Google Ads ad disapproved – find the cause, fix it and resubmit

How Google Ads review works and what the statuses mean

Every new or edited ad goes through review by automated systems and, in some cases, people. Most reviews finish within about one business day, though some take longer. The review covers the ad text, images and assets, and also the page people land on after clicking.

The result shows as a status on each ad:

• Under review: the ad will not serve until the review is done
• Approved: the ad meets policy and serves normally
• Approved (limited): the ad serves, but only in some locations, devices or audiences
• Disapproved: something breaks a policy, so the ad does not serve

To see why, hover over the status in the ads table or open the Policy manager in your account. The policy name and the flagged element (text, image, asset or destination) are your starting point. Make a list of every disapproved ad, grouped by policy name.

Common reasons Google Ads disapproves ads in Japan

For advertisers in Japan, most disapprovals fall into a few groups.

• Healthcare and medicines: supplements, health foods and cosmetics that claim to "cure", "slim" or "remove spots". These claims also overlap with Japan's Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Act (薬機法), so they cause trouble with both Google and the law. Clinics and aesthetic medicine should also follow the medical advertising guidelines
• Financial services: loans, investments, crypto and insurance. Missing fees, rates, risks or company details on the landing page lead to limits or disapproval. Depending on the product and target country, advertiser verification or registration details may be required
• Destination requirements: the page does not load, returns 404, breaks on mobile, is still "under construction", uses a different domain from the display URL or redirects to another site. This is the most common reason in every industry
• Editorial: repeated symbols like "!!", odd spacing or repetition, phone numbers in the ad text, unnecessary capitals
• Misrepresentation and trademarks: no visible business details or return and cancellation terms, unsupported "No.1" claims, other brands' trademarks used without permission

Repeated disapprovals or deliberate violations can spread from single ads to the whole account. If you have received warnings, read Google Ads account suspension. If Shopping products are disapproved, the cause often sits in Merchant Center – see Merchant Center misrepresentation.

How to fix a disapproved ad and resubmit it

The fastest route to approval is to find every cause at once and fix them together. This order keeps things from slipping through:

• Check the policy and the element: in Policy manager, confirm the policy and whether the issue is in the text, an image, an asset or the destination
• Read the policy help page: follow the link from the policy name to see what is allowed and what is restricted
• Fix the flagged part: rewrite the claim, replace the image or add the missing information to the page
• Open the page yourself: logged out, on a computer and a phone – check display, load speed and redirects
• Resubmit: editing and saving an ad sends it back to review automatically. If you only changed the landing page, or you believe the decision is wrong, file an appeal from Policy manager
• Keep a log: note what you changed, in which ad, and when

In an appeal, a short, specific description of what you fixed works best.

Landing page checklist for Google Ads review

A clean ad can still be disapproved again if the landing page falls short, especially for health, beauty and finance. Check your live page against these points:

• Company name, address, contact details and, for online sales, the 特定商取引法 disclosure are reachable from every page
• A privacy policy explains what the forms collect and why
• Prices, shipping, subscription terms and how to cancel are easy to find
• Benefit claims are supported and free of absolute or exaggerated wording
• The product or service in the ad appears on the page as described
• The page works on mobile, loads fast and no pop-up hides the content
• The site uses https and the final URL domain matches the display URL

Google's policies and the way Japanese laws such as 薬機法 and 景品表示法 are applied change over time, so check the latest official help pages and guidelines too. If you want the campaign structure and conversion tracking set up properly as well, see Google Ads setup service.

Still disapproved after the fix? Check these

When an ad stays disapproved, the cause is usually somewhere you have not looked yet:

• The same wording elsewhere: sitelinks, callouts, images and ads in other ad groups
• Other pages on the site: product pages or blog posts linked from the landing page
• A restricted product: prescription drugs and some financial products need verification or a different message
• Location settings: some policies differ by country, so match them to where you advertise
• The appeal itself: describe the fix clearly, and appeal only after the fix is live

If none of this solves it, rebuilding the page around the policy requirements is often the quicker path.

How UNANOBO handles disapprovals: a free demo of the fixed page

When the landing page is the problem, UNANOBO reviews your ad and page before you commit to anything, then builds a free demo of a new page designed around the policy requirements and clear messaging – business details, pricing layout and reworded claims included. You check it on a computer and a phone, and decide whether to go ahead once you are happy with it.

The process is free demo, feedback, launch, growth. The founder handles every project personally, from the first demo to running the ads afterwards, and everything happens by message in Japanese or English. Your ad account stays in your name; we work through added user access. Google makes the final review decision, so approval cannot be guaranteed. What you do get is a clear picture of the causes and a concrete plan to fix them.