Google Ads mistakenly sent out an email telling some advertisers that their accounts had been suspended.
The notification, which was triggered by a technical fault, was issued just hours before the Thanksgiving holiday, causing some marketers to “freak out”.
Google confirmed the error shortly after and reassured advertisers to disregard the message.
Why we care. If you or your client received this message, rest assured that your account remains active, and your business will not be impacted. This notification was sent in error and is of no concern.
‘Clients freaking out’. The error messages were first flagged by PPC expert Kirk Williams on X. He told his followers:
- “We’re suddenly getting clients freaking out that their GMC got suspended by this email (not true, we send them back screenshots of GMC and their ads in the wild to assure them). Anyone else receive these?”
- “Seems to be some generic form email. What in the world would possess someone at Google Ads to send an email like this hours before the Thanksgiving holiday to brands so they all (rightfully) freak out thinking GMC dropped their products, only to realize this seems to be an error or promotional email?!?!”
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What Google is saying. Once aware of the problem, Google Ads liaison Ginny Marvin advised her followers on X to ignore the warning, explaining:
- “We’ve identified a technical issue that incorrectly triggered this notification. The message is incorrect and can be ignored. Additional comms explaining will be sent. Apologies!”
Deep dive. Read our Google Ads Best Practices guide by Search Engine Land contributor Rémi Kerhoas for more information on using Google Ads.
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About the author
Nicola Agius is Paid Media Editor of Search Engine Land after joining in 2023. She covers paid search, paid social, retail media and more. Prior to this, she was SEO Director at Jungle Creations (2020-2023), overseeing the company’s editorial strategy for multiple websites. She has over 15 years of experience in journalism and has previously worked at OK! Magazine (2010-2014), Mail Online (2014-2015), Mirror (2015-2017), Digital Spy (2017-2018) and The Sun (2018-2020). She also previously teamed up with SEO agency Blue Array to co-author Amazon bestselling book ‘Mastering In-House SEO’.
