You may be asking why each scenario is different. Well, there are many types of Facebook ads and Facebook’s ad policies apply differently to each industry which is important to know before you try to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
And I’m not even talking about Special Ad Categories (real estate, social issues, employment, loans etc).
How Facebook’s machines apply their striking automation really does depend on a number of factors which I’ll get into next.
You may not know this, but, being more or less compliant affects your CPC, CPL (cost-per-lead), and Cost of Acquisition. The less compliant you are – even if you’re not banned…yet – the more Facebook will charge you for distributing your ads, because they’ll feel it’s content Facebook users won’t want to see, if it isn’t fully compliant.
And, ad costs have been going up. On average, 91% of industries saw increases in CPL in 2023.
But, you don’t have to guess on compliance anymore, as I can help you diagnose and recover from Facebook ad account restrictions.
As Liana Lang, CEO of Power Up Strategy Inc. said, “Please meet Trevor, my ‘secret weapon’ for all things Facebook compliance. I highly recommend hiring him to help you out especially if you plan to be running ads.”
Want the same white glove treatment navigating Facebook shutdowns?
Click here, to schedule a discovery call.
How did I get myself restricted from advertising on Facebook?
You’d be surprised how many businesses are running ads based on what worked5 years ago. Just like advances in technology rapidly change the social landscape, so do changes in Facebook’s ad policies.
Even if you went to the Social Media Strategies Summit, David Velez, Head of Social at Amazon, wouldn’t be able to explain to you how you got banned – none of the experts could, because they haven’t worked side-by-side with the software engineers who operate the automations that ban you. I happened to have this experience, from my work at Meta, and one common theme was how fast facebook ad policies change, the and effect this has on businesses like yours.
What was allowed last year may not be compliant this year. And if you’re still running ads thatused to be compliant, Facebook will show no mercy in shutting you down ASAP. And even retroactively punishing your ad account by flagging old ads that aren’t even active, if they violate new current ad policies. This is what leads to ad bans marketers get, who then try to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
Also a good roadmap: What to Do After Violating Facebook’s Ad Policies
Remove a Restriction on a Facebook Ad Account Flag Type
You can get your ads rejected for violating the spam flags, the Personal Attributes policies, or Facebook could have flagged you as an MLM.
Your eyes would pop out if you knew the list of banned words Facebook has that associate you with a pyramid scheme. If you accidentally used one of these words, even 1 word would be enough to get you shut down.
Ideally, you’d have your ads prescreened for Facebook ad policy compliancebefore going live. Then, you’d never have to try to learn how to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
This can be problematic for many advertisers because you can read all the books on Facebook ads, read all of facebook ad policies and still not get answers.
You can study the top Facebook experts likeMari Smith (one of my clients), or events like Social Media Marketing World but even then, you won’t find anyone there who has worked with thousands of businesses recovering from ad account restrictions or who has worked at Meta with the engineers maintaining these ban bot automations like I have.
That being said, if you want to skip the rest of the article, and get a solutiontoday just book a free discovery call, and if you’re eligible, I’ll guide you every step of the way to get Facebook ads live again and money coming into your bank account from ads safe from the automations.
Just click my calendar link here and book your call now.
How can I tell if my account was restricted?
While Facebook is supposed to send you an email, you may not always get an email telling you that your account is restricted. But, going to Ads Manager, or Business Manager you’ll see this warning when your account is restricted:
And obviously, not being able to run ads and having all your live ads shut down is a pretty clear indicator your account is restricted on Facebook. Part of the ninja skill involved when successfully trying to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account comes down to accurately diagnosing what got you in Facebook jail – before FB bots have a chance to permanently restrict your ad account or Page.
If you haven’t read it, check out: How to Recover a Permanently Disabled Ad Account
What does having my account restricted mean?
If you have a restricted Facebook account, you are banned from using Facebook Ads, Facebook Pixel, Facebook Business Manager, and more. BUT…
The severity of your account restriction depends on:
• Your vertical | Type of Business
• The ad account history
• The type of ban
• The number of bans in the past 3 months
• The amount of approved ads
And a few other factors. Not all bans are the same, and not all Facebook restricted accounts have the same recovery process – or relaunching method when learning how to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
Remove a Restriction on a Facebook Ad Account WARNING
Are people from Bangladesh promising you they can recover your restricted ad account? Don’t fall for it! Read How to Recover Facebook Ad Accounts now
If you’ve been shutdown a lot but never got answers, you’re like one of my clients, Steve Martinez, Vice President of Apollidon Learning.
“Trevor took us through the process of getting one of our University of Texas ad accounts reinstated (within minutes). He offered some critical insights to why our Facebook Ad Account was disabled and shared options to reduce our chances of future issues. We have a better understand of how the algorithm works and know exactly what to do and say if our account gets disabled again.”
Want to see how I can help you? Schedule a free discovery call here. Or, if you’re in a rush, prepay for your consulting call and skip the line.
What do I do if my Facebook account is restricted from advertising?
STOP!!! The 1st thing you need to do is STOP taking further actions on Business Manager and Ads Manager.
So many of my clients before they were clients dug themselves into amuch deeper hole scrambling around with last ditch efforts to save their ad accounts. Which in reality, only made things worse. Yeah – you need to stop and assess your funnel FIRST.
Also – do not believe Facebook ad support, they can get you in worse shape because their advice is ignorant. None of them have recovered from a Facebook ban or even run ads with skin in the game.
They never made real profit from Facebook ads and only read textbook replies – I wrote some of these replies authoring internal documents for process flows at Facebook when I worked there in ads.
Free eBook:Top 5 Reasons Agencies Fail at Facebook
New Fees for Boosted Posts on FB & Instagram on Apple IOS
Meta said Thursdaythat it will start charging a 30 percent fee when advertisers pay to boost the visibility of their posts in Facebook’s and Instagram’s iOS apps.
The change, which goes into effect later this month, stems from a 2022 App Store update where Apple extended its typical 30 percent cut of digital purchases to boosted posts, which are essentially ads.
The changeparticularly targeted Meta and other social appsthat let people pay in app to increase the reach of their content. Meta notes in a statement shared withThe Verge that small business owners and influencers who want to purchase a boost on iOS will now be billed through Apple, “which retains a 30% service charge on the total ad payment, before any applicable taxes.”
It’s like when gas prices went up, and every food delivery restaurant just charged you more, same as Uber & Lyft. Given that Facebook ad policy violations DO drive up your ad costs, that’s why now, more than ever you need to be compliant, because it’s more expensive when you’re not.
ALSO: Be careful whose advice you take when reading articles online. I’ve seen many marketing blogs online, giving the wrong advicefrom hacks just GUESSING on what to do. Or worse, regurgitating bad advice they read on Reddit or in YouTube comments.
If you google “How to Remove Restriction on Facebook Ad Account,” more than one social media magazine is posting inaccurate advice that will jeopardize your brand even more. For example:
What the @#$%&! is this?! You are googling “how to remove restriction on Facebook ad account,” and the result tells you to publish a damn Facebook Page????!!!! Soooo irrelevant. This is irritating af to businesses because it isn’t the correct answer. At all.
Another prime example, SocialSurge Marketing gives bad advice about how to remove restriction on facebook ad account:
This is bad advice. SocialSurge Marketing says that if you lost your rights to advertise unnecessarily they will reinstate you. Incorrect. Banning is done 99% of the time by machines – they have no moral base or conscience about what is fair or unfair.
SocialSurge Marketing also says above to “just try…to wait it out and see if your restriction is only temporary.” Incorrect. Talk to some people who have been banned – some wait over 6 months with any reply. Waiting doesn’t solve sh*t when you’re trying to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
It’s dumb trust – Facebook makes money in the billions they have little to no investment in caring if you speedily get back up advertising or never run ads again. Meta has got money to burn.
Also SocialSurge Marketing saying you should Request Review is a big mistake. Because if you click on “Request Review” you’ll get ONE machine to review ANOTHER machine’s decision. That’s like asking the fox to guard the hen house.
You think a Facebook bot is going to side with a human over another Facebook bot and remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account? WRONG. I’ll tell you what to do next that is a much better option.
Or you can also watch my YouTube video that went semi-viral organically on the BS of suggesting Request Review here:
Remove a Restriction on a Facebook Ad Account Troubleshoot
To troubleshoot your restricted account:
The first step is to audit your funnel and identify the biggest risks when it comes to Facebook ad policy compliance. If you don’t know why you got flagged you won’t have very much to go on when attempting to appeal or remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
Review the Facebook ad policies that apply to your businessspecifically and determine which one the automations caught and flagged you for.
Still a little lost? I’ve created many Ad Guides on Facebook ad policy you can check out.
When you appeal, you gotta know WHY you were shut down FIRST. Most ad agencies have it BACKWARDS. They go in angry, demanding to be told why their accounts were restricted. And asking that their accounts get restored.
You really have to find out for yourself FIRST before appealing, because that will be the heart of your appeal: “I know what I may have done wrong and I’ve learned from it.” This will help when trying to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
On Appealing: Chat in with Facebook Ad Support and get the agent you contact to submit the appealfor you instead of clicking Request Review. This will up your chances by a factor of 100.
Already completely banned?
If you are running ads and spending $100K a year or more on ads, I can help with that.
Confirm your identity
I have one word for you: DON’T. Well at least, not before taken certain stepsfirst.
You may be one of the lucky 2% that actually start confirming your identity and slip through the cracks. But most people?
Once you hit that button it’s game over. Facebook will never confirm your identity because their form is broken and doesn’t transfer the data (like your driver’s license) to Facebook itself. And that definitely isn’t a reliable method to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
There are other ways to get your ads live – all white hat – which are much better than trying to Confirm Your Identity. Well, at least, don’t try to confirm your identity without help from someone who knows how this system works, or you’ll end up in the endless loop.
Are you hacked or recovering from a cybersecurity hack from one of those bastards in Pakistan, Vietnam, Indonesia, or the Philippines? Sadly, it is a HUGE epidemic right now from those specific locations, including Malaysia. Read my full guide on what to do if your Facebook account is restricted from being hacked here.
Complete verification
Facebook’s ad policies will tell you to complete verification but like I said above, and admiral Ackbar reiterates:
Simply verifying a Facebook Business Manager will not remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
Remove a Restriction on a Facebook Ad Account Security
Secure your account
This is a new thing: If you’re a user of a Business Manager account that’s over 90 days old, you may need to enable two-factor authentication to meet Facebook’s security requirements. If you don’t, Meta may restrict your access to Business Manager tools for security purposes.
To reinstate your account, you’ll need to enable two-factor authentication.
If you haven’t submitted your IDs for the verify identity trap, enabling 2FA can sometimes restore your account. I’ve seen it happen – it isn’t reliable as the only solution, but it can help.As long as you don’t put a device, or email that you no longer have access to on your account! !
That’s another trap. Advertisers try to enable 2FA to get their ad accounts back but don’t realize they have an old email associated with their Personal Profile that they don’t have access to. Or an old phone number from a smartphone they no longer have.
You are royally @#$%&!if you do this because Facebook will show no mercy if you tell them, “I don’t have access to this email/device anymore.” Definitely not a solution to remove a restriction on a Facebook ad account.
It’s another good reason for you to make sure that your info is up to date before advertising, before appealing and before enabling 2FA.
