Google Ads compliance: What health and wellbeing brands need to know

When it comes to running paid ad campaigns, legal compliance and platform compliance are two very different things. Being legally compliant (under ASA, CAP, MHRA and GB NHC rules) doesn’t mean that Google will automatically run your ads. 

Beyond legal compliance, Google has its own internal policy layer, and small wording choices can make or break your campaign.

At Fueld, we specialise in helping health and wellbeing brands succeed in digital marketing, turning attention into growth. This includes helping clients with detailed compliance guidance for every step along the way. 

If you’re new to this, our comprehensive guide to paid media compliance is a good place to start.

In this companion guide, we take a closer look at your Google-specific considerations. 

What’s the difference between Google’s policies and advertising regulations?

An ad can be legally compliant and still be disapproved by Google. This can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive to fix. Google sets its own layer of platform compliance, which can be stricter than the law requires – particularly when it comes to certain healthcare services, prescription drugs, and health insurance.

That means that health and wellbeing brands need to make sure their paid media not only satisfies legal requirements, but also Google’s Healthcare and medicines policy.

What should wellness brands consider?

Let’s take wellness brands first (we’re talking to you, gym groups, clinics, corporate wellness services, EAPs, online healthcare and other wellbeing services – anyone selling a service rather than a physical product).

Google restricts personalised advertising (which includes remarketing, retargeting, audience targeting), so you can’t retarget site visitors based on sensitive, health-related browsing habits (for example, if someone visits a mental health page).

Specific service types (e.g., telemedicine and addiction treatment services) need to meet certification requirements, which usually ask for Google certification and third-party accreditation by LegitScript or similar. So, it’s important to know whether your particular service needs certification before running ads.

Unless your brand is licensed and certified within the category, your paid ads must avoid implying diagnosis, treatment, or cure of a medical condition. Messaging should be benefit-led and supportive, and word choice really matters here. Consider, for example, the difference in tone between ‘supporting your wellbeing’ and ‘treating your anxiety’. It’s a small but important shift.

And, on the subject of tone, make sure your landing pages match the tone (and claims) of the ad itself, because Google reviews both in tandem.

What should supplement and ecommerce brands consider?

To be compliant not only legally but also with Google’s policies, brands selling physical products (for example supplements, vitamins, and beauty products), only pre-approved claims from the GB NHC register can legally be used. There’s more on that in our main guide to compliance. Google will flag unproven or exaggerated claims in the same way that the ASA would.

Quite rightly, Google treats anything around weight loss and body image as a sensitive category, so anything that promises results or is overly focused on appearance will carry a higher risk of disapproval. Anything in this category should be classed as ‘high risk’ with more caution, checks and balances baked into your process.

Product feed titles and descriptions matter just as much as the ad copy itself, so these will need a careful audit.

Our top tip? Maintain a bank of preapproved messaging that you know is both legally compliant and also compliant with Google’s policy.

How to avoid Google Ads being disapproved

It’s frustrating when ads aren’t approved, and it can also be a huge waste of time and resources. Here’s our checklist (print it out and stick it on your wall!) to help you get more ads through, first time:

1. Use evidence-led, modest language (e.g., ‘supports’, ‘helps’, ‘assists’), rather than confident claims (e.g., ‘cures’, ‘fixes’, ‘treats’).
2. Ensure landing pages mirror your ad claims exactly.
3. Don’t use language (even implicitly) that suggests something about the reader’s health, body, or condition.
4. Make sure you have the right certification before running ads in restricted categories.
5. Test ad copy and claims in small batches before scaling up. Be aware that AI-assisted ad generation can easily drift into non-compliant language, and always keep a human in the loop.
6. Develop and maintain a bank of pre-approved terminology and phrases that any writer for your brand (human or otherwise) can draw on.
7. Keep an eye on Google’s policy updates as they are issued – enforcement is always changing and tightening.

What to do if your Google Ads account gets suspended

Google’s own Account suspensions overview is the authoritative source on this, so make sure you’re familiar with it and stay up to date with changes. But here’s a step-by-step process to follow if this happens to you:

• Identify the problem: Google will send you a notification in the app and also by email, which will tell you the specific policy that’s been violated.

• Hold fire: Don’t make any further changes that could compound the issue. Pause any current ads at obvious risk.

• Fix the issue: Before you appeal, you need to fix the underlying issue. That could be landing page copy, ad wording, or missing certification.

• Understand the strikes system: Each time you violate the same policy, you’ll get a strike. Once you hit three strikes, you’ll be suspended.

• Submit your appeal: Do this through Google’s official process. A generic appeal with no evidence or one that doesn’t address the specific violation will fail.

• Act quickly: You have (at least) six months to appeal, but every day you lose to suspension will cost you money.

Prevention is far better than going through an appeal process. Google classifies some violations as ‘egregious’ (which means serious, unlawful, or posing significant harm). If you find yourself suspended for this, it’s important to know that it can be difficult and sometimes impossible to have this overturned.

What other compliance issues should health and wellbeing brands consider?

There are a few other points to bear in mind if you want to stay on the right side of Google, and here they are:

• Ad extensions and assets matter, too. E.g., a compliant headline with a non-compliant sitelink will still cause you problems.

• Linked accounts share risk. Google looks at your shared payment methods, IP addresses, and business information, meaning that a violation on one account could well affect other accounts too.

• Location counts: If you’re advertising internationally, bear in mind that compliance guidelines, including restricted terms and certification requirements, can differ by location. 

• Things are always changing: It’s not enough to swot up on legal compliance and Google’s compliance policy and assume you’re good to go. Ongoing monitoring is key, so make sure there are regular reminders in your diary to stay abreast of changes.

Want to stay compliant while running high-performing campaigns?

You’re in safe hands with Fueld. Contact us to have a call today and talk through your paid media plans, we’ll help you confidently stay on the right side of Google and the law.