You can create ads built for faster approval , and we can tell you how.
Read on to learn:
Thanks to a long list of Facebook Ad guidelines and strict ad approval process, many marketers using Facebook advertising tools enter the land of confusion.
Population: 90% of Facebook Advertisers.
When working with Facebook Ads, it’s been always been difficult to find answers when you run into trouble. Dealing with Facebook ads that haven't been approved is no exception.
With little information provided from Facebook, you can often end up wasting time, money and ultimately, after enough disapprovals, can risk your ad account being flagged.
This can be extremely frustrating and leave you feeling hopeless about your ad performance. No one, I repeat no one, enjoys seeing the tiny red warning sign pop up in the account (or worse their inbox).
Luckily, we’ve seen a lot of Facebook ads not approved, for a variety of different reasons, and we’ve been able to find workarounds—now, we want to offer up some advice.
We want to help you go from this…
To this.
During the ad review process, Facebook checks the ad's images, text, targeting, and positioning, in addition to the content on the ad's landing page.
Facebook cites that your ad may not be approved if:
The majority of disapprovals come from that last bullet point. If you’d like to take the time to sort through the rather vague and quite long list of Advertising Policies, be our guest. However, for the majority of advertisers, it’s hard to know exactly what’s wrong with an ad, and more importantly how they can fix it given the information in the documentation.
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In terms of Facebook Ad disapprovals, there are two main categories: those you can fix and those you can’t. Once you’re notified that your ad isn’t approved you typically have two options, either edit the original ad or appeal the decision.
Although you can appeal the decision immediately, or choose to simply re-submit the ad again, I suggest you first take a look at the short explanation text within Ads Manager or the ad notification in your email. If you find that your disapproval doesn’t match anything on these lists, I highly encourage you to submit an appeal for the ad.
Every once in a while, an ad that was previously rejected becomes approved after submitting it again (the system isn’t perfect).
Keep in mind, too many disapprovals can flag your ad account, so be careful. If you don’t want to risk your account being disabled (meaning all current campaigns will be shut off), you may want to edit the ad.
When editing the ad, the fixes range from super simple image swaps to more complex, full redos. While this isn’t an exhaustive list, we’ve included some of the common reasons Facebook might deny your ad and some steps to take to fix those issues.
One of the most common reasons for an ad not getting approved, (as well as one of the easiest fixes) is the use of targeting within headlines or ad copy. Ads can’t contain text that “asserts or implies personal attributes.”
This includes a person’s:
The fix: Typically, removing the word “other” or “you” from the copy, will allow the ad to be approved.
Any ad containing “shocking, sensational, disrespectful or excessively violent content” will be rejected.
Struggling to picture this? Here are some examples:
The fix: A quick image swap or slight change of copy will have you back up and running. Keep in mind, images showing violence (real or fictional) will be flagged. Try and keep sensational content at a minimum as there really isn’t a set formula for images that work better in this scenario.
“Deceptive, false, or misleading content, including deceptive claims, offers, or methods.”
In terms of misleading content, we tend to see the majority of disapprovals in the health and wellness space and when used to discuss money payouts for certain situations.
“Learn to Lose Belly Fat” is very different from “3 Shocking Tips to Lose All Your Belly Fat”. The first headline would be approved, but the second would be denied.
The fix: As a general rule of thumb, only include accurate and non-misleading claims within ad and landing page copy. Make sure information about services or the product is clear and not exaggerated.
Unless you’re showcasing a statue within the ad, “nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative” will not get approved.
No artistic or educational images are allowed, even if not explicitly sexual. This includes:
The fix: When working in underwear, bathing suits, or any other industries that might get flagged—the more clothing the better. No tight cropping on individual “areas” (as mentioned above), and no poses that are “suggestive”. If possible, flat lays of the product are a great workaround. Once the item is on the model, you start to have a longer approval process and leave yourself open to the possibility of disapprovals, as well.
🔍 Find more expert tips and videos to boost your Facebook ad performance. →
As we mentioned earlier, these are some of the most common issues we’ve seen while running Facebook Ads. However, according to Facebook’s Advertising Policies, there are many other reasons why your ad may get disapproved.
Things like:
Unfortunately, there are some disapprovals you can’t fix when working with Facebook Ads. Typically these disapprovals have to do with the product or service you’re promoting either has a general restriction, or more in-depth requirements within the ad targeting.
Some products that you can’t advertise on Facebook include:
Since the approval process for an individual ad can take up to 24 hours (sometimes longer in other cases), be sure to be mindful and double-check your work.
Avoid having to go through the whole approval process all over again because of a simple and fixable word misuse.
As with everything else, building Facebook Ads takes practice. Especially when just starting out or implementing new campaigns, it’s important to not let disapprovals discourage you. The majority of disapprovals we see are typically small mistakes that can be solved with quick fixes. Dropping the “you” in the headline, or making the ad copy less sensational gives you an easier starting point and can minimize future disapprovals.
At the end of the day, Facebook’s main goal is “to keep Facebook safe for people.” Keeping that goal in mind and being ready to make small tweaks to bring your ad into alignment with Facebook’s Ad Policies can have you back on the road to Facebook ad success.
If you're tired of spending time wandering the Facebook ads maze, why not bring on some help? Book a call with a growth expert to learn more about maximizing Facebook ads with the help of a top growth marketing agency.
With over 10 years of experience and 80 million in ad spend under our belts, we know how to guide businesses from fizzle to sizzle.
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