It is the policy most often given to businesses that did nothing deliberate. A modal on your website, a tracker in the click path, or an account somebody else set up can all produce it. Which of those applies decides what the appeal has to argue.
No cost. A straight answer within one business day on which sub-policy you are actually in.
Which one is it
Circumventing systems covers several distinct behaviours, and an appeal written for the wrong one fails. The suspension email rarely tells you which. Working it out is the first real task.
Cloaking means showing Google one thing and users another. Most businesses accused of it never intended anything, because the definition catches more than deception.
Google's own examples include a pop-up or interstitial that blocks access to most of your content, meaning its systems cannot read the page to assess it. An aggressive cookie banner, an age gate, a region selector or an email capture modal can all produce that result.
The other two common causes are a hacked site serving injected content Google can see and you cannot, and a click tracker in the path between ad and destination that Google has not certified. Google explicitly acknowledges the hacked case and points advertisers at its Safe Browsing tool.
This covers creating accounts after a suspension, spreading violating ads across two or more accounts, and running several accounts to promote something the advertiser is not certified for.
Google's own best practice tells advertisers to check with their agency about the suspension. That is the tell: account structure created by a current or previous agency is a recognised cause, and the advertiser is frequently unaware of what exists in their name.
It also catches franchise groups, businesses that have changed agencies, and anyone whose old manager account still links to them. None of that requires intent.
Not sure which of these your notice means?
Get it reviewedBefore you do anything else
Google states plainly that accounts are not suspended under this policy for ad disapprovals related to editorial issues like formatting or misspelled words. If you have had disapprovals and then a suspension, they are probably unrelated. An appeal spent defending ad text is an appeal wasted.
This is the conduct the policy is named for. Google states that accounts created after a suspension to re-enter the system are exactly what it prohibits, and that related accounts sharing an email, a payment method or a manager account may be suspended too. It converts one arguable case into several.
Google's stated best practice is that suspensions on connected accounts need to be successfully reinstated through the appeal process. Appealing the account in front of you while a linked one is still suspended argues against a position Google has not changed.
Providing false or fraudulent information as part of advertiser verification is its own sub-policy of circumventing systems. A rounded-up figure or an out-of-date document is not fraud, but it is a rejection, and attempts are limited.
If one of these has already happened, the case is harder but not over.
Get it reviewedHow this works
Six questions about the notice and what changed in the business before it arrived. Answered within one business day with a read on the likely cause and whether it is worth pursuing.
If it is worth pursuing, read-only access to the account and a look at the site. The real cause is rarely the one the advertiser expects, and it is not visible from outside.
What actually triggered it, what has to change on the account and the site before an appeal can succeed, and the evidence to submit alongside it.
Drafted and submitted once the account is genuinely ready for re-review, then managed through to the decision.
Get it reviewed
The notice you received and what changed in the business before it arrived are usually enough to identify the cause. No account access needed to answer these, and you get a reply within one business day.
Thanks — that's come through.
I'll come back to you shortly.
That didn't send. Something went wrong at our end, not yours.
Email me directly at rob@leftclick.co.nz and I'll pick it up from there.
A reply within one business day, from me. No cost, no obligation, and if it isn't worth pursuing you'll be told that plainly.
Prefer email? rob@leftclick.co.nz
Nineteen years in search marketing. Eight of them running my own agency, sold in 2021. Four years managing seven-figure United States advertising accounts in consumer credit, a category Google scrutinises hardest.
In that industry, compliance, suspensions, disapprovals and verification reviews are a frequent occurrence and a condition of operating.
You deal with me directly, from the first reply through to the decision.
Questions
No. Google decides. What can be committed to is an honest read on whether the case is arguable, a correctly identified root cause, and an appeal built around the actual detection rather than around fairness.
Accounts linked by email address, payment method or manager account are counted together, including ones an agency created on your behalf. Google's own best practice for this policy is to contact your agency about the suspension, which is a fair indication of how often that is the cause.
It can be. Google's definition includes an interstitial that blocks access to the majority of your content, because its systems then cannot read the page to assess it. Intent is not required. It is also one of the more straightforward things to fix and evidence.
It changes the argument rather than excusing it. Google acknowledges that sites can be hacked and cloaking content added without the owner's knowledge, and recommends checking with its Safe Browsing tool. An appeal then has to show the compromise was found, removed and prevented.
Indirectly. Google states an account may be suspended based on adverse regulatory warnings, settlements or rulings about advertising practices, or on direct complaints from users or businesses. A complaint alone is unlikely to be the whole cause, but it is part of what Google reviews.
Google said in November 2025 that 99% of suspensions are resolved within twenty-four hours. Advertisers continue to report far longer waits. Expect days, plan for longer, and do not submit a second appeal while the first is open.