Google Ads announced it is adding a new "destination not accessible" policy under the Google destination requirements policy. Google is also making changes and clarifications to the document overall. Google said the changes go into enforcement March 21, 2022.
Destination not accessible policy
The new independent destination not accessible policy is part of the overall Destination Requirements category for ads related to a destination's access limitation. Google said that this policy will also "provide self-service appeals management for advertisers."
These include pages that lead to error messages such as "This site is not accessible in your location" or "down for maintenance" that were previously enforced under the "Destination not working" policy. The new policy language will say "Not allowed Destinations that are not accessible in the targeted location."
Here are some of the examples Google provided including a "site that displays a location based access limitation message in the targeted location (e.g. "This site is not accessible in your location"); a site that displays other messaging related to access limitations in the targeted location (e.g. "you do not have permission to access this page")."
Other changes to the destination requirements
Google said it is clarifying the guidelines for "Insufficient Original Content" policy under Destination requirements with updated language and clear examples. Additionally, error messages such as "Site under construction or coming soon” that were previously enforced under “Destination Not Working" policy will now be enforced under the "Insufficient Original Content" policy, specifically the guideline related to "parked domains" for improved policy alignment. Updated language will read "Not allowed Destinations that display a message of the destination not providing any services."
Here are some of the examples Google provided a parked domain, a site that is only intended to reserve a web address, displaying "Under Construction", "Coming Soon" or similar messages.
Google is also updating the examples under the "Destination Not Working" policy for improved clarity and understanding. Updated language will read "not allowed Destinations that don't function properly or have been incorrectly set up."
Here are some of the examples Google provided "a site that returns an HTTP client or server error code; a site that returns an authentication error; a site that doesn't work on common browsers and devices."
Again, Google said the changes go into enforcement March 21, 2022.
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