Google Ads HTML5 upload troubleshooting

Google Ads HTML5 ad rejected? Check the ZIP before you upload

Catch common Google Ads HTML5 upload failures involving file size, unsupported files, missing ad.size metadata, and malformed creative packaging before the ad reaches review.

The short version

Google Ads reports that the HTML5 ad is too large, contains an unsupported file, or is missing the primary HTML file and Ad Size tag.

What Ad-Preflight checks

  • Supported file types and file signatures inside the ZIP
  • Total creative size against the configured Google Ads rule
  • Primary HTML file and meta name="ad.size" declaration
  • Missing assets, insecure references, and click handling

What it cannot guarantee

  • !Google Ads limits vary by ad format and campaign context
  • !The tool does not validate account eligibility for HTML5 ads
  • !Policy, landing-page, and manual review decisions remain outside the local audit

Run it in the desktop app or CLI

Designers and AdOps can drop a campaign folder into the desktop app and follow the visual report. If you work in a terminal or CI pipeline, the same checks are available through the CLI.

  1. 1.Point the CLI at the creative folder, not a ZIP nested inside another ZIP.
  2. 2.Run the standard package command to see the failing rule.
  3. 3.Apply --fix only for supported safe repairs, then inspect the generated ZIP.
  4. 4.Upload the resulting package after checking the report.

CLI equivalent

npx @ad-preflight/cli package ./my-ad --fix

Platform reference: Google Ads: fix error messages with uploaded HTML5 ads

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