisers to resolve issues promptly, especially without expert guidance.
On the surface, Google’s advertising policies look clear enough—don’t mislead users, don’t promote prohibited products, and don’t game the system. But in practice, the policies are broad, technical, and open to interpretation. What one advertiser sees as a perfectly legitimate offer, Google’s systems may flag as misrepresentation. What looks like a minor redirect to you may be flagged as system circumvention.
One of the biggest challenges advertisers face is that the rules shift frequently. Google updates its policies without much warning, and advertisers are expected to remain compliant in real time. If you’re not actively tracking changes—sometimes buried in documentation—you risk breaking rules you didn’t even know had changed.
Some of the most commonly triggered policies include:
This can mean anything from unclear refund terms to overstating what a product or service can do. Even vague or generic claims like “guaranteed results” or “100% success rate” can trigger enforcement—especially in industries like finance, health, or digital marketing.
Google reserves this category for behaviour it deems deceptive or harmful to users. It’s broad, and often includes issues like missing contact information, unclear business ownership, or promoting services that are seen as exploitative or unverifiable.
This is one of the most ambiguous policies in the entire platform. It can apply to redirect chains, cloaking, using third-party tracking improperly, or even having a second Google Ads account linked to the same domain or business entity. It’s notoriously difficult to appeal.
It’s not just about the ad—you’re judged on the page it leads to. Landing pages must load quickly, match the ad content, be mobile-friendly, and include clear, accessible information (like pricing, terms, and contact details). Even minor gaps here can affect your quality score—or trigger a suspension if paired with other violations.
The real risk lies in the fact that violations aren’t always obvious. Google doesn’t tell you exactly what’s wrong or exactly where the problem is. You might receive a single-line message saying your account was suspended for “Unacceptable Business Practices” with no further detail. You’re expected to audit everything, guess what tripped the system, and fix it—often without confirmation that you’ve found the real issue.
One of the most common misconceptions about Google Ads is that once your ads are live, you’re doing it right. But without conversion tracking in place, you’re not measuring performance—you’re guessing. Worse, you’re likely wasting ad spend on traffic that looks good on the surface but leads nowhere.
Conversion tracking allows you to see what users actually do after clicking your ad—whether they make a purchase, fill out a form, book a call, or sign up for a newsletter. It gives you visibility into outcomes, not just clicks.
Here’s why it matters:
Google’s bidding strategies—especially smart bidding—depend on real conversion data. If Google doesn’t know what a conversion looks like for your business, it can’t optimise your ads effectively.
Two keywords might drive the same number of clicks, but if only one leads to paying customers, conversion data helps you shift your budget toward what delivers results.
Without tracking, it’s easy to misread campaign performance. High click-through rates can feel like a win—until you realise none of that traffic actually converts.
Conversion tracking isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s part of how Google evaluates the health and value of an account. Accounts with no conversion tracking often perform poorly in auctions and may be penalised with limited delivery or higher costs.
Setting up conversion tracking requires more than just toggling a setting. It often involves custom events, proper placement of tracking tags, integrating with platforms like Google Analytics, and configuring attribution models that reflect your actual customer journey. Done properly, it gives you clarity, control, and a real sense of where your money is going.
Managing a Google Ads account today requires more than just ticking a few setup boxes. It requires fluency in Google’s policies, a technical grasp of how its systems behave, and the experience to know what actually works vs. what quietly wastes budget.
A professional Google Ads manager does more than “run your ads.” They are versed in every variable that affects your visibility, performance, and account stability. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
A qualified specialist stays on top of policy changes, understands what’s considered risky, and knows how to structure campaigns to avoid getting flagged. They review landing pages, audit ad copy, and proactively spot red flags before they become suspension triggers.
If your account does get suspended, an experienced manager knows how to work through the appeals process—what documentation to submit, how to correct the issue, and how to communicate with Google’s support channels in the language that gets results.
Beyond keeping your account safe, a specialist builds campaigns that are designed to generate real outcomes. That means precise keyword targeting, meaningful audience segmentation, tested ad variations, and conversion-focused landing pages—none of which happen by accident.
A Google Ads specialist doesn’t guess. They use conversion tracking and performance metrics to make targeted adjustments. Every bid, every ad group, every extension is shaped by what the data is telling them, not by guesswork or generic advice.
When managed well, Google Ads is one of the most powerful tools a business can use to generate demand. When mismanaged—even unintentionally—it can quickly become a liability.
Running ads is easy. Running them correctly—without wasting budget or risking account suspension—isn’t. With policy enforcement tightening and support becoming less accessible, the risks of DIY campaign management are higher than ever.
ITM manages Google Ads for businesses that can’t afford trial and error. From setup and compliance to conversion tracking and performance oversight, we handle the parts of Google Ads most businesses overlook—until something goes wrong.
If you're investing in paid search, it should be managed with intent, clarity, and accountability.
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