Buying traffic · also called ad account disabled, account restriction
Account ban
An account ban is an ad platform's decision to disable an advertiser's account, stopping all its ads, usually for breaking or appearing to break advertising policies.
When a platform's systems or reviewers decide an advertiser has broken its rules, they can reject single ads, restrict the account, or disable it outright. Bans are often automated and arrive without warning, and there is normally an appeal or review process.
In search arbitrage a ban on the buying side is one of the commonest ways a business stalls. Typical triggers are creatives that promise something the page does not deliver (misleading ad, clickbait), sensitive topics handled carelessly (restricted vertical), payment failures, and landing pages that differ from what the reviewer was shown (cloaking, which platforms treat as a serious offence).
It is distinct from a feed suspension, which happens on the selling side, though the same misleading ad can cause both, because feeds now inspect the creative that sent each visitor. The durable defence is boring: accurate ads, a lander that matches them, clean billing, and not depending on one account or one platform (see concentration risk).
Think of it like this
It is the landlord changing the locks on your market stall. The stock, the staff and the suppliers are all still there, but no customers can reach you.
Related terms
Ad review (ad approval)
Ad review is the check an advertising platform runs on each ad and its landing page before, and sometimes after, allowing it to be shown.
Ad account
An ad account is the container on an advertising platform that holds a buyer's campaigns, payment method, spending limit and policy record.
Platform risk
Platform risk is the chance that a company you depend on, such as Google, Microsoft or Meta, changes its rules, prices or products in a way that damages your business.
Misleading ad
A misleading ad promises or implies something the landing page does not deliver, tricking people into a click they would not otherwise have made.
Feed suspension (account termination)
A feed suspension is when the search feed owner or feed provider stops serving ads to a publisher, pausing or permanently ending its ability to earn from that feed.
Policy violation
A policy violation is any breach of the rules set by a search feed or traffic source, from a misleading creative to non-compliant traffic or a wrongly declared parameter.