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My healthcare Google Ads got disapproved. What do I do?

Why healthcare Google Ads get disapproved (drug names, claims, broken pages, remarketing) and the exact steps to fix, resubmit and appeal in Policy Manager.

Guide · 18 Oct 2026 · Access One

Quick answer

Open Policy Manager in Google Ads, read the exact policy named on each disapproved ad, fix the ad, keyword or landing page, then save or appeal. Most healthcare disapprovals come from five causes: prescription drug names such as "Botox", unreliable or guaranteed claims, a broken landing page, remarketing on a health topic, or a restricted service like telemedicine without certification. Google reviews most ads within one business day, and you can appeal each ad up to three times before you must contact support.

Last checked: 18 October 2026

Step 1: Find the exact reason, not just "Disapproved"

"Disapproved" is a status, not a reason. Google always names a policy. Find it before you change anything.

Go to Campaigns > Ads. Hover over the status of the ad. The pop-up names the policy (for example "Healthcare and medicines" or "Destination not working").
Or open Tools > Troubleshooting > Policy manager. The "Policy issues" tab lists every affected ad, asset and keyword in one place.
Note where the problem is: the headline, a description, a keyword, an image, or the landing page. Google reviews all of them, per its ad review process page.

Also check the status wording. Disapproved means the ad cannot show anywhere. Eligible (limited) means it runs, but only in some places or to some people. They need different fixes.

Step 2: Match your reason to the fix

Policy named	Typical clinic trigger	Fix
Healthcare and medicines: restricted drug terms	"Botox", "Dysport", "Ozempic", "Mounjaro", "Saxenda" in ads, keywords or the landing page	Remove brand names everywhere ads can see. Use "anti-wrinkle consultation" or "medical weight loss programme". Keep the landing page free of the names too.
Unreliable claims	"Guaranteed results", "permanent", "lose 10 kg in a month", testimonials with specific results	State facts, not outcomes. Add a visible "results vary" line next to any testimonial.
Destination not working	404 page, expired domain, slow server, redirect loop, booking page behind a login	Fix the page or point the ad to a working URL. Then appeal.
Health in personalised advertising	Remarketing list or Customer Match on an ad about a treatment or condition	Remove the audience list. Target with keywords and location instead.
Prescription drug services / speculative treatments	Online prescribing, telemedicine, stem cell or "regenerative" therapy	Apply for Google certification where it exists. Some treatments cannot be advertised at all.

Prescription drug names (the most common one in the UAE)

Google's Healthcare and medicines policy restricts prescription drug terms in ads, keywords and landing pages. Since the October 2025 update, promotional use is allowed only in the US, Canada and New Zealand. A Dubai aesthetic clinic advertising "Botox" will be disapproved, even if the ad is otherwise perfect. The crawler also reads your landing page, so a "Botox price list" on the page can trigger it. More on campaign setup in Google Ads for dentists and clinics.

Unreliable claims

Google's Unreliable claims policy covers miracle cures, dramatic weight loss and improbable results. Guarantees need a clear refund policy. Testimonials that claim specific results need a visible disclaimer. Google gives at least 7 days' warning before suspending an account for this, so act on the first email.

Destination not working

Google's Destination not working page lists the causes: typos in the final URL, 404 or 5xx errors, DNS problems, broken redirects, timeouts, firewalls that block Google's crawler, and pages behind a login. Test the URL on a phone over mobile data. If your booking widget or a security plug-in blocks bots, ask your developer to allow Google's AdsBot.

Remarketing on health

Health is a sensitive category under Google's personalised advertising policy. That covers conditions, treatments, cosmetic surgery and injections. You cannot use remarketing lists, Customer Match or lookalikes for those ads. Keywords, location and Google's own in-market segments are still allowed.

Step 3: Fix, then resubmit or appeal

Google's fix and appeal guide gives two routes:

Edit the ad. Hover over the ad, select Edit, change it and save. Saving sends it back for review automatically.
Appeal. In Policy Manager, select the ad, choose Appeal, then pick "Made changes to comply with policy" or "Dispute decision". Use "Dispute decision" only if you are sure Google got it wrong.

Rules that save you time:

Appeal in batches by ad group or campaign. Appealing the whole account at once can slow the review.
Wait at least 24 hours between appeals on the same ads.
Each ad gets 3 unsuccessful appeals. After that you must contact Google Ads support.
If an appeal fails or shows "Duplicate", make a small edit to the ad text or final URL to force a fresh crawl, instead of re-appealing.
From 21 July 2026, in-account appeals are not available for decisions older than 6 months. Contact support for those.

Most ads are reviewed within one business day. If an ad sits "Under review" for more than a week, Google says to contact support.

Step 4: Stop it happening again

Keep a banned-words list for Google and for the DHA. Google bans prescription drug names and improbable claims. The DHA bans words like "the best", "100%", "the only" and "no side effects" (Khaleej Times, Sept 2026). An ad Google approves can still break DHA rules.
Check the landing page, not only the ad. Prices lists, blog posts and image alt text can carry restricted terms.
Turn off auto-generated text you have not reviewed. Automatically created assets can pull wording from your site, including drug names.
Watch your email. Repeated violations lead to account suspension, which is much harder to fix than one ad.

Want this done for you?

Access One, the UAE's first Healthcare Google Partner and Dubai's #1 Google Ads agency for healthcare, fixes disapprovals and suspensions for clinics every week, and rebuilds ads so they pass both Google and DHA review. Get a free ads audit.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take Google to re-review a fixed ad?

Most ads are reviewed within one business day. Complex cases take longer. Check status after 2 business days, and contact support if it is still under review after a week.

Can I advertise Botox or Ozempic in Dubai on Google Ads?

No. Outside the US, Canada and New Zealand, Google prohibits promoting prescription drug terms. Advertise the consultation or treatment category, and keep brand names off the landing page.

Why was my ad approved and then disapproved later?

Google re-checks ads and landing pages over time. A page edit, a new blog post with a drug name, or a site outage can trigger a later disapproval.

My whole account got suspended, not just an ad. Is that the same fix?

No. Suspensions follow repeated or egregious violations, such as unauthorised pharmacy activity. You must fix every issue and then submit an account-level appeal. Read the suspension email carefully before you appeal.

Will an agency's appeal work better than mine?

The process is the same for everyone. What helps is a precise fix: the right policy, every asset and page cleaned, and one clean appeal instead of many.

Sources

Published 18 Oct 2026 · Access One

Results

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