When uploading HTML5 assets in Google Ads, you may receive an error message. In most situations, the problem can be fixed by altering your file and re-saving. You can then try to upload your file again.
In some situations, you can use a tool such as the Google Ads HTML5 validator, which allows you to test your assets before you upload them into Google Ads and check for potential issues.
This article will help you respond to specific issues that may come up while working with HTML5 assets in your App campaigns. Learn more about HTML5/Playable ads for App campaigns
Upload issues
File size is too large
HTML5 assets in interstitial dimensions (320 x 480 and 480 x 320) can be up to 5.2 MB in file size. Larger assets will be immediately rejected, so reduce your asset’s file size as needed.
Dimensions aren't allowed
- 320 x 480 (portrait)
- 480 x 320 (landscape)
To fix the issue, change your asset’s dimensions to the supported ones or use the “ad.orientation” meta tag and set the correct orientation value in which your asset should be rendered.
“ad.size” meta tag and instead use the new “ad.orientation” meta tag to set the desired orientation value of your asset:“portrait”(for vertical assets)"landscape”(for horizontal assets)“portrait,landscape”or“landscape,portrait”(for fully responsive assets working in both orientations)
If you still use the “ad.size” meta tag and provide dimensions other than the supported ones, the error message will still be shown upon upload.
If both meta tags are declared in HTML, the “ad.orientation” value will be used.
If you don’t use any meta tags or have set the orientation values incorrectly, your assets won’t be rejected upon upload but will only be rendered in portrait orientation.
The following file is in a path that includes one or more characters that we don't support. Please remove all instances of these characters from the file's name and all directories, then try again.
The following file is an unsupported type. You should remove or replace this file, then try again.
- .CSS
- .GIF
- .HTML
- .JPEG
- .JS
- .PNG
- .SVG
If you upload other unsupported file types such as .MPEG or .FLA, it may trigger an error. To fix the issue, you should remove or replace it, then upload again.
Your HTML5 ad is trying to reference an asset that is external to your .ZIP file. Only internal file references are allowed (for example, "path/to/asset/in-zip.png"). Make sure that you've included all of your assets in the .ZIP file and that all file references are internal. Once you have made the changes, try again.
- createjs
- cssplugin
- easeljs
- easepack
- Google Fonts
- Google-hosted CreateJS
- Google-hosted Greensock (files should work regardless of version)
- Google-hosted jQuery
- timelinelite
- timelinemax
- tweenjs
- tweenlite
- tweenmax
To fix the issue, make sure that you remove all unallowed external file references from your HTML5 ad bundle. After you’ve made the changes, try to re-upload.
Your HTML5 ad is trying to reference an asset that couldn't be found inside your .ZIP file. Make sure that you've included all of your assets inside the .ZIP file, then try again.
Your HTML5 ad is missing a primary .HTML file. Primary .HTML files include an ad size tag such as <meta name="ad.size" content="width=320,height=480">. Make sure that there's an .HTML file with an ad size tag in your HTML5 ad, then try again.
<meta name="ad.size" content="width=320,height=480">. This doesn’t apply to Google Web Designer assets.<head> section in the source code. You should also add all of the required tags into the source code of your asset:- <!DOCTYPE html> declaration
<html>tag<body>tag- Ad format orientation meta tag within the <head> tag. For example,
<meta name="ad.orientation" content="portrait">
Invalid tags such as <path><path /> won’t be accepted.
To meet these requirements, you may need to extract inline .SVG tags into separate files.
"width=480,height=320".The media bundle contains too many files. Make sure the number of files inside your .ZIP file is less than or equal to 512.
The .ZIP file cannot be processed because the file itself or one of the files inside it was corrupted. Check your files, re-compress them and then try again.
Unsupported HTML5 feature in HTML5 asset
If the issue is with unsupported .SVG tags, there may be tags in your creative code that aren’t included in one of the supported categories, such as container elements, gradient elements and graphics elements.
To fix this issue, check all the files stored within your .ZIP file and search for unsupported tags in your creative code then delete them. You can view the list of all supported .SVG tags. Learn more about the list of supported .SVG tags and their categories
For example, when a sample .SVG file within the bundle is opened in a text editor, the 'rdf:Description' tag can appear. When that tag is removed from all .SVG files, the bundle can be uploaded.
ZIP file from Google Web Designer is not published
- Click Publish.
- Select Publish locally.
- Upload the resulting .ZIP file to Google Ads.
Google Web Designer not created for 'Google Ads' environment
Dynamic product type with correct vertical is required by the media bundle
<meta name="productType" content="dynamic">. This tag is defined for dynamic remarketing for feed-based HTML5 assets.<meta name="productType" content="dynamic"> line from the source code, as App campaigns currently don’t support feed-based custom HTML5 assets.The media bundle is not compatible with current product type
<meta name="productType" content="dynamic">, but dynamic HTML5 assets aren’t generally supported in App campaigns.<meta name="productType" content="dynamic"><meta name="vertical" content="{content_type}"> from the source code of the index.html file.{content_type} placeholder like RETAIL, CUSTOM, among others.HTML5 ads using DoubleClick Studio created ZIP files are not supported
To fix the issue, remove the references to Enabler.js library from your custom HTML5 asset.
The ad exit behaviour is improperly configured
Post-upload issues
Your HTML5 assets are disapproved for 'Invalid fourth-party call', 'Unacceptable HTML5 ad' or both.
<video>tag without src attribute- Undetected external references
- Non-Google fonts that are embedded directly in the file and not referenced from the fonts.googleapis.com domain will cause the disapproval, except for the fonts in the formats listed below:
- .dfont
- .eot
- .otf
- .tte
- .ttf
- .woff
- .woff2
- Note: You may check the list of all supported fonts in Google Fonts.
- Assets embedded in child frames
- Look for tags such as
<frameset>,<frame>, or<iframe>in the source code. Frames allow you to embed external content and even entire websites within an HTML file but aren't supported in HTML5 assets.
- Look for tags such as
- Google Web Designer and AMPHTML creatives
- Look for tags starting with 'amp' prefix, such as
<amp-img>or<amp-ad-exit>in the source code. You may also find references to scripts hosted on cdn.ampproject.org.
- Look for tags starting with 'amp' prefix, such as
Additionally, you can check if your asset is making certain fourth party calls via the 'Network' tab in Chrome Developer Tools. To access:
- Right click on the asset preview in Google Ads or Google Ads HTML5 validator.
- Select 'Inspect' from the contextual menu.
- Click the Network tab.
To fix the issue, review your assets, look for unsupported elements and tags with the Google Ads HTML5 validator, and make necessary edits. After that, try to upload again. You may also learn more about the technical requirements for 'Unacceptable HTML5 ad'.
Ad preview not loading
- Right click on the asset preview in Google Ads or Google Ads HTML5 validator.
- Select 'Inspect' from the contextual menu.
- Click the Console tab.
Ad preview rendering incorrectly
crossorigin="anonymous" to be used in a canvas.Asset not clickable in preview
HTML5 asset not serving
High click-through-rate (CTR) with low conversion rate (CVR)
<script> tag in the <head> and not added through other JavaScript. Otherwise, the live serving creatives will be fully clickable on the entire area of the ad, which may lead to a large number of unintentional clicks and result in poor performance.