Business Operations Verification - Google Ads

[bysky]

Hello everyone,
I’m having a terrible experience with the Google Ads “Business Operations Verification” process, with multiple form submissions being rejected, even though from my point of view there’s nothing wrong with the documents I’m providing.


Without questioning the validation process itself, I believe there is a serious bug (which I’ve already reported, but it has never been resolved) that makes me lose all confidence in submitting a new request. The issue is with the form, which can be found here:


https://support.google.com/adspolicy/contact/UAV_Harmonized_BOV_Form


It doesn’t allow you to upload more than one document at a time in any of the fields that ask for multiple files. Anyone can easily test this — for example, in question 28. Try uploading a file, and you’ll see that the button gets disabled immediately, making it impossible to select a second document.


The only support person I managed to speak with suggested that I combine everything into a single PDF, but at the same time mentioned that the documents must be photos, not scans or online versions. That’s at the very least a bit contradictory, and unfortunately, there’s no one who can provide expert feedback on this matter. The requests keep getting rejected with a generic reason saying that documents are missing, but I never get to know exactly what’s missing or what’s wrong — because it’s impossible to speak directly with anyone from that department.

My Ads account is 8 years old, I spend a considerable amount every month, and I don’t know what else to do to avoid getting it suspended.

Has anyone else gone through this and can offer some help?
Thanks!

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hi @bysky, I think that the support person simply mis-spoke regarding the type of documents, they prefer high quality scans not photos. As you saw from my similar post from around a year ago, the suggestion to combine all your information into a single document (PDF) is what worked for us back then and continues to be a process we use when having to verify or reverify an Ads Account. When at all possible, scan the original and if it is a color document, scan it in color. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[bysky]

Hi Jeff, thank you.
May I ask if at the time you sent the documents you included any kind of cover letter or provided some explanation about them? If so, did you do that within the PDF file itself, or in the final remarks/comments? Thanks!

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hi Jeff, thank you.
May I ask if at the time you sent the documents you included any kind of cover letter or provided some explanation about them? If so, did you do that within the PDF file itself, or in the final remarks/comments? Thanks!

Sorry for the delay in replying. I think part of the challenge will be that Google has different document requirements in the USA versus Portugal, which I'm not familiar with. Has there been any correspondence from Google where they have specified or recommended the additional documentation that might be helpful? They should have provided you a specific reason why validation failed, or why your Ad Account was suspended to begin with.

I did some very quick research and there is a lot of additional steps required for verification/validation in the gambling sector. The requirements are very strict.

For example, you need to have a Google Gambling Advertising Certification. Unlike ordinary advertiser verification, the gambling certificate is per country and per domain, so you repeat the process for every new market or URL. However, there are a number of other requirements before you even open Google Ads Account. If those steps weren't initially followed when you originally created the account, you have a lot of work ahead of you.

If this were a non-gambling Ad Account, I could probably provide more assistance, but this is a very niche process. However, I'm happy to help where I can.

 

[bysky]

Hi Jeff, thank you.

Yes, there are several steps required in order to run gambling ads, and we’ve complied with all of them. We submitted the request for gambling certification and it was approved without any issues, and everything has been running smoothly since 2017.

We understand it’s an area with a lot of spam, but that’s definitely not our case. What may have happened is that they’re now requiring Business Operations Verification from all accounts running gambling ads, and companies that operate within the regulations end up getting caught in technical issues.

All of our ads are restricted — they can only be shown to a specific audience, there are certain features we can’t use, we must have geo-targeting, age verification, and a number of other things, but it has always been this way and has always been accepted by them.

It’s honestly very frustrating, because we spend a considerable amount, in the 6-figure range per year on ads, and yet we don’t even have an account manager, or someone who can simply explain how to correctly fill out a form.

Thank you so much for your help, I’ll share any updates here later.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Sounds like you have a very thorough understanding on your industry and the needed qualifications. I do think your best course of action is to provide a single PDF with any documentation that will support your appeal, make sure they are high quality scanned originals. Each piece of documentation needs to support the other. For example it looks like at a minimum you'll need to provide:

• Copy of your SRIJ licence;
• Trade-register excerpt showing the same corporate name
• Any other certificates or licenses required by local or national law

You'll want to make sure that the corporate/business name on the license matches what is on your trade register. If it doesn't then you need another document that shows the relationship of the licensed name and the name declared on the trade register. If there is mention of an owner or owners, and/or the name being used on your for your payment method (credit card), you will want to provide a picture ID of the names mentioned in the documentation/credit card (driver's license or passport), again helps to establish and legitimize the relationship.

Lastly, even though it isn't a document, I would provide a screenshot of the home page(s) with responsible-gambling footer.

That is about all I have that may be helpful. Again, please share your feedback on the process. It may help someone else in the future as you have a not so common situation. Best of luck!

 

[bysky]

Thank you very much once again for all the tips. Whatever the final outcome may be, it will certainly help give me the best possible chance of solving the problem, which is exactly what I was looking for.

It’s a shame that Google Ads is so impersonal and that some departments are practically impossible to contact, but fortunately there are people with some experience on the subject who are always able to help, and you are certainly one of them.