Google’s 3-Strike RAF Rule Explained: How to Protect Your AdSense RSOC Access in 2025

Launching paid campaigns at scale on Meta Ads is a logistical nightmare. Especially when you’re dealing with multiple ad accounts, fan pages, and audience targeting variations. Doing it manually through Facebook Ads Manager is not just inefficient, it’s guaranteed to burn hours on tedious, repetitive work while increasing the risk of human error. But what if you could launch hundreds of campaigns with hundreds or thousands of ads across multiple ad accounts and fan pages in a matter of minutes? That’s exactly what I did! 👊 Instead of spending 8+ hours manually setting up campaigns, targeting, and uploading ads one by one, I used a simple, well-structured workflow that eliminated launch friction and bottlenecks. In addition to that, what makes this workflow even more efficient is the ability to add dynamic automatic optimization rules. The result? A streamlined mass launch process that not only saved time but also ensured budget-efficient adjustments without constant manual oversight. This guide will walk you through every step of the workflow, from setup to scaling, so you can replicate the process and maximize efficiency in your own campaigns. Pre-launch Preparation Define Campaign Structures and Templates The first step I went through was to define the campaign structure and settings I wanted to use. This way, I could set up campaign targeting templates and get them ready for my launches. Below are the following structures I wanted to test: Campaign Structure 1 Campaign Objective Sales Budget Allocation Campaign Level (CBO) Campaign Optimization Event Purchase Placements Exclusion Audience network, Messenger, Ads Over Reels Number of Ads per Ad Set 1 Ad per Ad Set Number of Ad Sets per Campaign Variable (depending on the quantity of the ads) The goal of this campaign structure was to put Meta’s algorithm to work and find me the best creative for each campaign. Campaign Structure 2 Campaign Objective Sales Budget Allocation Campaign Level (CBO) Campaign Optimization Event Purchase Placements Exclusion Audience network, Messenger, Ads Over Reels Number of Ads per Ad Set 3 Ads per Ad Set Number of Ad Sets per Campaign 2–3 Ad Sets per Campaign The goal of this campaign structure is to test which of the previously tested creatives is going to win over the others, as well as see if it gets more results in a shorter period of time. Now that my structures have been defined, all I had to do was create my campaign templates. To save my campaign targeting settings as templates I used TheOptimizer’s Facebook Launcher. Here’s the step-by-step process of what I did. Step 1: Logged in to my Optimizer account and went to Campaign Creator Step 2: Specified the campaign settings like ad account, running status, special categories (if any), campaign objective, bid strategy and budget. Step 3: Specified Ad Set naming structure,  performance goal, pixel, optimization event, country targeting, beneficiary (if needed), and placement exclusions (where I generally either spend a ton of money or time setting it up). Step 4: Saved the campaign settings as a template for later use. This is what actually helped speed up the process by a lot, saving me the trouble of going through the above steps for each and every campaign. I repeated the above steps a couple more times to define a template for the Finance product special category and the employment special categories resulting in three main campaign templates: CBO Purchase $100 US – Excl. AN-MSG CBO Purchase $100 US Fin – Excl. AN-MSG CBO Purchase $100 US Hous – Excl. AN-MSG Pro Tip:  If needed, you can specify the Facebook and Instagram Fan Pages in the template; however, in my case, I left that intentionally undefined since I was going to test multiple fan pages. Organizing Campaign Names and Creative Tags Since I was going to launch a lot of campaigns in bulk, having a clear campaign naming structure and organization of the creatives using tags was crucial for me to avoid potential bottlenecks. In fact, I wanted to test such a flow to make it easily replicable later on and document it in my launching SOPs. Two were the main things I wanted to be well-organized besides the campaign templates. The campaign names The creative tags Regarding the campaign names, I wanted to be able to easily tell which client/supplier I was promoting on the campaign, the buyer name, which vertical/offer I was promoting on the campaign, as well as the launch date. To make things easier with campaign names, as well as the creative tagging, I created a Google sheet where I could easily generate the names and tags based on my input. Below is a sneak peek of how the sheet looked ⤵️ 📋 Click here to get a copy of the sheet. How this sheet worked was pretty simple. Any campaign marked as “Pending” in the sheet is considered a task for the creative team to generate ad creatives for. Each campaign required 6-12 creatives, testing at least 2-3 different angles and 3-4 distinct designs for testing. With these guidelines in mind, the creative team could easily review campaign links, analyze offers, and create the necessary assets. Once the creatives were ready, all they had to do was go to. Creative Library > Media > Upload New Media. To upload the creatives, they simply had to drag and drop the creatives from the local folder, then tag them during the upload process. Pro Tip:  Unique tags for the creatives were already generated in the Google Sheet automatically, so the team simply needed to copy and paste them during the upload. During the testing phase, this process was handled manually to validate the workflow. Once confirmed, creative uploads to TheOptimizer were automated using their API. Meta Ads Automation for Stop Loss and Scaling Although this step may seem unrelated to mass launching, those familiar with the process know how crucial it is to stop underperforming ad sets and campaigns before they waste too much budget. With nearly 100 campaigns ready to be launched, I needed automation to quickly cut losing campaigns and scale winners—all while continuing to launch new ones in bulk. This ensured minimal wasted ad spend and consistent scaling of profitable campaigns. Here are some of the automatic rules I used in this launch. Stop Loss Automatic Rules Rule 1: Pause Ad Sets at $10 without conversions. Although based on a simple logic, this rule struck a good balance between creative testing and minimizing ad spend waste. Rule 2: Pause Non-Converting Meta Campaigns After a Full Daily Budget of Ad Spend I was looking for campaigns that could generate at least 1 conversion within the first day, or when they’ve spent 100% of their daily budget. The campaign’s budget was already set to 5 to 10 times the average payout or CPA goal for the campaigns. Rule 3: Pause negative ROI campaigns after three full days of running. The goal of this rule was to practically turn off any campaigns that by day three couldn’t reach an ROI higher than -30%. If you look carefully at the rule conditions, you will notice that the rule mimics the behavior of the media buyer. That of checking the campaign performance, each and every single day, and making decisions upon the progress of the campaign. If the campaign didn’t improve and pass the required threshold, then the campaign would get turned off. Automatic Scaling Rules Rule 4: Increase the daily budget by 30% twice a week if ROI is stable. Just like the stop-loss rule that kills the campaign after the third day of running if the ROI isn’t getting better than -30%, this rule does the opposite. If over the last three days, the campaign performance is stable according to the ROI threshold set in the rule, then the rules will increase the daily budget of the campaign by 30% two times a week. It is worth mentioning that when this rule changes the budget. It doesn’t do it at a random hour, instead does the change at the beginning of the day according to the other account time zone so that Meta ads starts the new day with a new budget, knowing well what the budget will be for the rest of the day. Rule 5: Duplicate Winning Campaigns 1x Week by Resetting Their Daily Budget This rule is part of my strategy to scale winning campaigns, not only vertically but horizontally too. While […]

Running RSoC without Restricted Ad Features (RAF) is like driving with the handbrake on. You can still move, but you lose the tools that make campaigns efficient. Styling options, advanced reporting, and custom search units are all part of RAF. Without them, optimization slows down and scaling gets harder. The risk in 2025 is that Google can now remove these privileges through the 3-strike RAF rule. Too many violations, and you don’t just lose ads — you lose features that give you an edge. If you’re not familiar with how the strike system works, read this guide first: Google’s 3-Strike RAF Rule Explained. So how do you keep your privileges safe? Let’s walk through five practical steps. Step 1: Use compliant ad templates The fastest way to get in trouble is to write new creatives from scratch every time. Instead, build a set of ad templates that you know pass compliance. These can cover your main verticals and angles. When you launch new campaigns, you only change the details inside a proven safe structure. This lowers the chance of mistakes and makes reviews faster. Step 2: Align landing pages with ads Many strikes come from mismatched pages. If the ad promises car insurance quotes, the page cannot redirect to a loan form. Even small mismatches can count as misrepresentation. Always make sure headlines, visuals, and CTAs connect directly to the ad copy. Think of the page as an extension of the ad, not a separate asset. Step 3: Run pre-launch audits A quick internal audit can save weeks of headaches. Check headlines for exaggerated claims, scan keywords for banned terms, and load the page on mobile to see if it’s fast and user-friendly. A simple five-minute checklist reduces the chance of disapprovals turning into strikes. If you don’t have a checklist yet, see our earlier post: How to Audit Your RSoC Ads for Compliance Before Google Does. Step 4: Automate compliance at scale If you manage multiple accounts or run a feed with partners, manual checks are not enough. Use automation to block risky creatives before they go live. This is critical for feed providers because even if a partner ad breaks the rules, your feed takes the strike. Tools like TheOptimizer can screen campaigns in real time and protect your RAF privileges automatically. Step 5: Keep records and train your team Strikes often happen because teams repeat the same mistakes. The fix is simple: document every violation, note what triggered it, and update your workflow. Share this knowledge with anyone who launches campaigns on your behalf. A trained team and a shared playbook make it easier to stay compliant in the long run. Final thoughts RAF privileges are not just “nice to have.” They are essential for scaling and optimizing RSoC campaigns. Losing them slows you down and can even cut your profits. The good news is that keeping them safe is not complicated. Build compliant templates, match your pages to your ads, audit before launch, automate checks, and keep your team aligned. Follow these five steps and you’ll not only avoid strikes but also protect the tools that make RSoC profitable. For the full strike system details, revisit this breakdown: Google’s 3-Strike RAF Rule Explained. Pair that knowledge with the steps above, and your RAF privileges will stay intact.

In 2025, Google has become much stricter with Related Search for Content (RSoC) campaigns. Violations that once slipped through now get flagged fast. With the 3-strike RAF rule in place, too many mistakes can remove your access completely. Knowing the violations in detail is the first step to staying safe. But just knowing is not enough. You also need to understand what each violation looks like in practice and how to fix it. For the official list of what Google will not tolerate anymore, see this post: RSoC Compliance in 2025: What Google Won’t Tolerate Anymore. In this article, we’ll expand on that list with clear examples and compliant alternatives. 1. Misrepresentation Violation: Claiming results that don’t exist, like “Get approved instantly” when approval takes days. Fix: Use clear and true language. Example: “Fast online application with results in 24 hours.” 2. Exaggerated earnings Violation: “Earn $500 a day from home.” Fix: Avoid numbers unless you can prove them. Safer angle: “Work from home opportunities available.” 3. Fake urgency Violation: “Only 2 spots left today!” when that’s not true. Fix: Use urgency based on fact. Example: “Limited-time signup bonus until Sunday.” 4. Clickbait headlines Violation: “Doctors hate this trick” or “This one simple secret will change your life.” Fix: Stay specific. Example: “5 tested ways to lower your car insurance costs.” 5. Unrealistic salary claims Violation: “Get a $100k job with no experience.” Fix: Keep it grounded. Example: “Entry-level roles available in tech and finance.” 6. Prohibited financial offers Violation: Payday loans or misleading credit repair ads. Fix: Stick with approved financial products and describe them honestly. 7. Health and weight loss promise Violation: “Lose 20 pounds in one week.” Fix: General wellness angles. Example: “Tips for healthier daily routines.” 8. Before-and-after images Violation: Photos showing dramatic transformations for fitness or beauty. Fix: Use lifestyle images that suggest a result without showing fake proof. 9. Misleading search terms Violation: Stuffing keywords that don’t match the page, like “cheap flights” when the page sells insurance. Fix: Only use keywords directly tied to your offer. 10. Thin content Violation: Landing pages that are only ads with no real text or context. Fix: Add useful content. Even short guides or comparisons make the page stronger and safer. 11. Manipulated news or logos Violation: Using fake news articles or unauthorized brand logos to add credibility. Fix: Stick with original copy and licensed visuals. 12. Sensitive or shocking content Violation: Using violent or shocking images to get clicks. Fix: Keep visuals clean and relevant to the offer. 13. Adult or restricted topics Violation: Any adult content, sexual imagery, or products not allowed by policy. Fix: Avoid these completely. No safe workarounds here. Why Fixing These Violations Matters Every violation increases the risk of a strike. Too many strikes, and you may lose your RSoC access permanently. For details on how the strike system works, read this guide: Google’s 3-Strike RAF Rule Explained. By rewriting ads and pages the right way, you keep your campaigns compliant and profitable. The key is not to water down your message but to stay honest, specific, and aligned with Google’s rules. Final Thoughts RSoC is still a strong channel in 2025, but only for those who respect the rules. Most violations happen because buyers push too far with copy or cut corners on landing pages. If you treat this list as part of your daily workflow, you’ll avoid the mistakes that kill campaigns. Combine it with regular audits and automation, and you’ll be ahead of most media buyers still trying to push non-compliant ads through.