How to Get Ads Approved (and Disapproved) with Ease

Monday, March 22nd, 2021

How to Get Ads Approved (and Disapproved) with Ease

If you’re a frequent Facebook advertiser, you will understand the struggles of getting your ads approved (or disapproved). Since launching in 2007, Facebook have adopted a very strict approach to their guidelines. They are very particular on what they approve and what they disapprove. If you’re new to paid ads, this may be news to you. Luckily for you, we’re here to breakdown the myths and jargon and explain to you exactly what you need to do in order to run successful Facebook ad campaigns. 

Words and Phrases we know to avoid

Firstly, there are many words and phrases we can avoid using when advertising on Facebook. Facebook maintain some policies that address discrimination and personal attributes.

You cannot directly discriminate against or demean people based on attributes such as race, religion, gender and ethnicity. This means you cannot mention any of these factors in your ad copy or creatives. This also applies for your targeting. If you target such factors too specifically, it can appear that you are unfairly discriminating against certain groups.

Regarding personal attributes you cannot mention anything to do with self-image, mental health, physical features, etc. When we write our client ads we often avoid using “you where possible. For example:

Where you may normally use “do you want your smile to be brighter?”, we would change this to “want a brighter smile?”. It’s important to remember than many ads are reviewed by bots, not humans. They will often reject ads that contain the words “you” or “your”, even if used correctly. It’s not worth the hassle of appealing this review and waiting even longer for an actual person to have a look at your ad. If you can avoid using these phrases, you will save yourself a lot of time. 

Types of brands we know Facebook doesn’t like

Before setting up your Facebook ad account, you want to be sure that the products you’re selling aren’t subject for an automatic Facebook ad ban. Here are some of the brands or products that are currently not allowed to advertise on Facebook.

1. Illegal products or services – Well, this goes without saying. Anything that would get you arrested or fined for selling in the real world, applies to Facebook advertising. This includes selling age-restricted products to minors. 
2. Tobacco and related products – Cigarettes, vapes or any product that resonates with smoking in banned.
3. Drug and related products – This covers both illegal and prescription drugs. Some CBD brands also have a hard time advertising, as this is also not allowed. 
4. Unsafe supplements – Anything to do with steroids, Human Growth Hormones or any kind of dodgy supplements are not allowed. Facebook’s policy on this is very clear. They get to decide which products are included in the category, so their decision is always going to be subjective.
5. Weapons – This includes weapons, ammo and explosives. It also covers pepper sprays, tasers, non-culinary knives. You can however, advertise holsters, and toy guns as long as your audience targeting is over 18. 
6. Payday loans – Any loan with a term of less than 90 days is banned.

When advertising restricted products, we advise you to be very careful about it. For example, make sure your ads are targeted to over 18 in the UK for advertising alcohol, and over 21 in the states. You must be aware of the laws and target accordingly. 

Power of the landing page

When Facebook reviews your ads, they don’t just look at your ad. They also take into consideration the URL your ads link to. It’s important you set up a strong landing page, to avoid any rejections. This is also important for some businesses such as medical, as you can really showcase your products without breaking any rules.

Here are some URL/landing page characteristics that could get your ads rejected by Facebook.

1. Disruptive content – If your landing page is hard to navigate and requires users to click many buttons just to read your article, Facebook will block it straight away. You want your landing pages to be simple, easy to navigate and easy to read.
2. Irrelevant landing pages – If your ads have nothing to do with your landing page, your ad will not be approved. It can look like your using your ads to mislead traffic to your website. 
3. Misleading URL’s – Similarly to the above point, your landing page’s URL must be of relevance to your ads. If it looks misleading, the likelihood is, it wont get approved. 

New ad accounts

It’s important to remember that if your ads keep getting rejected, it’s likely your page will end up being banned all together. That’s why we stress the importance of the above. There are so many steps you can take to create your ads carefully.

However, if your page has become permanently disabled from advertising, you shouldn’t connect it to new ad accounts. Facebook will pick up on this, and it can lead to more serious bans, resulting in you never being able to advertise on Facebook again. Unfortunately, if your page has been disabled, there’s not much more to do.

In order to avoid this, follow the above steps, know your audience, choose your copy and creative wisely and set up a strong and relevant landing page.

If you still feel that you need help with your Facebook ad account get in touch today. Our expert team are available for a FREE strategy call and are ready to help your Facebook ads skyrocket!

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