A Circumventing Systems suspension is one of the most serious problems a Google advertiser can face.
It’s the most common type of suspension that businesses ask StubGroup to fix, accounting for approximately 37% of the Google Ads suspensions we see.
That’s partly because it’s hard to figure out why Google flagged you, and harder still to convince them to accept your appeal.
In this article we explain what Circumventing Systems means, give examples of intentional and accidental violations that can trigger it, and offer tips for successfully getting your Google ads running again.
What is a Google Ads “Circumventing Systems” Suspension?
What it is: Google believes you’re trying to bypass Google’s review systems or prior policy decisions and are doing something fundamentally wrong that could jeopardize Google’s users.
What it means: You’re permanently banned from running ads on Google.
Can you fix it? Yes, it’s possible to successfully appeal a Circumventing Systems suspension (we do it all the time), but it takes a lot of work and the right approach, and there’s no guarantee of success.
What does “egregious” mean? Google will suspend your ad account immediately, with no warning. There are ten policy violations it considers “egregious”, including Unacceptable Business Practices and Counterfeit.
Types of Circumventing Systems
Google looks at your ad account, your website, and third-party sources when deciding whether you violated the Circumventing Systems policy.
Any action to bypass enforcement of Google’s policies falls under this, including creating new ad accounts, cloning disapproved ads across multiple accounts, obscuring content in ads, etc.
Google has three sub-categories to this policy:
Circumventing Systems: Cloaking
Imagine throwing a cloak over your website when Google looks at it and then flicking that cloak away when a prospective customer comes by.
Google wants to know exactly what’s on your website and landing page so that it knows you’re not violating any of its policies.
If you obscure that content, Google has to assume you’re doing so for a malicious reason, and that triggers a Cloaking suspension.
Same thing if there’s a mismatch between what you’re advertising in your ads and what you’re featuring on your landing page.
Example of an intentional violation:
When Googlebot crawls the landing page in your ad, you show it a page selling clothes. When anyone else visits the landing page in your ad, you dynamically show them a page selling pharmaceuticals, even though you’re not certified to sell those products.
Example of an accidental violation:
You have a pop-up on your page offering a 10% discount to people who join your email list, but you don’t realize that the pop-up is blocking the majority of the page’s content.
What to do:
- Use the URL inspection tool in Google Search Console to test the landing page URL.
- Use Google’s Safe Browsing site status tool. Note: Google recommends this tool, but we’ve seen many situations where a hacked website wasn’t flagged by this tool, as well as a clean bill of health from this tool for websites that Google Ads suspended.
- Visit your landing pages via multiple browsers and devices to look for any problems.
- Search the website backend for any code that might be dynamically changing content, like old landing page testing software.
- Use third-party scanning tools to crawl your website. You can find links to some of our favorite tools in our free website compliance guide here.
- Look at every ad and asset in your ad account and click through to the landing page to look for mismatches (like an ad about plumbing that sends traffic to a page about software).
Circumventing Systems: Multiple Account Abuse
Google doesn’t want you avoiding suspensions by simply creating new ad accounts, and it doesn’t want you using networks of accounts to stay under their radar.
Example of an intentional violation:
Google suspends your businesses’ ad account for Unacceptable Business Practices and you go and create a new ad account rather than appealing that suspension.
Example of an accidental violation:
Three marketing teams at your company create three separate ad accounts for your business using the same credit card as the payment method, and Google suspends the accounts because the activity looks suspicious.
What to do:
- Catalog any Google Ads accounts that are connected to your business and/or payment method. This includes company-owned, agency, and freelancer-created accounts. This often requires some “detective” work.
- Look for unrelated policy issues in any of the accounts you’ve found. For example, if one account is suspended because you’ve failed Advertiser Verification, that may be the root cause for connected accounts being suspended for Multiple Account Abuse.
- Resolve any unaddressed suspensions, ad disapprovals, or account verification problems before you appeal the Multiple Account Abuse suspension.
- Cancel/consolidate ad accounts that you don’t need. Read this guide to the pros/cons of having multiple Google Ads accounts.
Circumventing Systems: Advertiser Verification
Google requires many ad accounts to go through some form of Advertiser Verification.
Google will suspend you if you don’t complete verification by its deadline or if you submit information it thinks is fraudulent.
Example of an intentional violation:
You upload fake business documentation to Google.
Example of an accidental violation:
You list the name of your holding company on your Google Ads Payment Profile but you submit Google business documentation for your child company.
What to do:
- Assemble all of the documentation you sent Google and look for any discrepancies in business names, addresses, etc.
- Confirm that your documentation is completely visible and accurate (e.g. if you upload a picture of your Driver’s License, make sure your thumb isn’t covering a corner).
How to Appeal a Circumventing Systems Suspension
- Step 1: Find and fix the problem. We know this is a lot harder than it sounds. For more ideas, watch our YouTube videos here or download our free guides here.
- Step 2: Submit an appeal. Fixing the problem isn’t sufficient. You also need to submit a detailed, comprehensive appeal that explains exactly what you found, what you fixed, how you’ll prevent the problem from happening again, and why you’re legitimate as a business. Use these 6 steps to write a great appeal.
You’ll submit your appeal directly through your Google Ads account interface by clicking the “Fix it” button in the red bar at the top of your ad account. That option disappears after six months, at which point you’ll have to reach out to Google support to initiate an appeal.
Google replies to most appeals within 24 hours, but unfortunately it’s common for that first response to be a rejection. Google only reinstates in compelling cases, so be prepared for a lot of work and a long wait, and consider hiring experts like StubGroup to do the work for you and massively increase your chances of success.
How to Prevent Circumventing Systems Suspensions
Here are some things you can do proactively.
- Don’t open ad accounts you don’t need. Keep track of what accounts agencies or freelancers are creating on your behalf.
- Remove old ads from your account. Keeping them paused isn’t enough because Google still crawls paused ads.
- Don’t block Googlebot from crawling your website.
- Prevent website hacking by keeping your site secure, limiting access to your website backend, using 2FA on all website logins, etc.
- Make sure all of your documentation is up-to-date and consistent before submitting it as part of Advertiser Verification
How Can StubGroup Help You?
StubGroup stands ready to assist you through circumventing systems suspensions, leveraging our deep understanding of Google ads product features and systems policy to safeguard your marketing campaign. With our help, your suspended account can be a thing of the past, allowing you to run ads effectively and compliantly on the vast Google network.
Navigating the intricacies of Google Ads policies, particularly the circumventing systems policy, demands expertise and a proactive approach. From handling ad disapproval to addressing issues across different language versions of your ads, we offer tailored solutions and strategic insights.
When using different languages for your website content or landing pages, it’s important to ensure that these variations do not violate Google Ads policies, as long as the core product or service remains consistent.
Our goal is not only to fix current suspensions but also to empower your business against future challenges, ensuring long-term success in your digital advertising endeavors.
For those seeking a clear path forward, we provide comprehensive guides to help you resolve Google Ads Account suspensions efficiently. Visit our Policy Center today!
Struggling with a Circumventing Systems Suspension?
We can help! Our team of compliance experts is here to help you with your suspension.
Frequently Asked Questions about Circumventing Systems Suspensions
Can I use redirects in my URLs?
You cannot redirect to a domain that’s different from the domain in the display URL in your ad. Google doesn’t explicitly say you can’t redirect from one URL to another within your same domain, but in our experience this can still trigger problems and it’s best to avoid any redirects.
Can I use landing page testing software?
Yes, you can. Google understands that many websites will split-test landing pages or insert content dynamically, and that’s okay as long as all versions of the content comply with Google’s policies. That said, it’s possible that the software you’re using is operating in a way that makes Google think that you’re cloaking, so be careful.
Can I use click trackers?
You can use click trackers that are certified by Google and don’t redirect to a domain other than the domain in your display URL in your ads.
Is showing a landing page in different languages considered a violation?
No, you’re allowed to customize your landing pages to the language and currency of the visitor’s location.
What is an “egregious” violation and how is it different from a standard disapproval?
You get no warning about “egregious” violations. Google immediately suspends your account. This is different from an ad-level disapproval which is limited to that ad rather than the account as a whole, and is different from Google’s three-strikes system.
Can I just open a new Google Ads account?
No. Opening a new Google Ads account risks violating Google’s Multiple Account Abuse policy.
How does Google link accounts to each other?
Google has many ways to understand which ad accounts may be related to each other, including shared users, shared payment methods, shared domains, shared IP addresses, etc.
Will Google suspend my agency account if a client is suspended?
Google does not suspend Google Ads Manager Accounts (MCCs) simply because a child account linked to the Manager Account was suspended. We’ve occasionally seen Manager Account-level suspensions, but they are usually due to a hack or billing problems with a Payment Profile tied to the Manager Account.
Could a hacked website trigger a Circumventing Systems suspension?
Absolutely, if your website has been hacked, there could be content injected into your website or changes made to your settings that Google is flagging.
Could old ads in my account cause a suspension?
Yes, Google crawls paused ads even if they haven’t run for years. We’ve seen Circumventing Systems suspensions caused by paused ads that pointed to an old domain that redirects to a new domain.
Can I call Google to fix a Circumventing Systems suspension?
You can call Google, but their phone support cannot tell you why you’re suspended or fix your suspension. You will need to submit an appeal through your ad account.
What happens if my appeal is rejected? Can I appeal again?
There is no limit on how many appeals you can submit, although Google may give you a cool-off period if you’re submitting too many too quickly. That said, submitting the same appeal over and over is unlikely to get you the result you’re looking for. You’ll need to dig deep to figure out what’s actually causing the suspension and keep updating your appeals with new information about the actions you’ve taken.
What happens if I change my domain while I’m suspended?
You cannot change the ads in a suspended ad account. If you redirect the domain you’re using in those ads to a new domain, then you’re violating Google’s policy. If you’re simply moving away from using the old domain and have a new website with a new domain, that doesn’t violate any policies but will make the appeal process harder.
