There are several reasons why a Propensity Display Network ad may not be approved, review the rejection reason that corresponds with the notification you received to see more information and the next steps for ad approval.
Rejection Reasons
- Ad Fails to Meet Content Guidelines
- Ad Fails to Comply with GDPR
- Invalid Brand Name
- Invalid Landing Page Destination/Click Tracker
- Landing Page Leads to 404 or Cannot be Found
- Image Quality Needs Enhancement
- Landing Page Destination is Not iFrame-friendly
1. Ad Fails to Meet Content Guidelines
Error: Didn’t meet content guidelines
Brand safety is of paramount importance, our advertising partners' policies cover 3 broad areas:
Allowed Content, Products, and Services
All content, products, and services that fall under Allowed must still comply with the industry's best practices and follow the applicable laws and regulations of every location they target.
Conditional Content, Products, and Services
All advertising campaigns that promote content, products, and services on the conditional list must be pre-approved by our advertising partners' Platform Quality team before being created on the platform. Campaigns must comply with additional restrictions that may be listed and the applicable laws and regulations of every geographical location it intends to target.
Prohibited Content, Products, and Services
On our advertising partners' platform, they maintain a commitment to upholding the highest standards in all aspects of their operations. They therefore enforce a comprehensive policy against Prohibited Content.
This policy serves as a safeguard to protect the interests of clients, partners, and users.
Content, products, and services that are Prohibited are based upon their dedication to providing users with a positive and high-quality experience as they discover your content. In coordination with their partners, they have determined certain types of advertisers that are not able to advertise on their platform. This includes but is not limited to:
- Promoting content that is offensive, threatening, or inappropriate
- Promoting content that is dangerous or encourages dangerous behavior for users
- Promoting content that includes false promises, scams, or illegal activity
Prohibited Campaign Practices
- Must not use any false or misleading practices (ex. Miracle cure claims).
- Must not make any false or unsubstantiated claims
- All statements, representations, or claims made must be supported by verifiable evidence, research, or appropriate documentation.
- Any testimonials, endorsements, or reviews featured must reflect the experiences of individuals.
- Content that intends to, or does, induce user action through misleading appearance or behavior, including, but not limited to creatives that mimic functional buttons, video players, errors or warnings about viruses, corrupt disks, and missing codecs
- Must comply with all legal requirements that may be set out by federal or local laws where the ad is being served.
- Must not directly capture any personally identifiable or sensitive user information without the user's express consent.
- Must not target or advertise to children under the age of 13.
- Must not use websites or content that contains or causes the download of any spyware, malware, or software, resulting in an unexpected experience, such as the automatic download of applications without users' consent.
- Affiliate networks or lead generation businesses
- Dedicated landing pages that contain a form for visitors to fill out must be associated with a business that offers more than lead generation.
- Must not "arbitrage" or promote destinations for the sole or primary purpose of showing ads
- Must not use "cloaking" or similar techniques to hide the true destination that users are directed to.
- Cloaking: A technique where the content presented for review is different from the content presented via redirect to the user's browser.
- Must not abuse our partners' platform, as determined by their sole discretion.
Landing Page Policies
- Must provide a positive user experience on your landing pages.
- Must disclose all promotional content as promotional content.
- All advertisements and other third-party content on your landing page must comply with all partner Advertising Policies and Content Guidelines.
Thumbnail, Title, and Branding Text Policies
- All titles, thumbnails, and branding text must comply with all partner Advertising Policies and Content Guidelines.
- Branding text must accurately reflect the source of the content.
- Thumbnails must not show before/after photos.
- Thumbnails must not be of poor quality or very low resolution.
- Titles must not be misleading and must accurately reflect the subject of the landing page.
- Titles must not be in all capital letters, or contain excessive punctuation, or emojis.
Other Third-Party Content Policies
- All Advertisements and other third-party content must comply with all partner Advertising Policies and Content Guidelines.
- All advertisements and other third-party content must disclose that they are advertisements.
- Any content or links on the landing page that are sponsored by a third party must clearly and conspicuously be labeled as sponsored.
- All advertisements must not contain or cause the download of any spyware, malware, or software, resulting in an unexpected experience, such as the automatic download of applications without users' consent.
Sensitive Industries
Our advertising partner has guidelines for what is allowed, conditional, and prohibited for sensitive industries. If you are considered a sensitive industry, there may be additional requirements for authorization. Click here to learn more about Propensity Display Network Content Guidelines for Sensitive Industries.
Sensitive Industries:
- Adult
- Alcohol
- Cannabis
- CBD
- COVID Products or Services
- Cryptocurrency/Blockchain
- Explosives, Firearms, and Weapons
- Financial Products and Services
- Gambling and Games
- Healthcare and Medicines
- Political
- Recreational Drugs and Drug Paraphernalia (non-cannabis)
- Tobacco and Nicotine Products
- Weight Loss
What to do next:
- This happens when your graphics or landing pages reflect sensitive language or industries. Our team is looking into your campaign and will re-submit it on your behalf
- Check your status again in 24 hours, and we will contact you if changes to your creative assets are necessary
- Once approved, go to the Launch tab and relaunch your ad
2. Ad Fails to Comply with GDPR
Error: Ad fails to comply with GDPR
What is the GDPR?
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union's (EU) comprehensive data protection regulation. The GDPR is known for protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of natural persons and in particular their right to the protection of personal data. Since May 1, 2018, it has held the title of "toughest privacy and security law in the world." Though it was drafted and passed by the EU, it imposes obligations onto organizations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU.
Because our partners' clients target consumers in the EU and our partner collects data related to those consumers, they are in the scope of the GDPR and it is directly applicable to their business operations.
Requirement #1 - Need Explicit Opt-In Consent Message on Landing Page
Cookie consent messages should be presented in a manner that is distinguishable from the other matters, in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. Collecting user data without explicit opt-in consent is not permitted under GDPR.
Requirement #2 - Need Pixel Tracking Implementation
Pixels must not fire on page load, but only after explicit opt-in consent is provided. Scrolling to consent or assuming consent by continuing on the website is not sufficient under GDPR. The user must provide consent (by clicking accept, OK, etc.) before the pixel starts collecting data. If the user does not consent, pixels cannot legally collect user data.
What to do next:
Check to make sure your cookie consent messaging is clear and present on your landing page
Pixel tracking may be firing on page load, and should only load after explicit opt-in consent is provided
- Once edited, go to the Launch tab and relaunch your ad
3. Invalid Brand Name
Error: Invalid brand name
The brand name provided for the promoted ad is not able to be used because it does not match the brand in the advertisement.
Why is the brand name important?
Brand names are essential identifiers. Here are just some things brand names affect:
- Prevent Misleading Advertising - Transparency with partners & users
- Accurate Platform Reporting - The insights we pull are only as accurate as the data input, so accurate brand information is imperative for accurate reporting
The brand must be an accurate representation of the specific product, service, company, or initiative that is being advertised. Here are a few examples of brand name entries that would not be accepted:
- Websites
- Symbols and punctuation
- Your agency/business name (unless advertising the agency/business)
What to do Next:
- Go to your Playbook and update the Brand Name or Click URL to align the brands
- Once edited, go to the Launch tab and relaunch your ad
4. Invalid Landing Page Destination/Click Tracker
Error: Invalid landing page destination/click tracker
With landing pages being a highly important component of your advertising campaign, it is essential to ensure your creatives drive to the desired web pages. Invalid landing pages will affect the user experience, campaign performance, and campaign metrics.
There are two common reasons why your ad may be disapproved concerning landing pages:
Landing page not found
The landing page inputted for your creative leads to a page that no longer exists or cannot be found. To ensure your ad is approved, please input a new landing page in the click URL field that is valid or if possible, update the landing page to display your desired content.
URL does not lead to landing page
The landing page you inputted does not drive to a valid landing page or website. This may be caused by copying the incorrect URL. For example, you may call out "Trips to Florida" in the creative but the landing page is for "Trips to New York". Other issues that may result in an invalid landing page would involve a non-functioning redirect URL or errors within the URL. Please review the landing page or creative and make the necessary changes.
What to do next:
- Make sure your Landing Page leads to a working landing page
- Double-check the Click URL for that Propensity Display Network ad play within the playbook editor to make sure it is the correct URL
- Update the Click URL and/or destination landing page and launch the Propensity Display Network ad again in the Launch tab
5. Landing Page Leads to a 404 or Cannot be Found
Error: Landing page leads to 404 or cannot be found
With landing pages being a highly important component of your advertising campaign, it is essential to ensure your creatives drive to the desired web pages. Invalid landing pages will affect the user experience, campaign performance, and campaign metrics.
There are two common reasons why your ad may be disapproved concerning landing pages:
Landing page not found
The landing page inputted for your creative leads to a page that no longer exists or cannot be found. To ensure your ad is approved, please input a new landing page in the click URL field that is valid or if possible, update the landing page to display your desired content.
URL does not lead to landing page
The landing page you inputted does not drive to a valid landing page or website. This may be caused by copying the incorrect URL. For example, you may call out "Trips to Florida" in the creative but the landing page is for "Trips to New York". Other issues that may result in an invalid landing page would involve a non-functioning redirect URL or errors within the URL. Please review the landing page or creative and make the necessary changes.
What to do next:
- Make sure your Landing Page leads to a working landing page
- Double-check the Click URL for that Propensity Display Network ad play within the playbook editor to make sure it is the correct URL
- Update the Click URL and/or destination landing page and launch the Propensity Display Network ad again in the Launch tab
6. Image Quality Needs Enhancement
Error: Image quality needs enhancement
There are a few reasons why your ad may be disapproved due to image quality.
Low Resolution
The creative image you have selected has a low resolution. This means the image you provided is blurry and does not meet our standards. The optimal specs are 1200x627 and 600x600 pixel images (300ppi) in the following formats, JPG, PNG, and GIF, and the optimal file size is 750KB. To ensure your ad is approved, please provide a higher-quality image. Higher-quality ads will yield better results.
Higher-resolution images present the content as intended, ensuring minimal distortion and preservation of details such as edges and fine lines.
Irrelevant/Confusing
The creative image you uploaded does not match the headline, body, or landing page. In this instance, it is likely you selected the wrong image for your campaign. To ensure your ad is approved, please provide us with an image that is relevant to your advertising campaign.
Creative Size & Whitespacing Issues
The creative image you uploaded does not match the optimal ad specifications. This means that the creative is the incorrect size and may have excessive spacing. In addition to the issue of aesthetics, performance may be hindered since some supply partners may reject creatives based on incorrect sizing.
What to do next:
- Replace your graphic assets with a higher-quality file in the Playbook tab. For additional information review our Propensity Display Network Ad Best Practices
- Once edited, go to the Launch tab and relaunch your ad
7. Landing Page Destination is Not iFrame Friendly
Error: Landing page destination is not iFrame friendly
There are some occasions when your landing page will not be compatible with our advertising partners iFrame Engagement Tracking Method. You can use this tool to determine whether your landing page will be compatible.
Paste your landing page into the first text area where it says "Enter URL..." and click the "1. Check headers button."
If the message returns “The page does exist and no X-Frame-Options header was found.” Go ahead and test by clicking the “2. Check Frame Killer Script” button.
An iFrame window will open below, and if your landing page loads within it, your landing page is compatible.
Not compatible? Click here to read more about iFrames.
What to do next:
- Make sure your landing page supports iFrames using this tool
- Update your Click URL to a page that supports iFrames in the Playbook tab
- Once edited, go to the Launch tab and relaunch your ad