1. Non-text ads are seeing approval delays. While text ads are still being approved within the promised 3-day timeframe (though its usually 24 hours or less), new display or video ad approvals are impacted by the pandemic and for some clients have sat in review for well-past a week. If you’re experiencing approval delays, and it’s imperative that you launch soon, reach out to Google via phone or chat and request that ads are reviewed as soon as possible.
2. Google Support options might be unavailable or delayed. With many “Stay at Home” orders taking place across the world, Google has taken every precautionary health measure for their Google Support specialists. And, this means that some support options we are accustomed to may be unavailable or delayed over the coming weeks. If you are unable to get a hold of a Google Support specialist, considering reaching out to us – we’ve seen quite a bit and manage a lot of accounts so we might be able to share info! Another option is to search the Google Ads Help Community.
3. Google is working to protect people from misinformation. Being the largest search engine in the world, Google has seen it all. Their Trust & Safety team has been working overtime to safeguard users from phishing, conspiracy theories, malware and misinformation. Specifically, on YouTube, Google is working to remove any content that claims to prevent the coronavirus in lieu of seeking medical treatment. Though you’re liking not playing off any of these things as an advertiser, understand that all content you see on Google may not be vetted yet and you’re welcome to report anything fishy!
4. Google is restricting ads related to coronavirus. In Google’s existing advertising policies, they work to prevent advertisers from capitalizing on or lacking sensitivity toward a sensitive event. Sensitive events can be classified as natural disasters, conflicts, deaths or other traffic events. Because Google isn’t able to manually review every ad put into the market, you can guess that if you add a trigger word like coronavirus, COVID, or COVID-19 into an ad, it will likely be disapproved automatically.
5. Google is going to offer SMBs an advertising credit. To help alleviate some of the costs for SMBs (small- and medium-sized businesses) trying to keep a connection to their customers during this time, Google says they will be giving away $340 million in advertising credits on their platform, which can be used before the end of 2020. The caveat is that advertisers will need to have been active advertisers in Google Ads since the beginning of 2019 and abide by all of Google’s Terms and Conditions in order to see the credit appear. We do not yet know when this credit is coming, or who qualifies as an SMB according to Google, but we are anxiously awaiting more information and expect this page to be updated once it is available.

Thanks for checking out our Top 5. If you have any questions related to Google Ads during this sensitive time, our team is here to help! Get in touch by commenting below or giving us a call today.