Why your Google Ads are not showing

This guide is built from Google Ads Help, mainly Why you may not see your ad, Find your first ads and the pages linked in each section below. It is a checklist that points to our deeper guides rather than repeating them: policy review is in our Policy manager guide, ad quality in the Quality Score guide and day and hour settings in the ad schedule guide.

Don't search for your own ad

The first instinct is to type your keyword into Google. Google advises against it. In Find your first ads it explains that searches that trigger your ad without a click mean "you'll accumulate impressions without clicks, which can lower your clickthrough rate and prevent your ad from appearing as often as it should." It adds that if you keep looking for your ad and never click it, "you might stop seeing it entirely", because Google stops showing you ads it thinks you aren't interested in.

Your own search is also a poor test for another reason: the ad only shows to people you target. Google's example is a search from a computer in San Francisco for an ad that targets Los Angeles: "your ad won't appear in your search." So before deciding anything, look at the numbers. The Impressions and Clicks columns on the Ads page tell you whether the ad has been running. Google notes that reporting "isn't real-time", so clicks and impressions from the last three hours may not show yet.

The Ad preview and diagnosis tool

The Ad preview and diagnosis tool is under Tools, in the Troubleshooting menu. You change the settings along the top, such as the location, enter a keyword, and it shows which of your ads that search would trigger, without adding impressions to your account. If the ad isn't showing, the tool gives a diagnosis.

Read its answer with care. Google says the tool "simulates a search and might not reflect all real-time conditions, such as user search history, location, device, or auction dynamics", and that if ads are not showing in one simulated auction, "it does not necessarily mean the ads are not appearing at all." If it reports "keyword not in account" for a keyword that is active, Google calls that possibly "a temporary tool inaccuracy" and says to prioritise the real impressions and clicks.

A few results that look like problems are expected:

• Another ad group won. The tool can say a keyword "is not triggering an ad because there is a more relevant candidate available", or because another candidate is identical to the search term. That is Google choosing between your own keywords, not a fault.
• Keywordless ad groups win. Dynamic Search Ads, AI Max ad groups and Performance Max asset groups without keywords or search themes are picked by highest Ad Rank, so they can appear "even if a relevant keyword ad group exists." See our AI Max guide and Performance Max guide.
• Paused or removed ad groups don't appear in the tool at all.
• Low-volume keywords, or a "—" in the Quality Score column, may not trigger a preview.
• A recent bid strategy change puts the campaign in a calibration period.

Check the statuses from the top down

An ad only runs when the campaign, the ad group, the ad and at least one keyword are all allowed to. Each level has a Status column, and hovering over a status gives the reason. Start at the campaign and work down:

Level and status	What Google says it means
Campaign: Paused, Pending, Ended	Inactive because you paused it, because it is "scheduled to begin at a future date", or because it is "past its scheduled end date". Source: About campaign statuses.
Campaign: Not eligible	Inactive because there are no ad groups, or all ad groups, all ads or all keywords are paused or deleted.
Campaign: Eligible (limited)	Active, "but showing ads only occasionally due to budget constraints or a limited bid strategy".
Ad group: Incomplete	"You haven't set up necessary parts of this ad group (like keywords or ads). Its ads aren't running." Source: About ad group status.
Ad: Under review	Still being checked against policy. "The review process typically takes one business day." Source: Find your ad status.
Ad: Disapproved	Its content or destination breaks a Google Ads policy, so it "won't receive impressions".
Ad: Eligible (limited)	Can run, "but not in all situations because of policy restrictions".
Ad: Not eligible	The campaign is paused, removed, ended or pending, or the ad group is paused, removed or incomplete.

Two details from the ad status page save time. An ad under review for more than a full business day is worth a look: Google says to make sure its campaign and ad group are enabled, because "paused campaigns can prevent assets from being reviewed." And to see why an ad is disapproved or limited, add the "Policy details" column (Modify columns, Attributes). What to do next, edit or appeal, is in our Policy manager guide, and what Eligible (limited) means for serving is in its limited serving section.

Keyword statuses that stop or limit ads

In Search campaigns, the keyword status is often where the answer is. Google's keyword status page lists these:

• Paused, with "Keyword paused due to low activity": the keyword had zero impressions in the past 13 months and Google paused it automatically.
• Disapproved: usually a policy issue, "such as our destination or final URL policy."
• Eligible (limited), Low search volume: the keyword gets very little search traffic, so it isn't eligible to show ads often.
• Eligible (limited), Below first page bid estimate: the keyword can show ads but isn't currently showing on the first page of results, "likely due to Ad Rank."
• Eligible (limited), Rarely shown due to low Quality Score.

Low search volume needs its own note, because it is often misread. Google's definition says the keyword "will be inactive until its search traffic increases", and that the status "is unrelated to quality score, bid, or creatives, so editing these won't change the status." Google checks it regularly against worldwide searches over the past twelve months. Your options are to wait for the weekly recheck (useful for a new brand or product name), use a broader match type, or replace the keyword with a less specific one; Google's example turns "gardenia flower delivery in spring NYC" into "gardenia delivery NYC". Our match types guide and Keyword Planner guide cover both.

Budget and bid strategy

A campaign with a small budget still shows ads, just less often. Google's troubleshooting page says that "if the daily budget is very low compared to your Cost-Per-Click (CPC) bids, your ads may struggle to enter auctions." The Ad preview and diagnosis tool can also stop showing your ad once the campaign has reached its average daily budget for the day. If the campaign says "Limited by budget", our Limited by budget guide explains the status and the options.

Check the bid strategy status too. Google lists "Inactive," "Limited," and "Misconfigured" as statuses that can stop ads running or performing well; Misconfigured means conversion-based bidding doesn't have the right conversions set up. For a new campaign or one with little data, Google says Maximize Clicks "might be a better starting point" than Maximize Conversions or Target CPA/ROAS. Very tight targets have the same effect as low bids; see Target CPA.

Ad Rank: bids and quality

Being eligible is not the same as winning. Google's page on top ads describes Ad Rank as a combination of your bid, auction-time ad quality, the Ad Rank thresholds, the context of the search and the expected impact of assets. If the Ad Rank isn't high enough, the ad may not show, or may show only on later pages of results. Google's troubleshooting list names three causes for a low Ad Rank: "low Quality Score, insufficient bids, or restrictive targeting."

For the quality side, the three Quality Score parts and what to do about each are in our Quality Score guide. For the bid side, the "Search lost IS (rank)" column shows the share of impressions lost to Ad Rank, and auction insights show which other advertisers you meet in the same auctions.

Targeting, schedule and negative keywords

Settings narrower than you remember are a common cause:

• Locations and languages. The ad shows only to people in the locations and languages you chose. Check the targeting options in our location targeting guide.
• Ad schedule. Google's list asks you to make sure your "ad scheduling isn't overly restrictive", and schedules follow the account time zone; see our ad schedule guide.
• Start and end dates. A campaign with a future start date is Pending and one past its end date is Ended (see the table above).
• Negative keywords. Google's negative keyword troubleshooting says to check negative keyword lists too, including lists managed in a manager account, because a negative there can block a keyword you meant to run. It also notes that the keyword diagnosis tests the exact match version of a keyword, so a "negative keyword is preventing your ad from showing" message doesn't mean the keyword can't serve on other searches it matches. How lists and levels work is in our negative keywords guide.

Billing and account status

Nothing runs without valid billing. Google's list says to check the billing summary, because "your ads will not run until your Google Ads account is active with valid billing information." A declined payment has the same effect; our payment methods guide covers it.

Google also says to verify account status before any diagnosis: ads won't serve while the account is "undergoing billing verification or has been temporarily suspended due to security concerns, like an account takeover." For suspensions, see our account suspended guide and, if verification is pending, the advertiser verification guide.

If none of this explains it, Google has an interactive troubleshooter that asks about your case step by step.

How we work through it

This part is our own practice, not Google guidance:

• We look at impressions for the last few days before anything else. If they are there, the ads are running and the question becomes why they show less than expected, not whether they show.
• If impressions are zero, we go top down: billing and account notices, campaign status, ad group, ads, then keywords. The first blocked level is usually the answer.
• We use the Ad preview and diagnosis tool for a few real search terms with the target location set, never our own Google searches.
• We don't edit an ad that is waiting for review unless it has been stuck for more than a business day, so we don't restart the review for nothing.

If you want help planning or running Google Ads, see our services.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I see my Google ad when I search for it?

Your search may be outside the locations, languages, devices or schedule you target, the ad may have lost the auction, or Google may have stopped showing it to you because you saw it many times without clicking. Check the Impressions column, or use the Ad preview and diagnosis tool, instead of searching on Google.

How long does Google Ads take to approve an ad?

Google says most reviews are completed within one business day, while more complex reviews can take longer. If an ad is under review for more than a full business day, check that its campaign and ad group are enabled.

What does "Low search volume" mean?

The keyword has very little search history on Google, so it is inactive until searches for it increase. Bids, Quality Score and ad text don't change it. Wait for Google's regular recheck, broaden the match type, or use a less specific keyword.

My campaign is "Eligible" but gets no impressions. Why?

Eligible means it is allowed to run. Check the ad group, ad and keyword statuses below it, the budget and bid strategy status, Ad Rank (bids and Quality Score), targeting, schedule, negative keywords and billing.

Does searching for my own ad hurt it?

It can. Google says searches that trigger your ad without a click add impressions without clicks, which can lower your clickthrough rate. Use the Ad preview and diagnosis tool, which doesn't add impressions.

For more on running Google Ads, see our guides to Policy manager, Quality Score, ad schedules, Limited by budget and Google Ads basics, or browse all guides.