Mobile app developers invest significant effort into building and refining their products. However, Google may occasionally impose restrictions, like ad serving limits. Fortunately, there are specific steps you can take to prevent or address these issues when they arise.
What is an ad serving limit?
Due to detected issues like invalid traffic or policy violations, Google may impose a temporary ad serving limit in AdMob, which reduces the number of ads shown in an app. The restriction usually lasts no more than 30 days, but it’s not a constant. Until the root problem is resolved, this limit can decrease ad revenue. Mobile app developers might see the following types of notifications indicating the reason for an imposed limit:
- “App not ready to show ads” – used when the app is in the initial verification phase;
- “Account being assessed” – signifies that AdMob is examining the account situation. Direct campaigns, third-party waterfall ad sources, and house ads remain unaffected;
- “Invalid traffic concerns” – indicate problems like inadequate knowledge of ad formats and their implementation, not using test ads during the first phases of app creation, or problems like self-clicking on ads.
How to avoid ad serving limit
1. To avoid seeing “Account being assessed” or “App not ready to show ads” notification – make sure you only have one AdMob account. It’s against policies to own a duplicate one;
2. When it comes to avoiding getting the “Invalid traffic concerns” status:
- refrain from encouraging ad clicks, which means avoiding direct click requests or other methods that stimulate users to click an ad,
- make sure that you and anyone affiliated with your account do not click on your own live ads, whether it’s accidental or intentional,
- do not implement tools that automate clicking or bots. Any deceptive software to generate clicks or impressions is prohibited,
- design your app to minimize accidental clicks. To prevent user confusion, keep ads away from navigation controls and interactive elements,
- to avoid layout shifts, save some space for ads so that no problems will appear during loading.
How to get rid of ad serving limit
1. Revise AdMob policies and restrictions and locate any possible issues;
2. Review and later work on improving traffic quality:
- remember to always test your ads in a development phase, clicking them after can be recognized as a policy violation,
- avoid partnering with ad networks that don’t ensure high-quality,
- analyze your ad traffic with the help of Google Analytics to identify suspicious behavior;
3. Asses whatever ad placements and implementation don’t cause issues like layout shifts and accidental clicks;
4. Some developers recommend holding off on adding new apps to AdMob until your current apps achieve a stable download count, such as 1,000 or more;
5. You can also try to (according to developers):
- delete all ad unit IDs in all your apps,
- wait for 7-15 days (it may take even longer), and the warning should disappear;
6. If the issue still persists, visit dedicated Google community groups or contact support and ask for advice.
Diversification is key
Don’t rely solely on one monetization solution, especially when using AdMob. The recommended step is to sign up for ad mediation platforms like MAX by AppLovin or Unity LevelPlay. After doing so, you can additionally consider increasing your ad revenue with solutions like Bidlogic, which, among other things, completely automates every aspect of managing advertising waterfalls and bidding auctions.
