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- Jul 3, 2023
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- 51
It happens more often than you'd think: a campaign is live, the budget is there, the landing page is fine — and after several hours, the impression counter is still at zero. One of the most common culprits is a grey keyword sitting right on the edge of Google's policies. The platform won't always tell you directly what's wrong, which means you need to know how to find it yourself before you burn through accounts and budget looking for answers.
"Disapproved" or "Not eligible due to policy violations" means the keyword is hard-blocked. But experienced affiliates know to watch for subtler statuses too: "Eligible (limited)" or "Impressions limited due to policy" means the keyword can technically show, but only to a restricted audience — often based on vertical or geo. Don't treat these as green lights.
There's another scenario that catches people off guard: a keyword shows "Eligible" but impressions are still zero. This is usually the first sign that
Check the Official Keyword Status First
The most obvious starting point is the Keywords section in your Google Ads dashboard. Find the Status column and read it carefully — this is Google's official position on each keyword."Disapproved" or "Not eligible due to policy violations" means the keyword is hard-blocked. But experienced affiliates know to watch for subtler statuses too: "Eligible (limited)" or "Impressions limited due to policy" means the keyword can technically show, but only to a restricted audience — often based on vertical or geo. Don't treat these as green lights.
There's another scenario that catches people off guard: a keyword shows "Eligible" but impressions are still zero. This is usually the first sign that
