Buying traffic · also called ad approval, creative review, moderation
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.
Before an ad goes live, the platform scans its text, image or video and the page it leads to. Most checks are automated and take minutes to a day; some ads are sent to human reviewers. Approved ads can be re-reviewed at any time, for example after user complaints.
For arbitrageurs, ad review is the first of two gates. The traffic source checks the ad against its own policies: no false claims, no fake buttons, no sensational health or money promises. Then the feed checks the same visit from the other end. Since 1 November 2025 Google has required publishers using Related Search on Content to pass the full text of the ad that brought the visitor in the referrerAdCreative parameter, so the feed can compare the promise with the page.
A rejected ad costs little. Repeated rejections build a record that can lead to an account ban. Trying to show reviewers a different page from real users is cloaking and is prohibited everywhere.
Think of it like this
It is the bouncer at the door. Getting past him once does not mean he stops watching you inside.
Related terms
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.
Creative
A creative is the actual advertisement a person sees: its image or video, headline, text and button.
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.
referrerAdCreative
referrerAdCreative is a Google AdSense for Search parameter in which a publisher must send the exact wording of the ad that brought a visitor to a related search page.
Compliance
Compliance in search arbitrage means running ads, landing pages and traffic in a way that satisfies the feed's rules, the traffic source's rules and the law, all at once.
Cloaking
Cloaking is showing one version of an ad or page to a platform's reviewers and a different version to real users, in order to hide rule-breaking content.
Sources: Google AdSense Help: Related search for your content pages, PPC Land: AdSense for Search tightens Referrer Ad Creative requirements