There has been a little bit of controversy in the land of Google PPC recently, as Adwords users around the world are complaining that Google is taking too long to approve their PPC ads.
If you have been using Google Adwords for a few years you might have noticed that the time taken for new or edited ads to be approved is becoming increasingly longer. This is especially the case when creating image ads and ads focused on content networks. Why is this happening, that is the PPC question that everyone is asking?
The answer is simple, and it boils down to the sheer number of people and businesses (as well as spammers) using Adwords. The number of ads being created by current and new Adwords users is growing daily, and while Google has some strict policy guidelines about what is and isn’t allowed in ads, all ads that have been created still have to be reviewed and approve/disapproved. It seems that some ads get reviewed by computer systems and algorithms, but image ads and those targeting content network seemingly has to be viewed by a physical person. This method, unlike a computer system, is time consuming and causes a delay when waiting to get ads approved, but it does allows for more accuracy in the reviewing process.
Some PPC users have stated that Google may take up to 46 working hours to approve ads. That means that ads could be approved after approximately 7 working days. If you happen to submit an ad for approval on a Friday afternoon then you better be prepared to wait a little longer, as over weekends there is less man-power to review ads so the process is delayed even further. Google is, however, double-checking the ads. This means that all ads are being reviewed twice ever since the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has taken a firm stance and Google was forced to become extremely strict with regard to ads.
I already hear everyone crying, “What is Google doing about increasing the speed of the review process?” Well, the answer is simple – at this moment, based on my exhaustive research into the subject, I surmise that Google is not doing anything it is telling anyone about! In all likelihood Google is working behind the scenes on an ingenious way to speed up the process, or perhaps they already have a solution. The fact of the matter is that we just don’t know yet and we will have to wait and see what Google has in store for us mere mortals.
