Fix Google’s
Unapproved
Substances Violation

Check the inbox of the email address connected to your Google account. Google always sends a message naming the exact policy violated — in this case, "Unapproved Substances." The notice will often name specific ads, campaigns, or product types involved. Keep this email open throughout this checklist as you will need exact details when writing your appeal to Google.

In Google Ads: click the tools icon (wrench) then select "Policy Manager." In Google AdSense: click "Policy Center" in the left-hand menu. Find the specific disapproval or account suspension notice, read it in full, and take a screenshot. Note every ad, campaign, product name, and landing page URL that is listed — each one must be fixed individually before your appeal can succeed.

Google's Unapproved Substances policy prohibits advertising products containing: anabolic steroids or steroid precursors, Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs), human growth hormone (HGH) or substances that claim to increase it, peptide hormones, research chemicals marketed for human use, substances banned by the FDA or your country's health authority, dietary supplements with undisclosed active pharmaceutical ingredients, kratom, and products making pharmaceutical-grade health claims that are not supported by regulatory approval. If your product falls into any of these categories, it cannot be advertised on Google without fundamental changes.

Make a written list of every ad, campaign, product page, and web address mentioned in the violation notice. You must address all of them — fixing one and leaving others unfixed is the most common reason appeals are rejected. Google's review team checks each flagged item individually, and any unresolved item is grounds for another rejection, forcing you to wait another 3 to 14 business days before trying again.

Visit support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6008942 and look for the "Unapproved Substances" section. This page lists every category of prohibited substance and prohibited claim, organised by country. Reading it helps you spot policy violations you may have missed that are not explicitly listed in your violation notice but that could still cause your appeal to fail. Pay particular attention to the list of restricted supplement ingredients and prohibited health claims, as these are the areas most commonly missed during self-audits.

Contact your product manufacturer or supplier and request the full formulation document for every product you currently advertise. This document should list every ingredient — including inactive ingredients, excipients, and any ingredients listed as "proprietary blend" — with exact quantities per serving. If a manufacturer refuses to provide this, or if the ingredient list on your product label does not match what you receive from the manufacturer, do not advertise that product until the discrepancy is resolved.

In the United States, check the FDA's dietary supplement ingredient advisory list at fda.gov. In the UK, consult the Food Standards Agency. In Australia, use the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) website. In the EU, consult EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority). Cross-reference every ingredient in every product against the approved and prohibited ingredient lists for your market. If any ingredient appears on a prohibited or under-review list, that product cannot be advertised until the ingredient is removed from the formulation.

Anabolic steroids and steroid precursors (sometimes marketed as "prohormones" or "designer steroids") are banned from advertising on Google regardless of how they are labelled or marketed. SARMs (Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators — sold under names like Ostarine, Ligandrol, RAD-140, Cardarine, and others) are also banned even when labelled as "research compounds" or "not for human consumption." If any product in your advertised range contains these substances, it must be removed from all advertising immediately.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is a prescription medication. Advertising HGH supplements, HGH injections, or any product claiming to "boost," "stimulate," or "increase" HGH production is banned under this policy. This includes oral sprays, homeopathic preparations, and peptides such as Ipamorelin, CJC-1295, or Sermorelin marketed in supplement form. Remove every product and every piece of ad copy that mentions HGH, growth hormone, or any related peptide hormone, regardless of whether the actual product contains the substance or just claims to stimulate it.

Kratom is banned from Google advertising in most markets due to its unapproved pharmaceutical status. Research chemicals — substances synthesised in laboratories that are sold online, often labelled "not for human consumption" — are also prohibited regardless of their legal status in your country. Other commonly flagged substances include: DMAA, DMBA, DHEA, androstenedione, tianeptine, phenibut (in some markets), and products containing ephedrine or synephrine above permitted limits. If any of your products contain or reference these substances, they must be removed from your advertising.

Some supplement products sold as "natural" or "herbal" are found upon laboratory testing to contain undisclosed pharmaceutical active ingredients (APIs) — for example, sildenafil (the active ingredient in Viagra) hidden in male enhancement supplements, sibutramine hidden in weight loss products, or stimulants hidden in pre-workout products. Google bans these products because they are effectively undisclosed drugs. If you have not had your products independently tested by an accredited laboratory, you cannot be certain they do not contain undisclosed APIs. Third-party lab testing is the only way to verify this.

Any product that contains a banned or unapproved substance must be removed from your website's advertising entirely. This means: removing the product from any page where Google Ads or AdSense is displayed, removing it from any shopping feed connected to Google, and pausing or deleting all ads that link to or mention that product. You do not necessarily have to remove the product from your website entirely, but it must not be promoted through Google's advertising systems in any form until it has been reformulated and cleared.

Supplement products are not approved medicines, and their advertising cannot claim they diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition. Remove language like: "treats diabetes," "cures cancer," "prevents heart disease," "reverses Alzheimer's," or any other disease-specific claim. This rule applies to every page where Google ads are shown — including blog posts, landing pages, and product descriptions. Even referencing studies or citing scientific papers to support a disease claim is a violation if the claim itself is prohibited.

Even if a product does not contain a banned substance, claiming it has pharmaceutical-grade effects is a violation. Remove language that implies drug-like activity: "clinically proven to," "pharmaceutical-grade formula," "as effective as [medication name]," "replaces [prescription drug]," "acts like steroids without the side effects," or similar phrasing. Product descriptions must be factual, accurate, and supported by evidence appropriate for a food supplement — not a pharmaceutical drug.

Products labelled as "research chemicals," "for laboratory use only," or "not for human consumption" are prohibited from Google advertising regardless of how they are physically labelled. This labelling is commonly used to attempt to circumvent regulations on substances that are effectively sold and used by humans. Advertising these products on Google is a direct violation of the Unapproved Substances policy. Remove all such products from your ad campaigns and product feeds immediately.

Testimonials and before-and-after images that suggest results achievable only through pharmaceutical intervention — for example, a 40kg weight loss in two months, significant muscle mass gains attributed to a supplement, or complete elimination of a medical symptom — imply a drug-level outcome and are not permitted for supplement products on pages served by Google's ad systems. Replace extreme before-and-after testimonials with genuine, realistic customer feedback that accurately represents what the product can realistically achieve as a supplement.

In the United States, dietary supplements must carry the following FDA disclaimer on all advertising: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease." In the UK, EU, and other markets, equivalent disclaimers are required by local advertising authorities. Add the appropriate disclaimer for your market clearly and prominently on every product page, landing page, and anywhere you make any health-related claim about your products.

Product names that include or are derived from banned substance names — for example, "SARMz," "HGH-Pro," "Anabolic X," "Sterol Max," or similar names that reference or imply a connection to banned substances — are flagged by Google's automated systems even when the product itself may not contain the banned substance. If any product in your range has a name that references or implies a connection to an unapproved substance, rename it before attempting to advertise it again on Google.

Go through every active, paused, and recently ended campaign. Pause or delete every ad that promotes any product containing a banned ingredient, makes a prohibited health claim, references an unapproved substance in any way, or links to a landing page with non-compliant content. Keeping disapproved or policy-violating ads in your account — even in a paused state — negatively affects your account standing during the appeal review process and can result in a lengthier suspension period.

Review every headline and description line in every ad in your account. Remove: drug-comparison language ("stronger than steroids"), disease-treatment claims ("reduces blood sugar"), HGH or SARM references, banned substance names, research chemical terminology, extreme result claims, and pharmaceutical-sounding descriptors. Replace with honest, factual language about what the product contains and what it is generally taken for, without making specific health or performance claims that imply pharmaceutical-level action.

Before-and-after images in ads that depict rapid or extreme physical transformation — particularly for weight loss, muscle gain, or body composition change — imply results achievable only through pharmaceutical intervention and violate both the Unapproved Substances policy and Google's Misleading Content policy. Remove all such images from every display ad, responsive ad, and image extension across all campaigns. Replace with professional product imagery or lifestyle images that do not depict extreme physical changes.

Visit every URL used as a landing page in your ad campaigns by clicking through from an incognito browser window, exactly as a visitor arriving from an ad would see it. On each landing page, confirm that: all disease-treatment claims have been removed, all pharmaceutical-sounding product descriptions have been updated, the required regulatory disclaimer is prominently visible, no banned substance names appear in product descriptions or headings, and no extreme before-and-after testimonials are present. An ad with fully compliant copy that links to a non-compliant landing page will still be disapproved.

Ad extensions — including sitelink extensions, callout extensions, structured snippets, promotion extensions, and image extensions — are subject to exactly the same Unapproved Substances policy as your main ad copy. Go through every active extension at account, campaign, and ad group level. Remove any extension that references a banned substance, makes a disease-treatment claim, uses pharmaceutical language, or links to a non-compliant page. Extensions set at account level apply to every ad in your account and are often overlooked during audits.

Keywords that target people actively searching for banned substances — such as SARM names, steroid product names, HGH supplements, research chemicals, or other prohibited categories — are themselves a signal of policy intent and can contribute to account-level violations even when the ads themselves have been cleaned up. Review every keyword list across all campaigns. Remove keywords that specifically target banned substance categories and replace them with keywords targeting the legitimate, compliant products you continue to sell.

Third-party laboratory testing by an accredited facility (such as an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited lab) is the only way to independently confirm that your products contain exactly what the label states, do not contain any undisclosed active pharmaceutical ingredients, and are free from banned substances. Commission testing for every product you currently advertise or intend to advertise in the future. Labs that specialise in dietary supplement testing include Eurofins, NSF International, Informed Sport, and Labdoor. Retain the test results as documentation for your appeal and for your ongoing compliance records.

A Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is a document issued by a laboratory that confirms the tested composition of a product batch. Your product manufacturer should be able to provide a CoA for every product they produce. If they cannot, or if they refuse to provide one, this is a serious red flag and you should not advertise that product. The CoA should confirm: the tested ingredients and their quantities, the absence of banned substances, the batch number, the testing date, and the accreditation of the laboratory. Keep these on file for every product you advertise.

If any of your products contain a banned ingredient, work with your manufacturer to reformulate the product by removing that ingredient entirely. This is the only permanent solution — you cannot simply stop advertising the product and expect the violation to be resolved if the product continues to be sold on your website in the same form. Once reformulated, have the updated product independently tested to confirm the banned ingredient has been successfully removed before resuming advertising. Document the reformulation date, the change made, and the laboratory confirmation.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates supplement advertising and requires that all health claims be truthful, not misleading, and substantiated by competent scientific evidence. In the UK, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) applies similar standards. In other countries, the equivalent body applies. Review all your advertising claims against the specific guidance published by the authority in your country. Claims that would violate FTC or ASA rules are also likely to violate Google's policy, as Google aligns with these regulatory standards.

Your website must have a Terms of Use or Terms & Conditions document that is easy to find (linked in the footer of every page) and that covers: the fact that your products are food supplements and not medicines, a statement that your products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, that results may vary between individuals, that customers should consult a healthcare professional before using supplements, and how customers can make complaints or returns. This document is reviewed as part of any policy compliance assessment.

To prevent future violations, update your process for evaluating new products and new suppliers. Before advertising any new product going forward, require your suppliers to provide: a full ingredient declaration, a current Certificate of Analysis, confirmation that no ingredients are on banned lists, and confirmation that the product complies with the regulations in every market you sell into. Add these requirements as a written clause in any supplier contract. This protects you if a supplier changes a formulation without notifying you.

Open an incognito or private browsing window (Chrome: Ctrl+Shift+N, Mac: Cmd+Shift+N) and visit every page that was flagged or that you have changed. An incognito window shows your site exactly as Google’s review system or a first-time visitor would see it — without your cached data or login status affecting what appears. On each page, confirm: all banned substance names are gone, all prohibited health claims have been removed, all disclaimers are clearly visible, and all reformulated products have updated descriptions. Then repeat the full check on a mobile phone.

Before contacting Google, document every fix in a specific, numbered format. Example: "1. Removed SARM product 'RAD-140 Pro' from all campaigns and product feeds on [date]. 2. Rewrote all ad copy for 'Protein Plus' to remove 'clinically proven' claims. 3. Added FDA disclaimer to all 22 product pages on [date]. 4. Submitted independent lab test for 'Weight Pro' product — results confirm no prohibited substances (CoA reference: XXXX). 5. Removed 'boosts HGH' language from 5 product descriptions." Specific, dated evidence is far more convincing than a general statement that changes were made.

For Google Ads: log in → Tools (wrench icon) → Policy Manager → find the disapproved item → click "Appeal" → paste your numbered evidence list. Submit once and wait. Submitting the same appeal multiple times does not speed up the process — it can delay it and trigger additional scrutiny. If your appeal is rejected, read Google's response carefully, address whatever they indicate is still unresolved, and then appeal again. Google typically responds within 3 to 14 business days. Check your email and the platform dashboard daily.

Once reinstated, prevent future violations by creating a checklist you complete before advertising any new product. This checklist should include: confirming the product has a current CoA from an accredited lab, confirming no ingredient is on a prohibited list, confirming all product claims comply with FTC and local advertising guidelines, confirming the required regulatory disclaimer is in place, and confirming the product name does not reference or imply a connection to any banned substance. Making this a required step before any new campaign launch can prevent months of lost ad revenue from future violations.

If your business sells a wide range of supplements, operates in multiple countries with different regulations, sources products from several manufacturers, or if you receive repeated violations despite making changes, engage a specialist in supplement regulatory compliance. A qualified consultant can review your entire product portfolio against Google's policies and applicable regulations, identify high-risk items you may have missed, help you establish compliant advertising practices long-term, and represent your case when dealing with repeated or escalated violations. The cost of professional guidance is consistently lower than the revenue lost during sustained advertising downtime.