Semper Fi Design • South Carolina (Serving Nonprofits Nationwide)
Google Ad Grants Rules & Compliance: How to Avoid Suspension
Google Ad Grants can be a powerful growth channel for donations, volunteers, and program awareness — but only if you keep your account compliant. Here’s what matters most and how to maintain a healthy Ad Grants account month after month.
If you’re still in the early stages, start with our guide on how to qualify for Google Ad Grants to ensure your nonprofit meets eligibility requirements before optimizing performance.
Why Ad Grants Accounts Underperform (or Get Limited)
Most nonprofit accounts don’t fail because the program “doesn’t work.” They fail because campaigns are built too broadly, tracking isn’t implemented, and nobody is actively optimizing the account. The result: low engagement, poor conversions, and compliance issues.
- Keywords are too generic (drives irrelevant traffic)
- Ads don’t match search intent (low CTR)
- No conversion tracking (optimization becomes guesswork)
- Landing pages aren’t built to convert
- No negative keywords (budget wasted)
The Nonprofit-Friendly Compliance Priorities
You don’t need to memorize every policy line — but you do need a simple system to keep your account healthy. These are the highest-leverage compliance priorities:
1) Track conversions
Set up GA4 + Tag Manager and track real actions (donations, sign-ups, registrations).
2) Improve CTR & relevance
Use tighter ad groups and intent-driven copy that matches what people are searching.
3) Control search terms
Add negative keywords and regularly review search terms to stop wasted clicks.
4) Send traffic to the right page
Donation ads should go to donation pages, volunteer ads to volunteer pages, etc.
A Simple Monthly Checklist (Copy/Paste)
If you do nothing else, do these each month:
- Review search terms and add negatives
- Pause low-performing keywords and expand winning themes
- Test new ad messaging (2–3 variants per primary ad group)
- Verify conversion tracking is firing correctly
- Check landing page clarity (single CTA above the fold)
The key is consistency. Most “Ad Grants doesn’t work” stories are really “Ad Grants wasn’t managed.”
Compliance alone won’t drive results. The way your campaigns and keywords are structured plays a major role in CTR and conversion rate. We cover this in detail in our article on building effective Ad Grants campaigns .
Want us to manage compliance + performance for you?
We’ll audit your account, fix structure, install tracking, and optimize monthly so your grant drives real conversions.
Want us to handle compliance, tracking, and optimization for you? View our Google Ad Grants management service or book a free strategy call .
