Still in violation of Google Ads policies: an appeal rejected within hours

… is still in violation of Google Ads policies.

From Google’s rejection email on a case we’re working on (October 2026), quoted word for word; the account details are left out. Next to “Unacceptable business practices”, the email showed the outcome “Unsuccessful”.

This email means Google has reviewed your appeal and the account stays suspended. Google treats a suspension as permanent unless the appeal is submitted and the account is successfully reinstated, and says that if your appeal is rejected, you can re-appeal following the same process. When the answer comes back within hours, in our reading, an automated check has most likely judged what your pages show, not the documents you sent.

This guide comes from a case we’re working on. The first appeal concentrated on proving, with documents, that the companies around a website were connected. Google rejected it about three hours after it was filed. The account hasn’t been reinstated at the time of writing. This is what the rejection taught us, and what we’re changing before the next appeal.

Checked against Google’s help pages and crawler documentation on 9 October 2026. Google changes them without notice, so check the linked page before relying on a detail. The case is anonymised: no client, company, domain or account is named.

At a glance

• Fast usually means automated

  That’s our reading. Google says it uses a combination of AI and human evaluation.

• Pages before paperwork

  Fix what the landing pages show before you write the next appeal.

• Don’t reply to a no-reply

  Documents sent in reply to the “appeal received” email may never be read.

• Seven days at least

  Our minimum between appeals. Google’s form warns against several in a 7-day period.

• Look for AdsBot, not Googlebot

  Googlebot crawls for Search. AdsBot-Google checks pages for Google Ads.

On this page10 sections

What the rejection email says

In the case we’re working on, the email said the account “is still in violation of Google Ads policies”. It listed “Unacceptable business practices” with the outcome “Unsuccessful”. And it gave one piece of advice for next time: to “be as detailed as possible about what happened and provide additional information that wasn’t in your previous appeal”.

It names the policy and the outcome. It doesn’t say what on the site or in the account was still wrong. Google says the original suspension email will identify all policies the advertiser has been suspended for violating, but we haven’t found a Google page that promises more detail after a rejection. Our guide to the rejected-appeal notice in your account covers the other wording you may see.

What a rejection within hours usually means

Google’s own timings are slower. Its appeal form page says a specialist will be assigned to your case and that you’ll get a response within 3 to 5 working days. In the case, the rejection came about three hours after filing.

Google doesn’t say how suspension appeals are split between people and machines. What it does say is that it uses a combination of Google’s AI and human evaluation to detect and remove accounts that break its policies, and that content goes to trained reviewers where a more nuanced determination is required. In our reading, a decision within hours points to the automated side.

That matters for what you send. In our reading, an automated check judges what it can read: the ads, the landing pages, the account’s own data. A letter explaining how three companies are related is the kind of nuance Google says goes to people. If no person looked, the letter may not have counted at all.

For appeals that take days rather than hours, see what “Your appeal is in review” means.

Why your documents may not have been read

The first appeal in the case was built around documents: proof that the companies named on the site were connected. It was good evidence, but it answered a question the review may not have asked. If the decision came from a check of the pages, documents couldn’t change what the pages showed.

• Don’t reply to the “appeal received” email with attachments. In the case, it came from a no-reply address. We haven’t found a Google help page that describes adding documents that way, so they may never be read.
• Put the evidence in the appeal. Some versions of the appeal form take attachments; others are a text box only. Our guide to what the appeal form asks explains both.
• Make the website carry the proof. A footer naming the operator, a list of partner companies, a link from the parent company’s own website: a crawler can read those. Our guide to separate websites that wear a parent company’s logo shows what we changed.

What to change before you appeal again

Google’s rejection email asks for “additional information that wasn’t in your previous appeal”. In our experience, the most useful new information is a change a reviewer can see on the page.

• Fix what the pages show. On every landing page the ads used, in every language: who runs the site, one brand, one set of roles, contact details that work and a consent line under each form. Our website checklist covers the rest.
• Check the related accounts. Before appealing, Google asks you to ensure that all linked (or previously linked) and all related accounts comply with its policies.
• Ask Google to recrawl. Request indexing of the main pages with Search Console’s URL Inspection tool. Google says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
• Make sure AdsBot isn’t blocked. Google requires ad destinations to be crawlable by Google AdsBot web crawlers, and AdsBot ignores the global robots.txt user agent (*), so a robots.txt rule meant for it has to name it. Check firewall and bot-protection rules too.

You can’t make AdsBot visit on demand. For a disapproved ad, Google’s advice is to make a minor edit to your ad’s text or final URL to force a new crawl. But a suspended account is in read-only mode, and editing ads isn’t among the actions Google lists for it. So the realistic aim is simpler: whenever anything from Google looks, it should find the fixed pages.

Leave at least seven days between appeals

Google says that if you file too many appeals for the same account suspension, “we may not process them”. And if it sees signs that you’re misusing its appeals function, it will suspend processing of certain appeals for seven days.

The account suspension appeal form we’ve checked carries its own warning: “Submitting multiple appeals within a 7-day period, without fixing the issue they relate to, may result in your appeals being flagged as unfounded and limit your ability to submit new appeals.”

Google doesn’t set a fixed wait after a rejection. Our rule is at least seven days between appeals, and never before something has changed and Google has had time to see it. There’s no deadline to beat in a hurry: Google gives every advertiser at least six months from the date of account suspension to appeal.

Did Google fetch your pages? Check your server logs

Your web server’s access log records each request: the time, the IP address, the page, the status code and the user agent, which is the name a visitor gives for itself. If the site sits behind a CDN or caching service, check its logs too: a cached page can be served without the request ever reaching your server.

• Googlebot is Google Search. Google says crawling preferences for Googlebot affect Google Search and other products such as Google Images and Google News. A Googlebot visit tells you Search came by, not Google Ads.
• AdsBot-Google is Google Ads. Its user agent reads AdsBot-Google (+http://www.google.com/adsbot.html), and the mobile version contains AdsBot-Google-Mobile. Google says rules for it affect Google Ads’ ability to check web page ad quality.
• Names can be faked. Google warns that the user agent string can be spoofed, so check the IP address as well.

Google’s documentation gives two ways to check that a request really came from Google:

1. Run a reverse DNS lookup on the IP.

   Use the host command on the address from your log. Google says the name it returns should be on googlebot.com, google.com or googleusercontent.com. AdsBot is one of Google’s special-case crawlers, whose names follow the pattern rate-limited-proxy-….google.com; Googlebot’s end in googlebot.com.

2. Run a forward DNS lookup on that name.

   Google says to check that it’s the same as the original accessing IP address from your logs. If it doesn’t match, don’t count the visit as Google’s.

3. Or match the IP against Google’s lists.

   Google publishes its crawlers’ IP ranges as JSON files: common-crawlers.json for Googlebot and special-crawlers.json for AdsBot. Google says the ranges are represented in CIDR format, and suggests this method for large-scale lookups.

In the case, according to the site’s own server logs as the agency reported them, there were Googlebot visits during the appeal window but no AdsBot-Google fetch. That doesn’t prove nobody looked at the site: Google may have used what it had already collected, and a CDN can answer requests your server never logs. But in our reading, the decision didn’t depend on a fresh AdsBot visit to the pages. So fix the pages, make sure AdsBot can reach them, and give Google time before the next appeal.

What to put in the appeal form’s text fields

The fields vary, and our guide to what the appeal form asks lists the usual ones. After a fast rejection, the free-text box should answer Google’s own advice: be as detailed as possible, and add what wasn’t in the last appeal.

1. Start with what’s new. One or two sentences on what has changed since the last appeal, with the date of each change.
2. Name the policy and the problem. In plain words, what on the site could have looked like a breach: for example, another company’s logo on a separate domain.
3. List the changes, page by page. The live URL, what it showed before and what it shows now. Keep each line something a reviewer can check.
4. Say who’s who, exactly as the site does. The operator’s legal name as verified, then each partner company and its role, worded the same as the footer.
5. Point to the proof. Google’s tips for this policy are to describe your partnership and share any information that shows how you’re connected. Attach documents if the form takes them, and give the link from the parent company’s website.
6. Give the history. The date of the previous appeal, and any change of agency. In its phishing tips, Google asks advertisers who have a new account or recently switched ad agencies to share their past experience with Google Ads.

Keep it factual and calm. Google asks you to take the time to be thorough, accurate and honest.

Can it still be fixed?

Sometimes. Google says accounts are only reinstated in compelling circumstances, such as in the case of a mistake. A fast rejection doesn’t change that standard; it tells you the last appeal didn’t meet it. The case behind this guide hasn’t been reinstated at the time of writing, and only Google decides.

If the business is what its site says it is, the next appeal is about making that visible. If it isn’t, no wording will help, and we’ll say so on the free call. See when a suspension can’t be fixed and why appeals get rejected.

Frequently asked questions

Why was my Google Ads appeal rejected so quickly?

Google doesn’t say. It does say it uses a combination of Google’s AI and human evaluation, and its appeal form page talks of a response within 3 to 5 working days. In our reading, a rejection within hours points to an automated check of what your ads and pages show, so fix those before you appeal again.

Did anyone read the documents I sent?

We can’t know, and Google doesn’t say. If the decision came from an automated check, the documents may not have been weighed. That’s why we fix the landing pages first and put the evidence in the appeal itself.

Can I reply to the “appeal received” email with more documents?

We wouldn’t rely on it. In the case we’re working on, that email came from a no-reply address, and we haven’t found a Google help page that describes adding documents that way. Use the appeal form, and put the proof on the website where a reviewer can see it.

How long should I wait before appealing again?

Google doesn’t set a fixed wait. Its appeal form warns that several appeals within a 7-day period, without fixing the issue, may be flagged as unfounded. Our rule is at least seven days, and only after something has changed.

How can I tell if Google AdsBot visited my website?

Search your server’s access log, and your CDN’s logs if you use one, for “AdsBot-Google”. Then check the IP address with a reverse and forward DNS lookup, or against Google’s special-crawlers.json list, because Google warns the user agent can be spoofed.

What’s the difference between Googlebot and AdsBot?

Googlebot crawls for Google Search and related products. AdsBot-Google and AdsBot-Google-Mobile check pages for Google Ads. Google says they ignore robots.txt rules written for every user agent (*), so a rule meant for them has to name them.

Should I open a new account instead?

No. Google says any new accounts that the advertiser tries to create may also be suspended. Keep working on the account you have.