Ad Moderation
Moderation is the process of reviewing your ad creatives and the advertised resource for compliance with the Kadam Terms of Service.
The moderator checks:
Ad text and images;
Pre-landing and landing page content;
Whether the creative matches the topic of the target resource;
Domain reputation (VirusTotal, Yandex Safe Browsing, Megafon filters).
If everything is compliant, the ad is approved and activated. If a violation is found, the ad is blocked, and the reason is stated.
Ad Statuses in Your Dashboard
The status of each ad is displayed in the Campaigns → Materials section as a color indicator with a tooltip showing details:
On moderation — the ad has been submitted for review and is awaiting a decision. Impressions have not started yet.
Active — the ad has passed moderation and is serving impressions.
Paused — the ad has been paused by the advertiser.
Blocked — the ad has been rejected by the moderator. The block reason is shown when you click the red icon.
How to Find Out the Block Reason
Go to Campaigns → Materials for the relevant campaign.
Next to the blocked ad, you will see a red icon (an exclamation mark in a circle).
Click the icon — a tooltip will appear with:
the status name (e.g., "Blocked");
the block reason text;
links to screenshots (if the moderator attached any);
a link to the Terms of Service.
If the reason is unclear, click "Clarify reason". The system will create a support ticket (in the Support section) where you can ask the moderator for details.
The same mechanism works at the campaign level: if the entire campaign is blocked, the red indicator appears next to its name.
Common Block Reasons
Target resource unavailable — make sure your landing page is accessible and the URL is correct.
Malicious domain — your domain has been flagged by VirusTotal, Yandex Safe Browsing, or Megafon. Replace the domain or remove Yandex Browser from targeting.
Prohibited topic — the content violates section 5.5 of the Terms. Modify your creative and/or landing page.
Fraud — the landing page contains deceptive content or imitates system notifications.
Please add a second image — the teaser ad format requires two images.
Duplicate materials — you cannot add identical creatives to the same campaign. Use different headlines or images.
Low quality image — replace the image with a higher-quality one (minimum 492×328 px for teasers).
Scare tactics — remove phrases like "Your phone is damaged!" or "Viruses found!" from the ad text and pre-landing. Use "may", "might", or "possibly" instead.
Low efficiency — automatic block due to performance metrics below the threshold. Contact your manager.
How to Fix a Blocked Ad
In the Materials section, find the blocked creative.
Click "Edit" (pencil icon).
Fix the issue: update the text, replace the image, or change the URL.
Save your changes — the ad will automatically be resubmitted for moderation.
Moderation typically takes no more than 30 minutes. The moderation team works around the clock.
What Is Assigned During Moderation
When approving an ad, the moderator also assigns:
Category — the topic of your ad (Gambling, Utilities, Health, etc.). Displayed in the "Category" field in the materials list.
Moderation tags — internal labels that affect which publishers and SSPs can show your ad. Some publishers block certain tags (shock content, adult, etc.), and ads with those tags will not be served on those placements. The "Tags" link is visible next to the category.
CTR (Clickability) — the moderator's assessment of the creative's expected click-through rate. Displayed as a link in the materials list.
Pause After Moderation
When creating or duplicating an ad, the "Pause after moderation" option is available. When enabled:
The ad goes through moderation as usual.
After the moderator approves it, the ad automatically enters the "Paused" status instead of "Active".
This is useful if you want to prepare creatives in advance and launch them later.
This option is available when creating a new material, duplicating a material, or duplicating a campaign.
External Moderation
In addition to Kadam's internal moderation, ads are also reviewed by external traffic sources (external DSP/SSP partners). This is an independent process.
External moderation statuses:
Pending review — the ad has been submitted to external sources. Review time can range from 30 minutes to several hours.
Approved — the ad has been approved for impressions on external traffic sources.
Rejected — the ad has been blocked by external sources. Impressions on internal sources continue as normal.
Important:
Ads approved by external sources may later be rejected.
Block reasons from external sources are not transmitted to the Kadam system — we cannot provide details.
Solution: re-upload the ad or modify the creative.
Campaign Statuses
Campaigns also have their own status, visible in the campaign list:
Active — the campaign is running and receiving impressions.
Blocked — blocked by the moderator. The reason is shown in the tooltip when you click the red icon.
Moderation — the campaign is under review.
Paused — paused by the advertiser.
Counter not installed — you need to set up a tracking counter (pixel or postback).
Awaiting audience — waiting for the retargeting audience to populate.
Awaiting payment — insufficient account balance.
Target resource unavailable — the campaign URL is not responding.
Stopped by auto-rules — the campaign was stopped by configured auto-rules.
Blocked for technical reasons — technical block; contact support.
Notifications
In the Profile → Notifications section, you can configure email alerts for moderation events. When enabled, you will receive an email each time an ad's status changes.
How to Speed Up Moderation
Make sure your landing page is accessible, loads without errors, and matches the ad topic.
Use high-quality images, without watermarks from other services.
Do not use scare tactics, imitations of system notifications, or fake "Close"/"Download" buttons.
Do not use images of heads of state or government symbols.
Check your domain on VirusTotal before launch — if there are 5+ detections, the ad will be blocked automatically.
Full rules: https://my.kadam.net/en/rules