Dynamic remarketing disapprovals: the silent ROAS killer

Introduction

Dynamic remarketing is a crucial component of any e-commerce strategy. Yet many dynamic remarketing campaigns are held back because products are disapproved from showing in dynamic remarketing channels. In this article, you will learn how fixing dynamic remarketing disapprovals can help to improve your Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

What is dynamic remarketing

Dynamic remarketing (sometimes called dynamic retargeting) shows customers display ads for products that they have previously viewed on your website. Dynamic remarketing campaigns are typically very efficient, advertising to qualified prospects who have already viewed a specific product. They fulfil the role of “closer”, helping to get potential sales over the line. As a result, they are a vital part of achieving a consistently high Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). This is why most channels have some form of dynamic remarketing, and Google and Microsoft have built it directly into their shopping campaigns.

Yet many advertisers are unaware that large swathes of their products are ineligible to show in dynamic remarketing channels. When Google Merchant Center and other ad platforms disapprove your products for dynamic remarketing, it directly impacts sales and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

Here’s a closer look at the common problems and solutions related to fixing dynamic remarketing product disapprovals.

Common problems leading to dynamic remarketing product disapprovals

Google, Meta and Microsoft all have their own policies around what products can and cannot be used in personalised advertising. These policies fall into a number of broad categories as follows:

• • Legal restrictions: All ads must comply with local laws. These can restrict what products can be advertised and to whom.

• • Personal hardships: Ads shouldn’t target people in ways that exploit personal difficulties. This may include issues related to health, financial hardship, interpersonal relationships and more.

• • Sexual interests: Most platforms restrict (or exclude) promotion of products that are targeted at particular sexual interests or experiences.

This list is not exhaustive, and the exact details will be different on each ad platform.

Fixing dynamic remarketing product disapprovals

To start getting your products approved for dynamic remarketing, create a list of products that have been disapproved. In Google Merchant Center, for example, you can go to Products > Diagnostics, then set the Destination filter for the table to be “Dynamic Remarketing”.

For each of the errors, review the list of products against the relevant policy. Depending on the product and the policy, you may:

1. 1. Request a review: Google’s automatic detection systems are far from perfect. As a result, products are often flagged incorrectly. This is generally your biggest opportunity for improving performance. If you are confident your product meets the policy, you can often request a review from Google. This will usually take a few days.
   2. Reword your product: Sometimes you can adjust your product data to avoid violating the relevant policy. For example, you might remove certain trigger words from your product description, or reword in such a way that it is clearer what the product is.
   3. Remove from your feed: Finally, if your product clearly violates the policy and you cannot reword it to comply, you can exclude it from your feed. While leaving them there usually does not hurt, removing them can help to reduce the noise and spot products that have been incorrectly disapproved.

Conclusion

Product disapprovals in dynamic remarketing can negatively impact your e-commerce business. They can result in decreased sales and less efficient ad spend. However, with a little bit of effort spent fixing dynamic remarketing disapprovals, you can improve the efficiency of your advertising.