The Quiet Ways Google Ad Grants Accounts Get Deactivated: Surveys, Logins, and Sitelinks

The click-through rule gets all the attention. It should not get all of it. Google Ad Grants accounts are deactivated for reasons that never show up in a performance report: a survey nobody answered, a sitelink nobody added, a notification nobody saw because nobody logged in.

These are the quiet deactivations. They catch well-run organizations, because they have nothing to do with how good the campaigns are. Here are the ones Google's policies actually name, why they go unnoticed, and the twenty-minute monthly check that catches every one of them.

Why they are quiet

Google's policy compliance guide states that Google primarily uses in-product notifications to communicate non-compliance. In-product means inside the Google Ads account, on the screen you see when you sign in. An organization that does not sign in does not see them. The account management policy adds that any account found in violation is subject to automatic suspension without notification. Put those two facts together and the picture is clear: the account may be warning you, and then may stop, without an email ever reaching a person.

The annual program survey

All grantees must complete Google's annual program survey. It is sent to the login email addresses on the account, and Google's stated fix for a deactivation on this ground is to confirm that the notification address is opted in to receiving program emails, then respond. Two things go wrong in practice. The address on the account belongs to someone who left, so the survey arrives in a dead inbox. Or the survey was submitted under the wrong customer ID and Google could not match it, which the guide notes requires resubmission. Neither has anything to do with your ads.

Fewer than two sitelinks

Google requires at least two sitelink assets in the account. Sitelinks are the extra links under an ad that point to specific pages, and they are easy to lose: a website redesign changes the pages they point to, someone tidies up assets, or a new campaign is built without them. An account can be spending well and above the click-through floor and still be deactivated for structure. Google's fix is to add the sitelinks and request reinstatement. The full set of structural rules is in campaign structure rules for Ad Grants.

Missing geo-targeting

Every campaign must target specific locations where people will find the organization's services useful. A campaign created with the default setting, or one whose targeting was cleared during an edit, is a policy violation even if the ads are perfect. Like sitelinks, this is a structure deactivation, and it goes unnoticed because nothing about the campaign's performance looks wrong until the account stops.

The account can be doing everything right in the report and one thing wrong in the settings. Google enforces the settings.

Bidding changed without you

Accounts created on or after April 22, 2019 must use conversion-based Smart Bidding on every campaign. Google's policy states that non-compliant campaigns are subject to automatic bid strategy changes, and that the account can be deactivated for bidding. The quiet version is the automatic change: a campaign moves to a new strategy without anyone deciding it, and if conversion tracking is not feeding it, spend and results shift for reasons nobody can explain. Our article on Smart Bidding and the bid cap covers what the strategy needs.

Conversion tracking that broke on a Tuesday

The tracking requirement is not quiet in principle; it is quiet in practice. The tag works for a year. Then the website is updated, the thank-you page moves, the form vendor changes, and the tag stops firing. Conversions drop to zero. Nobody notices, because no one is watching the Conversions column, and a month later the account is out of policy. Google's guidance is to troubleshoot the tag or the imported goals; the prevention is a test submission after every site change. See the conversion tracking requirement.

The website changed, and Google was watching

The website policy applies for as long as the account exists, not just at approval. A redesign that dropped the security certificate, a plugin that added advertising, a program page that now sells something without stating that proceeds support the mission, or a domain change nobody told Google about can each suspend the account, and website violations are among the ones Google says can trigger automatic suspension. Google's website policy is the checklist to reread after any significant change to the site.

If you are not sure which of these applies to your account, our audit reads every one of them and names the nearest risk, in writing, within one business day. Get your written audit.

The person who left

Behind most quiet deactivations is a departure. The admin email, the notification email, the analytics login, and the knowledge of where the tags live all belonged to one person, and when they went, the account went quiet. Put the admin role on an organization-owned address that more than one person can open. Set the notification email to a shared inbox. Write down where the tracking lives. Then put the monthly check on a calendar with a name next to it. Our article on accounts that lapsed years ago is what happens when this step is skipped.

The twenty-minute monthly check

• Sign in and read every in-product notification. Resolve or note each one.
• Confirm at least two sitelinks exist and point to working pages on your domain.
• Confirm every campaign has specific location targeting and a conversion-based bid strategy.
• Confirm at least one conversion recorded last month, and submit a test action.
• Check the account-level click-through rate and pause what is dragging it.
• Confirm the notification email is a live, shared, opted-in address, and check it for the survey.
• Reread the website policy if the site changed this month.

Twenty minutes, once a month, catches everything on this page. If it is already too late, the recovery steps are in what to do when an Ad Grants account is suspended.

Questions nonprofits ask about quiet deactivations

Will Google email us before suspending the account?

Not necessarily. Google primarily uses in-product notifications, and states that violations can trigger automatic suspension without notification. Signing in monthly is the reliable way to see the warnings.

We answered the survey. Why does Google say we did not?

Google's guide notes that submissions under the wrong customer ID cannot be matched. Resubmit with the customer ID from the account, from the notification email address.

Can a website change really suspend a good account?

Yes. The website policy applies continuously, and website violations are among those that can suspend an account without warning.

Does a suspended account keep accruing the award?

No. The award does not accrue while the account is deactivated, and unused budget never rolls over.

Find out what is quietly putting your account at risk

Suspension risk is one of the three things our audit checks, and the quiet causes are where it looks first. Tell us where to look and within one business day you will have a written audit: whether you qualify, what is unused, what puts the account at risk, and the first thing to fix. No meeting required, no pitch, no obligation. Get your Google Ad Grants audit, or call (313) 364-8828.

Zoya Syal is Content and Production Manager at Nonprofits Engine, where she leads the content and testimonial work for a team that helps small nonprofits get set up and funded.