6/9/2021 Advertiser-friendly content guidelines - YouTube Help

Advertiser-friendly content guidelines

If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, you can share revenue from ads. This article aims to help you
understand which individual videos on your channel are suitable for advertisers. Creators can use this article to
understand both the platform’s self-certification questionnaire as well as specific rules regarding what can run
ads, what can run limited ads and what will not run ads, and should have monetization turned off. Our policies
apply to all portions of your content (video or live stream, thumbnail, title, description, and tags). Learn more
about our best practices. 
Our systems don't always get it right, but you can request human review of decisions made by our automated
systems. 

Note: All content uploaded to YouTube must comply with both our Community Guidelines and our
AdSense Google Publisher Policy . If your content violates our Community Guidelines, it may be
removed from YouTube. If you see violative content, you can report it .

What you'll find in this article

You'll find examples of content not suitable for ads, and will result in a "limited or no ads" monetization
state. 

Here are all the main topics that are not advertiser-friendly:

• Inappropriate language • Firearms-related content

• Violence • Controversial issues
• Adult content • Sensitive events
• Shocking content • Incendiary and demeaning
• Harmful or dangerous acts • Tobacco-related content
• Hateful & derogatory content • Adult themes in family content
• Recreational drugs and drug-related content

Please note that context is very important. Artistic content such as music videos may contain elements such as
inappropriate language, references to soft drug usage, or non-explicit sexual themes, and still be suitable for
advertising.

Inappropriate language
Content that contains frequent uses of strong profanity or vulgarity throughout the video may not be suitable
for advertising. Occasional use of profanity (such as in music videos) won’t necessarily result in your video
being unsuitable for advertising.

Guide to Self-Certification

Violence

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Content where the focal point is on blood, violence, or injury, when presented without other context, is not
suitable for advertising. If you're showing violent content in a news, educational, artistic, or documentary
context, that additional context is important. For example, if a video provides authoritative news reporting on a
violent event in a journalistic context, it may be eligible for monetization. Violence in the normal course of video
gameplay is generally acceptable for advertising, but montages where gratuitous violence is the focal point is
not. All games (whether realistic or non-realistic) are in scope of this policy.

Guide to Self-Certification

Adult content
Content that features highly sexualized themes is not suitable for advertising, with limited exceptions for non-
graphic sexual education videos and music videos. This includes both real and computer-generated visuals.
Stating your comedic intent is not sufficient and that content may still not be suitable for advertising. 

Guide to Self-Certification

Shocking content
Content that may upset, disgust or shock viewers may not be suitable for advertising. Uncensored shocking
elements won’t necessarily result in your video being unsuitable for advertising, but context matters.

Guide to Self-Certification

Harmful or dangerous acts

Content that promotes harmful or dangerous acts that result in serious physical, emotional, or psychological
injury is not suitable for advertising. 

Guide to Self-Certification

Hateful & derogatory content

Content that incites hatred against, promotes discrimination, disparages, or humiliates an individual or group
of people is not suitable for advertising. Content that is satire or comedy may be exempt. Stating your comedic
intent is not sufficient and that content may still not be suitable for advertising.

Guide to Self-Certification

Recreational drugs and drug-related content

Content that promotes or features the sale, use, or abuse of illegal drugs, regulated legal drugs or substances,
or other dangerous products is not suitable for advertising.

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Guide to Self-Certification

Firearms-related content
Content focused on the sale, assembly, abuse, or misuse of real or fake firearms is not suitable for advertising.

Guide to Self-Certification

Controversial issues
‘Controversial issues' refers to topics that may be unsettling for our users and are often the result of human
tragedy. This policy applies even if the content is purely commentary or contains no graphic imagery. 

Guide to Self-Certification

Sensitive events
A sensitive event is usually an unforeseen event in which there has been a loss of life, typically as a result of a
pre-planned malicious attack by foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) or drug trade organizations (DTO).
Sensitive events can cause a mournful response from the public or, at times, an extreme or visceral reaction.
An event must be relatively recent if it’s going to be considered a sensitive event. Context is important: for
instance, authoritative news reporting or documentary videos about a historic event may be eligible for
monetization. 

This policy applies even if the content is purely commentary or contains no graphic imagery. 

Guide to Self-Certification

Incendiary and demeaning

Content that is gratuitously incendiary, inflammatory, or demeaning may not be suitable for advertising. This
policy falls under Hateful & derogatory in the self-certification questionnaire in YouTube Studio, so be sure to
check that one as well for detailed guidance.

Examples (non-exhaustive)

Tobacco-related content
Content that promotes tobacco and tobacco-related products is not suitable for advertising. This policy falls
under Harmful or dangerous acts in the self-certification questionnaire in YouTube Studio, so be sure to check
that one as well for detailed guidance.

Examples (non-exhaustive)

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Adult themes in family content

Content that appears to be appropriate for a general audience but contains adult themes is not suitable for
advertising. This guideline applies even if content is done for comedic or satirical purposes. This policy
falls under Adult content in the self-certification questionnaire in YouTube Studio, so be sure to check that one
as well for detailed guidance.

Examples (non-exhaustive)

All videos uploaded to YouTube must comply with YouTube’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines
. To be able to monetize with ads, you’ll need to follow the YouTube monetization policies and Google
AdSense Program policies. 

We may reserve the right to disable ads on your entire channel in situations where the majority of your content
is not suitable for any advertisers or where there are repeated, serious violations (e.g. uploading of content
which is incendiary, demeaning or hateful).

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