Google provides translated versions of the Advertising Policies Help Center, though they're not meant to change the content of the policies. The English version is the official language used to enforce Google Ads policies. To view this article in a different language, use the language dropdown at the bottom of the page.
Google prioritizes user experience across all its products, and a key part of this is fostering a safe and trustworthy environment within the Google ad network. The Destination Requirements policy strives to ensure that when users click on an ad and are sent to a landing page, that website is functional, useful, and easy to navigate. This also creates an ads ecosystem that’s supportive to advertisers and the people who interact with their ads.
Learn more about the Destination requirements policy.
In this article
Google Ads requires that your ad content and ad destinations work on common browsers and devices to prevent issues with functionality.
The following would lead to disapproval for Destination not working:
Destinations that don't function properly or have been set up incorrectly.
Examples (non-exhaustive):
- "You've reached this page in error"
- "Whoops! Nothing to see here!"
- "Site Under Construction"
Examples (non-exhaustive): A site that returns any of the following HTTP client or server error response codes on common browsers and devices based on Google AdsBot web crawlers :
- 403 Forbidden
- 404 Not Found
- 500 Internal Server Error
Troubleshoot issues with your destination
To troubleshoot issues with your destination, you can use Google AdsBot web crawlers to check for destination errors like HTTP error response codes.
- Your Display URL is the the webpage address that appears with your ad.
- Your Final URL , also known as your landing page, is address of the webpage in your website that people reach after they click your ad.
- Your Expanded URL combines the Final URL with any applicable tracking templates and parameters. If you’re not using tracking templates, your Expanded URL should be the same as your Final URL.
Check the details of the disapproval reason in Google Ads
- Go to Ads
within the Campaigns
menu.
- In the “Status” column of the disapproved ad, hover over the disapproval reason for more information.
Understand the destination error
Review the most common destination errors in the table below for more information, common causes, and examples. Learn more about How HTTP status codes, and network and DNS errors affect Google Search .
| Page requires authentication |
The destination is protected by a login screen, password, or other authentication method, so Google Ads couldn’t access the content. |
|
|---|---|---|
Check your ads for common destination issues
Check the following information in your ad to identify the cause of the destination error.
- URLs: Check your landing page URLs, keyword URLs, dynamic tracking URLs, and deep-link URLs to ensure they’re correct and don’t contain typos.
- Sites and apps: Make sure your ad leads to an app or a website that returns an HTTP 200 response code globally. Even if your site or app seems to be working as intended, use common browsers and devices to test for any issues and check for any HTTP error codes using Google AdsBot web crawlers .
- Location targeting: Apps can only be promoted in places where the application is available for download.
Ad format-specific troubleshooting
App engagement ads
- Make sure that your Deep link URL is set up correctly. Learn more About deep links .
- Third-party trackers aren’t supported for app engagement ads. If you’re using a third-party tracker, you’ll need to remove it or choose another campaign type.
App promotion ads
- Ensure that any third-party trackers correctly redirect the user to the correct app on the right app store.
Options to fix
If this policy is affecting your ad, review the information in the Troubleshoot issues with your destination section for more information. After you understand the destination error affecting your ad, you can fix it by following the steps below.
File an appeal
After you fix the issues with your destination, you’ll need to file an appeal to have your ad and landing page reviewed. If this review determines that your landing page is now compliant, your ad can be approved to run.
If you believe your ad was incorrectly flagged under this policy, file an appeal to initiate a new review.
Edit your ad to change your landing page
If you can’t or choose not to update the content of your landing page, you can edit your ad to direct to a different landing page that complies with this policy.
- Go to Ads
within the Campaigns
- Hover over the ad or asset and select Edit.
- Edit the ad or asset so that it complies with the policy.
- Select Save.
Your ad will be automatically reviewed again. Check the ad’s status in the “Ads & assets” page for updates.
Learn more about how to Fix ads with policy violations .
Verify the URL is working for Google AdsBot web crawlers using Chrome DevTools
Verify the URL is working for Google by the Google AdsBot web crawlers by using Chrome DevTools with the user agent string set as Google AdsBot. Learn more about how to override the user agent with Chrome DevTools .
If you can't fix the destination error yourself, work with your web developer to ensure that the app or website doesn’t return a destination error when crawled. You can also consider using a different destination that doesn’t return an error by editing your ad’s final URL.
