Having a Facebook ad rejected can be frustrating for businesses trying to reach their target audience. There are a few key things that happen when a Facebook ad is rejected that marketers need to be aware of.
Why Facebook Ads Get Rejected
There are several main reasons why Facebook might reject an ad:
- The ad goes against Facebook’s Advertising Policies – This includes policies around content, targeting, and overall compliance.
- The ad contains spelling errors or typos.
- The ad image or video does not meet Facebook’s specifications around quality or aspect ratio.
- The ad targets countries or regions where the advertiser is not authorized to run ads.
- The ad contains sensationalized or misleading claims.
- The ad promotes restricted products like weapons, tobacco, or adult content.
- The ad includes too much or too prominent text within the image or video.
Understanding Facebook’s advertising policies and guidelines is crucial for avoiding rejections. Ad copy, targeting, images, and compliance with local laws are all thoroughly reviewed by Facebook’s systems and human moderators.
The Rejection Process
There are a few steps to what happens when a Facebook ad gets rejected:
- The ad will immediately stop running and enter “Rejected” status.
- The advertiser will get a notification from Facebook Ads Manager detailing the policy violation or reason for rejection.
- The advertiser has the opportunity to edit the ad and submit an appeal to Facebook.
- Facebook will review the appeal and either overturn the rejection or uphold it if they find it still violates policy.
- If the appeal is rejected, the advertiser must modify the ad further to address the specified issues before resubmitting.
It’s important to carefully review the rejection notification and policy section cited to understand exactly why the ad was disapproved and what must be fixed.
Getting Your Ad Approved
Here are some tips to help get your ad approved and avoid rejections:
- Familiarize yourself thoroughly with Facebook’s Advertising Policies. Review any policy sections related to your ad content or targeting.
- Use clear, compliant language in your ad copy. Avoid unsubstantiated claims, sensationalized wording, or exaggerations.
- Make sure your landing page content matches the messaging in your ad and complies with policies.
- Check image sizes and text overlay as Facebook has strict technical requirements.
- Use Facebook’s free Ad Review tool to screen your ads before running them.
- Don’t try to promote restricted products like guns, payday loans, or pharmaceuticals.
- Target your ad appropriately. Avoid things like narrowly targeting based on health or personal hardships.
Carefully following Facebook’s rules and guidelines when creating and targeting your ads is the best way to get them approved quickly with no issues.
Appealing a Rejected Facebook Ad
If your Facebook ad gets rejected, you have the opportunity to submit an appeal right from Ads Manager:
- From Ads Manager, click into your rejected ad and locate the “Issues Found” section.
- Click “Request Review” and choose the option to submit an appeal.
- Use the text box to explain in detail why you think Facebook’s decision should be reconsidered.
- Provide specifics on how you have modified the ad to comply with policies cited in the rejection notice.
- Attach any supporting documents or screenshots that back up your appeal.
- Click submit and wait for Facebook’s review. This can take up to 1 business day.
Some tips for successful appeals include:
- Being polite and constructive in your appeal wording.
- Avoiding overly emotional language or frustration.
- Clearly explaining your rationale and changes made.
- Providing evidence supporting any claims in your ad.
- Accepting when an ad simply cannot comply with certain policies.
With a focused, rational appeal highlighting how you have fixed the issues identified, many rejected Facebook ads can gain approval on the second attempt.
Implications of a Rejected Facebook Ad
Having an ad rejected can disrupt marketing plans and campaigns. Some of the key implications include:
- Lost ad spend – Any budget used so far on the now rejected ad is lost.
- Delayed results – New campaigns or creative testing gets postponed until you have an approved ad.
- Wasted time – The effort to conceptualize and create the ad needs repeating.
- Missed opportunities – Events, sales, or other time-sensitive marketing may be missed.
- Lower reach – The ad can’t continue accumulating impressions and clicks while rejected.
In addition, multiple policy violations could potentially lead to your Facebook advertising account being disabled either temporarily or permanently in some rare cases.
That’s why properly preparing your ads, knowing Facebook’s guidelines, and having backup options are important to minimize disruptions from rejections.
Overcoming Ad Disapprovals
Here are some strategies to overcome and recover from a Facebook ad rejection:
- Have backup ad variations ready to run so you don’t go dark.
- Build compliant messaging upfront based on policy research.
- Develop a streamlined internal review process before running new ads.
- Analyze what triggered the rejection and improve future ads accordingly.
- Consult Facebook’s free ad support resources.
- Leverage Facebook’s appeals process and provide clear explanations.
- Be prepared to make changes or pull non-compliant ads if needed.
With careful preparation, robust backups, and willingness to adapt, marketers can minimize disruption and quickly rebound when ads get rejected.
Example Data
Here is some example data highlighting Facebook ad rejection statistics:
| Rejection Reason | Percentage of Rejections |
|---|---|
| Image Policy Violation | 22% |
| Targeting Issues | 18% |
| Ad Copy Violation | 16% |
| Leads to Non-Compliant Landing Page | 12% |
| Unauthorized Product Promotion | 9% |
| Technical Specification Issues | 7% |
| Spam or Misleading Claims | 6% |
| Trademark or Copyright Infringement | 5% |
| Sensitive Content | 3% |
| Other Policy Violations | 2% |
This data highlights the most common ad rejection reasons, which provides helpful insights for crafting compliant Facebook ads.
Conclusion
Having a Facebook ad rejected can certainly be frustrating and cause delays, but isn’t necessarily the end of the world for your advertising efforts. By thoroughly reviewing Facebook’s policies, vetting your ads before running them, and crafting rational appeals, many disapproved ads can gain approval on resubmission. Maintaining backup options, streamlined internal reviews, and analyzing rejections for lessons learned can all help advertisers minimize disruptions and improve. With careful preparation and willingness to adapt, marketers can overcome Facebook ad rejections.