Google Ads has some new bugs today, one that Google confirmed over advertisers received a notice for "confusing text" for their ads and the other not yet confirmed around advertisers being unable to update their credit cards on file.
Confusing Ad Text Issue
Google confirmed a bug last night at about 11pm ET on Monday, February 5th where advertisers are getting an error message when updating their ads saying "confusing text." Google posted, "We're investigating reports of an issue with Google Ads. We will provide more information shortly. The affected users are able to access Google Ads, but are seeing error messages, high latency, and/or other unexpected behavior."
Google explained, "There is currently a backlog for self-service appeals involving "Confusing Ad Text" and other content quality labels. Our team is working through the backlog on priority."
What should you do? Google wrote, "If the advertisers have time sensitive campaigns that were impacted by "Confusing Ad Text" label , the only known work-around at this time is for an advertiser to upload new assets / edit existing assets to replace those that are currently labeled. E.g. The text asset labeled for Confusing Text “Buy this now” could be edited to “Buy this today” and the new asset will not be labeled."
Here is a screenshot of this message I found from Adriaan Dekker on X who said he got it from Natasha Kaurra and Mohamed Hamed (Turki) (I tried to find the sources but couldn't and he didn't link to them). Here is that screenshot he shared:
So if you see this error, you are not alone and Google is working on a fix.
Updating Credit Cards
Several advertisers are complaining about an issue with updating credit cards within Google Ads. Lior Krolewicz posted on X sharing a video saying, "Anyone else unable to update or see payment methods in Google Ads? We also had a client unable to update CC all day (see error below)."
Others replied they are having the same issue:
Client hit "Fix issue" then got option to update card, but when he submits, just sees error message. pic.twitter.com/w7Zk2S821Y
— Lior Krolewicz (@yaelconsulting) February 5, 2024
Saw this last week. Thought it was a fluke.
— Menachem Ani (@MenachemAni) February 5, 2024
Yes, we were unable to update our client's CC earlier today. Wouldn't let us.
— Mark Subel (@marksubel) February 6, 2024
Update: Google has not confirmed the issue with updating the credit card details:
I followed up with Lior separately, but the team is aware of the issue and is working to resolve it as quickly as possible.
— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) February 6, 2024
There are a number of complaints about these issues in the Google help forums as well.
Update: The credit card issue was resolved on February 6th:
To follow up here: The issue that prevented some customers’ from accessing the payment methods page was resolved on February 6. The second issue which is preventing Payment Updates impacts very few customers. Customers that see this message can follow the process noted in the…
— AdsLiaison (@adsliaison) February 9, 2024
Update 2: On February 20th, Google finally fixed this error. Google wrote:
The problem with Google Ads should be resolved for the vast majority of affected users. We will continue to work towards restoring service for the remaining affected users, but no further updates will be added to this dashboard. The backlog for self-service appeals involving "Confusing Ad Text" and other content quality labels has been reduced to normal levels.Note: There are some ongoing appeals where the asset level labels have already been removed. You can safely disregard these appeals as they will automatically expire after 5 days.
