The review surface
Google publisher policies and restrictions apply to all content on a media resource carrying AFS product-integrated features, whether or not Google-served ads appear there. A US credit card page with editorial copy, an offer table, CTA buttons, and ad units is therefore one review surface. The two failure points covered here are claim wording and audience targeting. The evidence base is Google policy documentation only; it contains no card rates, fees, or approval data.
Rewrite absolute offer promises
Scan for sentences that promise a result the publisher cannot control. The AFS penalty guidance places these in its egregious column: concrete and explicitly stated promises that cannot be fulfilled, free or cash offers, promises to hire, unreasonably cheap offers, promising loans, and specific promises outside the publisher's control. Its savings-account example — an offer "with no credit check" — is the nearest analogue to credit card copy. Approval conditions, credit checks, and product availability belong to the issuer.
"No credit check" is specific and operational, which is why the guidance treats it as egregious rather than merely vague. On a card page, similar risk can sit in an offer ribbon, headline, or "how it works" paragraph. Replace such sentences with statements tied to the issuer's published terms, or remove them. Do not substitute another unverifiable absolute.
Classify vague and unfulfillable claims
Do not treat every weak claim as the same tier. The AFS guidance separates vague or non-explicit promises, and information offered without a tangible offer, from explicitly impossible promises. The table reproduces only its stated classifications and weights; it compares claim patterns, not cards or outcomes.
| Claim pattern | Classification stated | Penalty weighting stated |
|---|
| Promise made but not clear or explicit | Normal example | 5 policy violations = 1 strike |
| Specific information without a tangible offer delivered | Normal example | 5 policy violations = 1 strike |
| Concrete, unfulfillable promise — free or cash offers, promising loans, unreasonably cheap offers, or a promise outside publisher control such as "no credit check" | Egregious example | 1 egregious violation = 1 strike |
The dividing line is specificity and control. Vague promises carry normal-example weighting, while explicit promises the publisher cannot fulfill are listed as egregious. The table does not predict how a particular sentence will be classified; it gives review language for the categories in the retrieved guidance.
Separate the two targeting rules
Google publisher policy sets two different limits. First, personalized advertising of credit-related products and services — explicitly including credit cards and loans — may not target audiences by gender, age, parental status, marital status, or ZIP code in the US and Canada. Banking and certain financial-planning services are also covered. This is not a ban on credit card content; it restricts how personalized ads for those products are selected in those two countries.
Second, personalized ads may not be selected using inferred or actual sensitive information, including negative financial status such as a low credit rating or high debt burden. That is separate from the demographic and ZIP-code rule.
Review ad audience settings and first-party segments. Remove the listed demographic and postal-code targeting for credit-card content in the US and Canada. Avoid inferring financial distress for ad selection. If you use cookie lists, document rights to the data, use an interest-based notice such as AdChoices, and follow frameworks such as the Digital Advertising Alliance principles.
CTA wording and placement
The AFS general policy prohibits ad-related elements that use misleading wording or attention devices to drive interaction, naming "click here to get the best offer," and prohibits making them the focal point of the content. On a card page, review button labels, offer ribbons, and stacked blocks: if the unit dominates the layout, placement itself is part of the problem.
Replace imperative "best offer" phrasing with a plain description of the click action, and verify every claim on the destination page. The traffic-source rule also requires the referring ad or link to describe the destination accurately and not promise offers that are absent or hard to find there.
Required page-level statements
Privacy disclosures are a page-level obligation. Because ads run on the site, the privacy policy must disclose that third parties may place and read cookies in the user's browser and may use web beacons or IP addresses to collect information. It must also cover data collection, sharing, and use connected to Google products. Linking to Google's partners data-use page is permitted.
Google content policies separately prohibit misrepresenting, falsely stating, or concealing information about the publisher, creator, purpose, or content, and prohibit falsely implying affiliation with or endorsement by another person, organization, product, or service. Do not imply that Google, an issuer, or a card network approved the page.
Pre-publication sequence
- Scan claim sentences: flag absolute promises about approval, credit checks, free or cash value, or terms outside your control; replace or delete what the issuer's terms do not support.
- Check targeting: for US and Canada credit-card campaigns, remove the listed demographic and ZIP-code attributes, negative-financial-status signals, and undocumented audience data.
- Check page elements: CTA labels, ribbon placement, source-to-landing-page promise match, privacy-policy text, and implied affiliation.
Record each decision so a reviewer can see why a sentence changed.
Limits of this evidence
The evidence base is only Google publisher, AdSense, and AFS policy documentation. It has no card-market data, issuer terms, APR or fee figures, approval criteria, or independent testing, so it cannot establish whether a particular offer is accurate or suitable. The US/Canada credit-product targeting restriction should not be generalized to other markets. Policy text may change; confirm current wording on the official pages. Nothing here guarantees compliance, ad eligibility, account standing, or a review outcome. This is editorial guidance, not legal or financial advice, and implies no affiliation with Google or any issuer. Card-specific terms and suitability belong with the issuer's documents and, where needed, a qualified professional.
研究の知恵