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Moving from old ads account and starting new
Posted by on April 1, 2026 at 3:46 amOur business account got flagged as adult content (rightfully so). We’ve completely overhauled the website, new design, new structure, all marketing copy rewritten. Nothing on the site would trigger an adult flag now.
The account is a couple years old so it has some history/karma. Should I submit for review and wait or start a new ads account.
For those who’ve dealt with this: is it worth waiting for the existing account to get cleared, or better to start fresh with a new one? Mainly concerned about whether a flagged account carries a permanent shadow penalty even after being “cleared.”
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1 Reply
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New or existing domain? That may cause issues, whether you start new or not.
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I wouldn’t assume a “shadow penalty” in the mystical sense, but I also wouldn’t start fresh just to escape history if the same business/domain is involved. If the domain or business identity is the same, Google can usually still connect the dots, so a new account doesn’t automatically buy you a clean slate.
I’d handle it like this:
1. submit the review on the existing account with the rebuilt site
2. make sure the new site is obviously non-adult in copy, imagery, metadata, and any old indexed pages
3. check whether the same domain, billing profile, merchant setup, or business verification would also be reused on a new account
4. only build a new account if there’s a structural reason to separate it, not as a superstition playIf the old account gets cleared and can actually serve, I’d usually prefer keeping the account history over introducing a second account with the same business story. The bigger risk is unresolved policy linkage, not “bad karma.”
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Was 3 sites under one account. Now separating all into individual ads accounts
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if it was a legit policy hit before, I’d try the appeal first. sometimes they do fully clear it and performance is normal after, no obvious “shadow penalty” in the data.
that said, in my tests flagged accounts tend to get re-reviewed more often, especially early after reinstatement. not always, but enough to be annoying.
spinning up a new one can work, but only if everything is clean top to bottom, domain history, creatives, billing, etc. otherwise you risk linking issues and getting hit again.
personally I’d run both paths if possible, appeal the old one and prep a new account in parallel, then scale whichever stabilizes faster.
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If the same business, domain, and billing trail are still attached, a new account won’t magically reset the risk. I’d clear the policy issue first and separate the account structure for the three sites so approvals, tracking, and spend don’t stay tangled.
Shariq
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