What Google is actually policing
The Destination Requirements policy is not a creativity contest. It exists so a click leads to a page that loads, matches the advertised domain, and can be reviewed by AdsBot. Google’s June 2026 update clarified when a redirect to another domain is allowed: only in named cases, with prior approval — for example a manufacturer sending shoppers to a pre-approved retailer list. That is not a free pass to bounce traffic through an uncertified tracker.
Disapprovals cluster around five labels: not working, mismatch, not crawlable, not accessible, and destination experience. Treat those as engineering bugs, not ‘the algorithm hates us’.
Mismatch is still the expensive one
Display URL and final URL must share a domain. Keyword insertion in the registrable domain is a classic fail. Short links that expand onto a different host fail. Tracking templates that land on different content than the final URL fail. Google’s own mismatch article is explicit: uncertified click trackers are a common cause.
If you need measurement, keep the click on your domain, then fire first-party events. Do not hide the destination behind a chain of 302s that AdsBot cannot reconcile.
Experience: pop-ups, back-button traps, and Better Ads
Google defines a pop-up as any extra window besides the original landing page — timed, self-closing, from the ad itself, download prompts, pop-unders. Interstitials are allowed only if the user can still leave. Destinations that disable the back button, demand an extra app to view the page, or host ad experiences that break the Coalition for Better Ads Standards are destination-experience violations.
This is why a ‘high converting’ overlay that traps the first click is a policy problem before it is a CRO debate.
A working sequence before you spend
Do this on staging, then on the live host AdsBot will see.
- Hit the final URL in a clean browser and on a 320px viewport
- Confirm the displayed domain equals the landing host
- Follow every redirect; stop if a hop changes the registrable domain without documented approval
- Remove auto-open chat, countdown overlays, and extra windows on the first view
- Confirm the page returns 200 to a crawler, not only to a logged-in human
What this is not
Passing destination review does not mean the campaign will pay back. It means the click is allowed to land. Scope, fees, and whether you should even buy traffic belong in a written proposal, not in an ads dashboard screenshot.
If the site itself is the constraint
B2B teams often buy Search before the first screen names the buyer, the job, and one next step. Related work at Kiwi is custom website design and development: a crawlable, accessible destination you own. Submitting a project request is not an ads retainer.
Frequently asked questions
Can we redirect Google Ads clicks to a partner checkout on another domain?
Only in the limited cases Google described in June 2026, with prior approval. Default rule: stay on the advertised domain. Do not assume a retailer hop is fine.
Does a fast LCP score prevent destination disapprovals?
No. Speed helps people. AdsBot still needs a working URL, a matching domain, and a page that is not a pop-up maze. Measure both.
Will fixing destination issues raise conversions?
It can stop wasted spend on disapproved ads. It is not a conversion promise. Google does not certify revenue.
Who should own the landing URL in a B2B team?
Someone who can change HTML, robots.txt, and DNS — not only someone who can edit ad copy. Destination failures are often engineering.
Sources
- Google Ads policies — Destination requirements
- Google Ads policies — Destination experience
- Google Ads policies — Destination Requirements update (June 2026)
Figures cited above are drawn from the linked publications and are the responsibility of their sources; we date and scope them rather than presenting them as universal guarantees.