TikTok has emerged as a powerful platform for brands and agencies looking to reach a vast and engaged audience. However, advertising on TikTok, especially for gray verticals like gambling, Nutra, or other sensitive categories, comes with its own set of challenges. Based on our extensive experience, we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide on how to successfully navigate TikTok’s strict advertising requirements to maximize traffic while minimizing the risk of account bans.

Landing Page Requirements (Web)

When it comes to TikTok, your landing page is your first line of defense against potential bans. Here are the critical requirements and best practices:

1. Compliance with TikTok’s advertising Policies: Ensure that your products do not violate TikTok’s strict advertising guidelines. Familiarize yourself with their policies here.
2. Detailed and transparent content: Your landing page must provide clear, detailed, and transparent information about your products and services, aligning with TikTok’s standards.
3. Clean domain: Use a domain that TikTok or other major networks have not previously blocked. A clean domain increases your chances of passing TikTok’s moderation.
4. Functional and clickable buttons: All buttons on the site must be fully functional, leading to clear actions (e.g., ordering a product or contacting support).
5. Essential information: Include comprehensive contact information, such as a phone number, company address, privacy policy, user agreement, and shipping/return policy.
6. Commercial value: The landing page must clearly demonstrate commercial value, ideally within an E-commerce framework. Avoid low-trust pages like news or articles.
7. Global accessibility: The site should be accessible from any location, as TikTok checks its availability worldwide.
8. No misleading content: Avoid exaggerated claims, unjustified discounts, or misleading elements like fake ratings or countdown timers.

App Requirements (Including Cloaked Apps)

For app-based advertising, TikTok has stringent requirements to ensure compliance:

1. Minimum downloads: The app should have at least 50,000 downloads.
2. Market presence: The app must be on the market for at least one month before advertising.
3. Complete Legal Information: Ensure the app’s legal information, contact details, privacy policy, and terms of use are thoroughly filled out.
4. Policy compliance: The app’s subject matter must align with TikTok’s advertising policies. Prohibited categories like finance, crypto, gambling, and betting are not allowed.
5. Neutral creatives: App creatives in the marketplace must be neutral and adhere to TikTok’s rules.
6. Developer portfolio: The developer should have more than one app published.

Lead Forms and Quiz Pages

When using lead forms or quiz pages, it’s crucial to maintain transparency and adhere to TikTok’s policies:

1. Privacy and Legal links: Include links to privacy policy and terms of use, along with company information (name, phone number, email, address).
2. Clear offer details: Provide a link to the product or service’s cost and description on the website.
3. Policy-compliant creatives: Avoid personalized messages and before/after comparisons. Realistic promises are allowed, but exaggerated claims are not.
4. Prohibited information collection: Do not collect sensitive information such as birthdates, government IDs, or personal health details.

Extending the Life of Your TikTok Ad Account

Maintaining the longevity of your TikTok ad account requires strategic management:

1. Account warming: Always warm up the advertising account with white-hat campaigns before launching gray-hat campaigns.
2. Creative whitening: For gray-hat arbitrage, creatives should subtly hint at the topic without explicitly mentioning it. Avoid any mention of money, income figures, or results.
3. Unique domains: Use unique domains and landing pages for each new account to avoid detection.
4. Limited account approvals: Do not approve more than five accounts per Business Center (BC). A high number of banned accounts can reduce overall trust.
5. Avoid post-launch edits: Do not edit the landing page after the ad campaign launch, as this can trigger re-moderation and potential bans.

Example of Safe Advertising Creatives

When creating advertising creatives for TikTok, it’s essential to stay within the platform’s guidelines. Here are 3 examples from the e-commerce and app advertising: the visuals are attractive and precisely sized to fit the platform’s requirements. The images often feature a call-to-action like “ORDER NOW,” which generally does not violate community guidelines. These elements help capture user attention and encourage purchases while remaining compliant with TikTok’s content standards.

Conclusion

Advertising on TikTok, especially for gray verticals, requires careful planning and adherence to strict guidelines. By following the requirements and recommendations outlined in this article, you can maximize your traffic while minimizing the risk of bans. TikTok offers a vast audience, and with the right approach, it can be a powerful tool for driving engagement and conversions.

For more in-depth insights and strategies on navigating the complex world of digital advertising, stay tuned to the ScroogeFrog blog. We’ll continue to provide the latest tips and recommendations to help you succeed in this dynamic landscape.