If your Google Ads campaign status is showing as “Eligible” but not turning “Active,” and you’re not seeing any stats or impressions, it can be frustrating. There could be several reasons for this, and understanding these reasons will help you resolve the issue and get your campaign running. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what you can do to fix the issue and get your ads actively running.
1. Ensure Your Campaign is Set to “Active”
The first thing to check is whether your campaign is actively running. Even though the status may say “Eligible,” the campaign might still be paused or scheduled to run at a later time.
- Campaign Status: Go to your Google Ads dashboard and check the campaign’s status. If it’s set to “Paused,” you need to manually change it to “Active.” You can do this by:
- Navigating to your campaign settings.
- Changing the campaign status to “Enable” or “Active”.
- Start and End Dates: If you have specified a start or end date for your campaign, ensure that the campaign’s current date falls within that range. If it’s past the start date but the status is still “Eligible,” the campaign might be delayed from activating.
2. Check Your Budget and Bidding
Another reason your ads may not be active is due to budget or bidding issues.
- Daily Budget: Ensure your daily budget is set appropriately. If your budget is too low, your campaign may not have enough funds to start serving ads. Google Ads may be holding off on running your ads until there’s enough budget.
- Bid Strategy: Review your bidding settings. If you have set an automated bid strategy like Maximize Clicks, ensure that your maximum bid is competitive enough to compete in the auction. If the bid is too low for the selected keywords, your ads might not be getting shown, even though the status is “Eligible.”
3. Review Ad Approval Status
In some cases, your ads may not be showing due to pending approval or disapproval, which can cause the “Eligible” status to remain unchanged.
- Ad Review: Google Ads reviews your ads before they go live to ensure compliance with its policies. Even if your campaign is set to “Active,” the ads may still be in the approval process. You can check the Ad Status to see if there are any issues, like “Under Review” or “Disapproved.”
- Disapproved Ads: If your ads are disapproved, they will not run. In this case, click on the notification to see what the problem is and follow the instructions to resolve it. You may need to modify your ad copy, landing page, or targeting to comply with Google’s policies.
4. Check Keyword and Targeting Settings
Even if your campaign is technically eligible to run, issues with targeting or keywords can prevent your ads from being shown.
- Keywords: Review the keywords you’ve selected for your campaign. If they are too broad or if there is very little search volume for your keywords, Google may not show your ads. Use Google’s Keyword Planner tool to check search volume and find more effective keywords.
- Targeting Settings: Ensure that your targeting settings are not too narrow. For example, if you’ve set a specific location or audience, but there are no users within those criteria, your ads may not be shown. Consider broadening your geographic targeting or audience to see if your ads get more impressions.
5. Monitor Ad Rotation Settings
Ad rotation settings can sometimes impact whether your ads are displayed as expected.
- Ad Rotation: In the campaign settings, if your ads are set to “Optimize” for best-performing ads, it may take a while for Google Ads to identify which ads perform better, and thus may delay the activation of other ads in the rotation.
- Rotate Ads Evenly: If you need all your ads to start showing immediately, set the ad rotation to “Rotate ads indefinitely”. This will show all your ads equally, and allow you to troubleshoot which ad is causing issues, if any.
6. Check for Account or Policy Issues
Sometimes, Google Ads may prevent your ads from running if there are account-level issues or if they detect any policy violations.
- Account Suspension: If your account is under suspension or has billing issues, your ads may not be shown, even though the status is eligible. Check for any alerts or notifications in your account that might indicate problems.
- Policy Violations: Ensure that your campaign, ads, and website comply with Google Ads policies. Google might be holding off on activating your ads if they detect violations.
7. Give It Time
If everything seems correct but your campaign still hasn’t gone live, be patient. It may take up to 24 hours for Google Ads to process and begin showing your ads. During this time, Google will review your campaign, keywords, and settings to ensure everything is in order.
Final Steps: What to Do if the Issue Persists
If your campaign status remains “Eligible” and doesn’t turn “Active” after you’ve tried the above steps, consider these options:
- Contact Google Ads Support: Use the Help section in your Google Ads account to contact support. Google can provide you with specific reasons why your ads aren’t running, and they can help resolve the issue.
- Review Google Ads Help Center: Visit the Google Ads Help Center for troubleshooting steps and more information on campaign statuses.
Conclusion
If your Google Ads campaign status is staying “Eligible” and not turning “Active,” it can be due to issues with your budget, targeting, approval process, or policy compliance. By reviewing your settings, checking your ad status, and troubleshooting potential problems, you can get your ads live and start seeing stats and results. If the issue persists, don’t hesitate to contact Google Ads support for further assistance.