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Google Ads is a powerful tool for driving targeted traffic and growing your business online. However, it can be frustrating when your carefully crafted ads don’t appear as expected.
This article covers the top 15 reasons your Google Ads aren’t showing and provides actionable solutions to get your campaigns back on track.
One of the most common reasons ads fail to show is due to payment problems. If your payment method is invalid, expired, or there are insufficient funds, Google will pause your ads until the issue is resolved.
Once payment issues are resolved, your ads should resume running.
Your bid amount affects whether your ad wins an auction to be shown. If your bids are too low, your ads may not appear because other advertisers outbid you.
Conversely, if bids are too high relative to your budget, your campaign might exhaust its budget quickly and stop showing ads.
If your keywords have very low search volume, Google may not show your ads because there are not enough relevant searches. Also, using overly broad or irrelevant keywords can reduce ad visibility.
Google has strict advertising policies. If your ads violate these, they will be disapproved and won’t show. Common disapproval reasons include inappropriate content, misleading claims, trademark violations, and destination URL issues.
Disapproval Type | What It Means | How to Fix It |
---|---|---|
Destination mismatch | Ads in the same ad group have different URLs | Ensure all ads in an ad group point to the same final URL |
Destination not working | Google can’t crawl or reach your landing page | Fix URL errors, check robots.txt, and ensure website is live |
Repetition | Keyword stuffing or poor-quality ad copy | Refine ad copy to be clear and relevant |
Capitalization | Excessive use of capital letters | Use standard capitalization; appeal if part of brand name |
Punctuation & symbols | Incorrect grammar or excessive symbols | Correct punctuation and remove unnecessary symbols |
Trademark violations | Unauthorized use of trademarked terms | Remove or get authorization; comply with reseller policies |
Copyrighted content | Use of copyrighted material without permission | Remove content or provide authorization documentation |
Image quality | Low-quality or incorrectly sized images | Replace with high-quality images meeting Google’s guidelines |
Misrepresentation | Bait-and-switch or misleading content | Align ad copy and landing page content |
Dangerous products | Ads promoting prohibited items like weapons | Remove or adjust ad content |
These fixes help ensure your ads comply and can start showing again.
Sometimes ads remain in the “under review” status for longer than usual, preventing them from showing.
If your campaign’s daily budget is too low, Google may limit how often your ads show, resulting in fewer impressions.
Google assigns a Quality Score based on your ad’s relevance, expected click-through rate, and landing page experience. Low-quality ads rank poorly and may not show often.
If your campaign targeting is too narrow or incorrect, your ads may not reach enough users to show.
If you have set your ads to run only at certain times or days, your ads won’t show outside those windows.
Negative keywords prevent your ads from showing on certain searches. If you have added too many or incorrect negative keywords, your ads might not show at all.
If your Google Ads account violates policies repeatedly, it may be suspended, stopping all ads from showing.
If your final URL is broken, leads to a 404 error, or the landing page is unresponsive, Google will not show your ads.
Display ads require images that meet Google’s size, quality, and content guidelines. Poor image quality or wrong dimensions can cause disapproval.
Ads that mislead users or do not accurately represent the product or service will be disapproved.
Occasionally, Google Ads may experience technical issues causing ads not to show.
Use Google’s tools like the Policy Manager, Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool, and Keyword Planner to identify problems. Fix payment issues, comply with policies, optimize bids and budgets, and ensure your landing pages and URLs are working perfectly.
By systematically addressing these top 15 reasons, you can restore your ads’ visibility, improve campaign performance, and get the best return on your advertising investment.
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