Google has revised the documentation for its Google Ads location asset requirements, tightening terminology and adding troubleshooting guidance rather than altering policy. Google said the update was meant to “improve terminology, enhance readability, and include troubleshooting steps,” and stated it “does not change enforcement of this policy.”
Search Engine Roundtable, comparing the new document against an archived prior version, reported added sections on tobacco, recreational drugs, and restricted targeting, plus removed sections on misleading content and unclear relevance. The editorial policy section now spells out fix steps: advertisers disapproved for capitalization or symbol issues must correct the business name in Google Business Profile, then unlink and re-link it in Google Ads. The rewrite also drops legacy terms like “extension” in favor of “assets.”
This is a wording pass, not a compliance change. Advertisers with approved location assets need not resubmit anything, and those hitting formatting disapprovals now have a documented fix path instead of an appeal.
Search Engine Roundtable, in a report by Barry Schwartz published September 9, 2026, first documented the wording changes to Google’s location asset requirements.
