Bans on Google Ads accounts are a common occurrence for affiliates working in grayhat verticals. The reason for the ban could be a technical glitch on the side of the advertising platform, or it could be because you broke the rules, intentionally or not, and tried to game the system. Losing access to your ad account, having all your campaigns grind to a halt, and being left with an unused budget balance is a major headache and source of frustration for any affiliate marketer or media buyer.
Today, the team at YeezyPay, a service that specializes in renting out trusted, pre-vetted Google Ads agency accounts, is here to explain how you can go about getting your money back when your Google ad account gets banned.
The good news is that getting a refund for your Google Ads advertising spend is indeed possible, but the bad news is that it's not always a quick or simple process, especially if the moderators or algorithms have determined that you were promoting offers grayhat verticals. Google of course wants users to continue advertising on their platform, not abandon it entirely due to problems or delays with refunds. But at the same time, they also have a responsibility to protect themselves and their user base from scammers, fraudsters, and shady advertisers.
If you took the initiative to delete your own Google Ads account and you still had unused funds left in your balance, the refund process is usually quite straightforward and typically takes less than a month from start to finish.
However, if your account was banned or suspended due to a violation of Google's rules and policies, things can get a lot more complicated very quickly. Much depends on the specific reason for the ban. If it was an error or glitch on Google's side, or if your account was incorrectly flagged as breaking rules when it in fact did not, then there's a good chance you'll be able to get your money back after some back-and-forth. But if the system did indeed catch you red-handed in the act of breaking the rules, then it becomes trickier. In those cases, Google may opt to keep the money in your balance as a sort of penalty or punishment.
That said, even if you were guilty of a rule violation, Google may still be willing to work with you and return your funds if you take steps to fix the problems and can demonstrate that the violation was unintentional or a mistake. For example, let's say your account was banned for using "unauthorized" content or phrasing while promoting health or wellness offers. You might be able to get your money back if you go in and remove all the problematic or banned phrases from your landing pages and ad copy, reach out to Google's support team and show them concrete proof that you've made the necessary changes and that you have things like quality certificates, permits, etc.
Your Google Ads payment summary page will display the remaining balance you have in the account. The first step is to actually delete your ad account, which you can do by scrolling to the "Admin" section, and then clicking on "Account settings". Under the "Account Status" section, look for the option that says "Cancel my account" and click on it, then confirm that you do indeed want to proceed with the deletion.
After your account has been successfully deleted, head to the "Billing" section of your account and update your payment method so that it matches the original payment method you used when funding the account. If you neglect this step, Google may decline or refuse to process the refund.
With your payment info updated, browse to the "Overview" page and look for the button that says "Request a refund". Click that to initiate the refund process. If for some reason Google is unable to refund the balance to your original payment method, the system should give you a prompt to enter alternative payment details.
Important! In certain cases, Google may require additional confirmation or validation from you before they will approve and process your refund request.
Additionally, some clever affiliates who primarily promote offers in grayhat verticals that get banned frequently have figured out that they can try to withdraw any remaining balances directly to a PayPal account instead. However, there's a catch – this method will only work if your Google Ads account is registered in a country where Google officially accepts PayPal as a valid form of payment. Furthermore, all the info and details on your Google Ads account need to match up perfectly with your info in the PayPal system, which essentially means this trick is only viable if you're using actual personal ad accounts, not throwaway ones.
However, in some more extreme cases, affiliates have found themselves going back and forth with the Google support team for months on end before finally getting a resolution in their favor. If 4 weeks have passed and you still haven't heard anything back, you can try resubmitting your refund request or reaching out directly to the Google Ads support team by replying to the email they should have sent you when you first kicked off the refund review process.
One tactic that many affiliates are increasingly turning to in order to reduce the lengthy wait times to have their refund applications reviewed and get their remaining ad budgets returned faster is to use trusted agency accounts. The added benefit here is that with an agency account, it's an actual account rep from the agency who knows all the ins and outs and has experience dealing with the Google Ads team who communicates and negotiates on behalf of the affiliate marketer.
To mitigate and minimize these risks, many experienced affiliates have learned that the smart play is to use trusted Google Ads agency accounts that have long-standing histories, stellar reputations, and high trust levels in the eyes of Google. And this is precisely the type of trusted, top-tier agency account that YeezyPay provides.
The key advantages of using trusted accounts are:
One other smart practice is to diversify and not put all your eggs into one basket, so to speak. If an affiliate is running multiple offers simultaneously, most experienced industry veterans will recommend using separate ad accounts for each offer or vertical. That way, if one account gets pinched, your other accounts and campaigns won't be affected, so you avoid a catastrophic total ban and loss of all your working capital in one fell swoop.
Following this approach is one of the most effective ways to safeguard and protect your interests while still running successful and profitable campaigns over the long haul.
Today, the team at YeezyPay, a service that specializes in renting out trusted, pre-vetted Google Ads agency accounts, is here to explain how you can go about getting your money back when your Google ad account gets banned.
When is it possible to get a refund from Google Ads?
The good news is that getting a refund for your Google Ads advertising spend is indeed possible, but the bad news is that it's not always a quick or simple process, especially if the moderators or algorithms have determined that you were promoting offers grayhat verticals. Google of course wants users to continue advertising on their platform, not abandon it entirely due to problems or delays with refunds. But at the same time, they also have a responsibility to protect themselves and their user base from scammers, fraudsters, and shady advertisers.
If you took the initiative to delete your own Google Ads account and you still had unused funds left in your balance, the refund process is usually quite straightforward and typically takes less than a month from start to finish.
However, if your account was banned or suspended due to a violation of Google's rules and policies, things can get a lot more complicated very quickly. Much depends on the specific reason for the ban. If it was an error or glitch on Google's side, or if your account was incorrectly flagged as breaking rules when it in fact did not, then there's a good chance you'll be able to get your money back after some back-and-forth. But if the system did indeed catch you red-handed in the act of breaking the rules, then it becomes trickier. In those cases, Google may opt to keep the money in your balance as a sort of penalty or punishment.
That said, even if you were guilty of a rule violation, Google may still be willing to work with you and return your funds if you take steps to fix the problems and can demonstrate that the violation was unintentional or a mistake. For example, let's say your account was banned for using "unauthorized" content or phrasing while promoting health or wellness offers. You might be able to get your money back if you go in and remove all the problematic or banned phrases from your landing pages and ad copy, reach out to Google's support team and show them concrete proof that you've made the necessary changes and that you have things like quality certificates, permits, etc.
Retrieving your "stuck" balance: A step-by-step guide
Google Ads does allow users to reclaim and recover any leftover money that remains in their account balance after they delete their account. Here's how the process works:Your Google Ads payment summary page will display the remaining balance you have in the account. The first step is to actually delete your ad account, which you can do by scrolling to the "Admin" section, and then clicking on "Account settings". Under the "Account Status" section, look for the option that says "Cancel my account" and click on it, then confirm that you do indeed want to proceed with the deletion.
After your account has been successfully deleted, head to the "Billing" section of your account and update your payment method so that it matches the original payment method you used when funding the account. If you neglect this step, Google may decline or refuse to process the refund.
With your payment info updated, browse to the "Overview" page and look for the button that says "Request a refund". Click that to initiate the refund process. If for some reason Google is unable to refund the balance to your original payment method, the system should give you a prompt to enter alternative payment details.
Important! In certain cases, Google may require additional confirmation or validation from you before they will approve and process your refund request.
Additionally, some clever affiliates who primarily promote offers in grayhat verticals that get banned frequently have figured out that they can try to withdraw any remaining balances directly to a PayPal account instead. However, there's a catch – this method will only work if your Google Ads account is registered in a country where Google officially accepts PayPal as a valid form of payment. Furthermore, all the info and details on your Google Ads account need to match up perfectly with your info in the PayPal system, which essentially means this trick is only viable if you're using actual personal ad accounts, not throwaway ones.
When can you expect to receive your refund, and what should you do if it doesn't arrive?
The timeline for Google's team to review and process refund requests for banned or suspended accounts can vary quite a bit, ranging anywhere from just a single day to several weeks or even longer. According to Google's official Help documentation, refunds are supposed to take a minimum of 4 weeks to be completed.However, in some more extreme cases, affiliates have found themselves going back and forth with the Google support team for months on end before finally getting a resolution in their favor. If 4 weeks have passed and you still haven't heard anything back, you can try resubmitting your refund request or reaching out directly to the Google Ads support team by replying to the email they should have sent you when you first kicked off the refund review process.
One tactic that many affiliates are increasingly turning to in order to reduce the lengthy wait times to have their refund applications reviewed and get their remaining ad budgets returned faster is to use trusted agency accounts. The added benefit here is that with an agency account, it's an actual account rep from the agency who knows all the ins and outs and has experience dealing with the Google Ads team who communicates and negotiates on behalf of the affiliate marketer.
Google Ads trusted agency accounts – The safety net for affiliates
Having your Google Ads account banned is more than just a waste of time and money – it can deal a serious blow to an affiliate’s professional reputation, especially if they're working directly with advertisers or clients and now the budget that was allocated for the ads is "stuck" indefinitely. Even if you try to launch new campaigns from alternative accounts, there's no guarantee of success and you could just end up getting those banned as well, starting the cycle all over again.To mitigate and minimize these risks, many experienced affiliates have learned that the smart play is to use trusted Google Ads agency accounts that have long-standing histories, stellar reputations, and high trust levels in the eyes of Google. And this is precisely the type of trusted, top-tier agency account that YeezyPay provides.
The key advantages of using trusted accounts are:
- The odds of getting banned or suspended, even when promoting offers in grayhat verticals, are significantly lower compared to a standard account: Unlike regular throwaway or burner accounts, grayhat campaigns that are launched from trusted agency accounts tend to have a higher approval rate when going through the Google review process.
- Trusted agency accounts often have access to an expanded selection of tools, features, and configuration options: For certain agency accounts, Google will open up advanced analytics capabilities, granular settings control, and enterprise-grade optimization and automation.
- If issues or problems come up, you're bumped to the top of the customer support queue: Google's internal support team pays extra special attention to inquiries and requests coming from agency accounts and they go out of their way to resolve matters quickly and in the agency's favor.
- Higher chances of successfully retrieving funds from banned accounts: If a trusted agency account does end up getting banned or suspended, your chances of being able to get the remaining balance returned to you are exponentially higher compared to a regular account, even if the reason for the ban was a terms of service violation related to promoting offers in grayhat verticals. As an example, with YeezyPay, if one of the agency accounts you're renting gets banned, you have the ability to withdraw any leftover funds to a backup account or even directly to your YeezyPay account balance, with only a minimal transaction fee. Compare that to just giving up and letting Google keep the money and it's a no-brainer.
How to prevent your funds from being blocked in a banned Google Ads ad account?
As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. To steer clear of scenarios where you have to chase down Google and beg them for a refund, it's better to be proactive and do what you can to prevent account bans before they happen. Make a habit of double and triple-checking all your ad campaigns and assets against Google's most current advertising policies and guidelines. In general, when advertising on Google Ads, it's advisable to avoid anything that's blatantly blackhat or aggressive, even if those tactics might lead to short-term profits.One other smart practice is to diversify and not put all your eggs into one basket, so to speak. If an affiliate is running multiple offers simultaneously, most experienced industry veterans will recommend using separate ad accounts for each offer or vertical. That way, if one account gets pinched, your other accounts and campaigns won't be affected, so you avoid a catastrophic total ban and loss of all your working capital in one fell swoop.
Conclusion
To be sure, getting the notification that your Google Ads account has been banned is never a fun experience. But by being proactive, you can dramatically reduce the chances of it happening, and mitigate the consequences if it does happen. Do your due diligence and carefully study all the advertising rules and restrictions for promoting whitehat and grayhat offers, diversify your accounts, align yourself with reputable partners, and take advantage of trusted Google Ads agency accounts from YeezyPay.Following this approach is one of the most effective ways to safeguard and protect your interests while still running successful and profitable campaigns over the long haul.
