When Google suspends an ads account, every campaign stops at once, and the notice usually names a policy in a few words and explains very little. I help UK advertisers find what actually triggered the Google Ads account suspension, put it right on the website, in the account or in the paperwork, and then submit one clear, evidenced appeal. I also review accounts and sites before launch, so policy problems are caught before any ads go live.
One thing first: nobody outside Google can get an account reinstated, however well connected they claim to be. Google makes the decision. My job is to make sure the account and the site genuinely meet the policy, and that the reviewer reading your appeal can see that quickly.
Suspension, disapproval and limited approval are different problems
A disapproved ad affects a single ad. It stops showing, the rest of the account carries on, and you can usually edit and resubmit it the same day. “Approved (limited)” means an ad runs, but not everywhere, often because it sits in a restricted category such as alcohol or gambling, or uses a trademark.
A suspension covers the whole account. No ads run, and Google may also suspend other accounts it sees as linked through shared payment details, users or websites. Opening a fresh account to keep advertising while the old one is suspended is treated as getting round the suspension. The usual result is that the new account is suspended too, and the appeal on the original one becomes harder.
Why UK accounts get suspended
The notice names one policy, but the cause is often somewhere else on the site. These are the reasons I check first.
- Misrepresentation. A common trigger on small business sites. Google cannot tell who runs the business, how to reach it, what something really costs or what the customer is agreeing to. Missing company details, subscription terms tucked below the payment button, badges and reviews that cannot be verified, and “ends tonight” offers that never end all count against you.
- Circumventing systems. Showing Google’s reviewer a different page from the one visitors see, opening a new account after a suspension, or repeatedly rewording an ad to slip past a disapproval. Some of this happens by accident, through a redirect a previous agency set up or a plugin that serves different content to bots.
- Payment problems. An unpaid balance, a card that keeps failing, or payment details Google flags as suspicious. Clear the balance or replace the payment method before appealing, because an appeal sent while payment is still failing is wasted.
- Verification not completed. Google asks advertisers to prove who they are. Missing the deadline, or sending documents whose name or address does not match the payments profile, leads to the account being paused or suspended.
- Unauthorised activity. A compromised login used to run someone else’s ads. The suspension protects you; the fix starts with securing access and removing unknown users.
- Regulated sectors without the right approvals. Financial services, gambling and parts of healthcare need extra steps before ads can run to UK audiences.
For what Google calls egregious violations, it suspends without warning. For most other policies it sends a warning first. If a warning email arrived weeks ago and nobody acted on it, that is useful context for the appeal, because it tells me what Google was already looking at.
Who this is for
This work suits UK businesses that:
- have a suspended Google Ads account and do not know why, or know why but had an appeal rejected;
- are seeing ads disapproved one after another and expect the account to be next;
- work in finance, healthcare or gambling and want to launch without tripping a policy;
- took over an account from an agency or freelancer and found policy warnings already in it.
It does not suit a business selling something Google does not allow advertising for at all. If that is your situation, I will say so at the first look rather than take on an appeal that cannot succeed, and point you towards channels that can carry your product.
What the work covers
Diagnosis
I read the suspension notice, the policy manager, the account history and the change log, then walk through the website the way a Google reviewer would: every page an ad points to, the checkout or enquiry form, the footer, the terms and the about page. I also check the payments profile, the verification status and who has access. You get a short written diagnosis with the most likely cause, the evidence for it, and anything else that would fail a second look.
Fixes
Most fixes happen on the website rather than in the account. Typical changes are adding the registered company name, number and address; showing prices, fees and renewal terms before the customer commits; taking out claims you cannot support; repairing broken pages and redirects; and removing anything that serves Google a different page. I give you or your developer a page-by-page list and check each change once it is live.
The appeal
Once everything is fixed, I write one appeal from inside the account: what was wrong, what has changed and where the reviewer can see it. Appeals that argue with the policy, or arrive before the fix, rarely succeed, and sending the same text again does not help. If Google upholds the suspension, I read the reply for anything new and tell you plainly whether another appeal is worth making.
Advertiser verification
For advertiser verification, I help you prepare documents that match one another exactly: the legal name as registered at Companies House, the address on the payments profile, and the person submitting. A trading name on the website and a different registered name on the documents is a frequent reason UK applications are rejected.
Financial services verification
Advertisers promoting financial services to UK users must pass Google’s financial services verification, which relies on authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority or an exemption Google accepts. If your firm is an appointed representative, the details need to line up with the FCA register. I check the register entry, the account and the ads before you apply, so the application and the campaigns tell the same story. Passing Google’s check does not make an ad compliant with the FCA’s financial promotion rules; that remains a decision for your compliance lead. My page on Google Ads for financial services firms covers running those campaigns once you are approved.
Pre-launch compliance check
For a new account, a new product or a move into a regulated sector, I review the site, the ads and the account settings against Google’s policies before anything goes live. Fixing a footer before launch is far easier than recovering an account afterwards. For the wider setup, my Google Ads checklist covers everything else worth confirming.
How a recovery runs
- Access. You invite me as a user from the account’s access settings, so I never need your password.
- Diagnosis. I send the written diagnosis and we agree the fixes before anything changes.
- Fixes. You or your developer make the website changes; I make the account changes and check everything live.
- Appeal. I submit it from the account and send you a copy.
- Review. Google’s review time varies and I cannot speed it up. During the wait, I do not resubmit or open new accounts.
- Restart. If the account is reinstated, campaigns go back on gradually, with conversion tracking checked first, because a long pause often hides broken tags.
Problems I see most often on UK sites
- A trading name on the site, a different company name on the invoices, and neither linked to a Companies House number.
- A contact page with only a form: no address, phone number or registered office.
- Lead generation sites that pass enquiries to other firms without saying so clearly.
- “From £49” in the ad and a higher figure at checkout once fees are added.
- A copied privacy notice that describes a different business, or none at all.
- Old agency users and manager account links nobody remembers adding.
What I will not do
- Open a new account to get round a suspension, or advise you to.
- Hide content from Google’s reviewers or alter any document.
- Write an appeal claiming something is fixed when it is not.
- Promise reinstatement, or a date for it.
Each of these can turn a recoverable suspension into a permanent one, and they put any future account at risk as well.
What you receive
A written diagnosis, a prioritised fix list for the site and the account, the appeal text as submitted, help with verification documents where needed, and a short note on keeping the account clear of policy trouble afterwards.
Cost and next step
The price depends on the cause and how much of the site needs changing, so I quote once I have seen the notice and the site. The quote is a fixed figure in GBP, agreed in writing before any work starts. If the account is reinstated and you want ongoing help, monthly PPC management includes watching for policy warnings before they become suspensions. My other Google Ads services cover setup and campaign types.
To start, send me the wording of the suspension notice and your website address through the contact page, and I will tell you what I think the cause is and whether an appeal is likely to be worth making.