Introduction

Digital advertising is the lifeblood of e-commerce businesses, enabling them to connect with their audience on platforms like Facebook, and Instagram. However, the rising issue of blocked ad accounts poses a significant challenge for marketing professionals and the brands they represent. 

In this blog post, we'll delve into the common reasons behind Facebook ad accounts being blocked and explore the strategies to avoid, prevent, and resolve these issues.

Issues Leading to Blocked Ad Accounts

1. Ad Content Quality and Relevance

Crafting engaging and compliant ad content is fundamental to not only captivate your audience but also to stay within the bounds of platform policies. 

Make sure to avoid:

• Ads with poor-quality content (e.g. blurry images, wrong formats, grammatical errors)

• Ads with promises and guarantees (i.e.unrealistic outcomes)

• Ads with a mismatch between the ad and the landing page

• Ads not adhering to industry-specific guidelines

• Ads using limited keywords and categories

• Ads actively being “hidden” by consumers

• Ads not adhering to the 20% rule 

Make sure to regularly audit your Facebook ad campaigns to ensure compliance with platform policies or risk your entire ad account being restricted. 

2. Suspicious activity

Ad platforms are very keen on security measures to avoid its customers (i.e. you) being exploited by hackers looking to make a quick buck through a compromised ad account. 

In other words, ad platforms are always on the lookout for suspicious activity, such as:

• Using too many devices for the same login

• IP mismatches (e.g. using a new device or logging in from a new location)

• Adding a banned profile to manage the ad account

Avoid giving them a reason to react; reduce access to those who need it and employ strict password protocols (make sure to set up two-factor authentication and use an auto-generated password tool, such as 1Password).

3. Payment-Related Issues

Digital advertising often comes with its fair share of challenges for e-commerce businesses, and payment-related issues are no exception. These headaches tend to surface precisely when you need smooth transactions the most… The primary culprits? Reaching spending limits and encountering insufficient funds on the connected card – a frustrating scenario for any marketer.

To mitigate these challenges, ensure that the details associated with your payment methods are up-to-date and accurate and that it has sufficiently high spending limits.

Tip: High-spend virtual cards offer a secure and efficient payment method, reducing the likelihood of payment-related issues.

Proactive Measures to Prevent Ad Account Blocks

Implementing an Ad Account Management Strategy

Regularly Review and Update Ad Content: Don’t just spray and pray - keep your content fresh, relevant, and compliant with platform guidelines. 

Monitor Payment Activities for Anomalies: Stay vigilant in detecting and addressing any unusual payment activities.

Connecting a high-spend virtual card for your ads

By employing high-spend virtual cards for your digital ads you not only get a secure payment method but also streamline the payment process, significantly reducing the likelihood of encountering payment-related issues. 

The added layer of security and efficiency provided by high-spend virtual cards can make your payment experience smoother, allowing you to focus on optimizing your ad campaigns without the stress of transaction hurdles.

Protip: With franklin, you can create as many cards as you want (for free) with individual spending limits, which allows you to connect one card for each ad account. Besides providing a better overview of your spending, you also make sure that not all your ad accounts get blocked if one card is maxed out. Win-win.

Recovering from Blocked Facebook Ad Accounts

Step-by-Step Guide for Recovery

In case your ad account does get blocked, make sure to have a systematic approach to make the recovery process efficient.

Step 1: Pause

Pause all actions inside Ads Manager and Facebook Business Manager
(don’t resubmit the same ads that got rejected at once, it can potentially make it worse).

If you’re curious about how ads are reviewed by Meta, learn more here.

Step 2: Identify

Identify the reason for the blockage (i.e. card issues or specific ads causing the trouble). Go through the troubleshooting steps here.

Step 3: Resolve

Follow the recommended steps (solve the issue) and push the ads again.

If this doesn’t work (or you believe your ad account was blocked by mistake) you should push an ad account review.

Ad Account Review:

To request a review, go to this page, click ‘Account Status Overview’ in the left-side menu, go to the restricted account that you want to troubleshoot, head over to the ‘What you can do’ section, and click ‘Request review’. 

Note: to request a review you have to be an admin on the account.

If this doesn’t get the job done, you can try to contact Meta’s customer support.

FAQ

• Q: "Where can I find the guidelines for Facebook ads?"

  A:  Right here. You can also learn how Facebook’s Ad Reviews work here.
  
  

• Q: "Why do ad accounts get blocked?"

  A: Ad accounts can be blocked for a variety of reasons, including policy violations, suspicious payment activities, and issues with ad content quality.
  
  

• Q: "What steps should I take if my ad account gets blocked?"

  A: Follow the process for recovery, addressing common pitfalls during the process. Additionally, make sure you have accurate billing information and compliant ad content for a speedy recovery.
  
  

• Q: "How can I prevent ad account blocks proactively?"

  A: Implement a comprehensive ad account management strategy by regularly reviewing and updating ad content, monitoring payment activities, and building a collaborative relationship with ad platforms. Also, consider employing a high-spend virtual card to avoid any banking limitations.
  
  

• Q: "How can virtual cards help prevent ad account blocks?"

  A: While not covered in this post, virtual cards can offer a solution by overcoming banking limitations, ensuring uninterrupted ad campaigns, and improving budget control and security.

• Q: "What can I do if I lose access to my account?"

  A: We all know the struggle of losing access to your account when you need it the most. Follow this guide to gain access the fastest way possible.
  
  

• Q: "What do I do if my account has been hacked?"

  A: Unfortunately it’s not out of the ordinary to have your ad account and/or the connected Facebook profile hacked... If you ever experience this, you can follow this guide to recover it in the most efficient way.

  
  

• Q: "Are there tools available for monitoring ad account health?"

  A: Yes, there are several tools designed to help you monitor the health of your ad account. Check out Ad Account Health Monitoring Tools for options and recommendations. 

• Q: "How do I adjust my invoicing limits on Facebook ads?"

  A: Whether you are looking to increase or decrease the spending limits on your Facebook ads, you can follow this guide.