Your TikTok Ads aren’t delivering, maybe they’re stuck in review, spending too slowly, or showing zero reach. Don’t panic! This is a common challenge for advertisers at all levels. In this blog post, we’ll explore 12 common reasons for this issue and provide you with valuable tips to resolve it quickly and safeguard your future campaigns!
‘TikTok ads not delivering’ is a common issue where advertisements are not receiving any results or impressions. Despite setting up ad campaigns and allocating budgets, these ads do not reach the intended audience or generate the desired engagement.
This can be a frustrating experience for advertisers cause the ad budget is actively spent but shows no impressions or a lack of interaction with the ad content.
It’s important to keep in mind that ‘not spending’ and ‘not delivering’ are distinct cases, even though they can have an impact on each other, and both lead to delivery issues.
No delivery (TikTok Ads not delivering): Ads are still running and spending but result in no impressions or engagement.
Under-delivery (TikTok Ads not spending): Ads are not spending the daily budget as expected.
How to identify if your ads are delivering or not?
To see whether your TikTok ads are delivering, go to TikTok Ads Manager. From the top menu, click on “Campaign“. Here you’ll see a dashboard listing all your campaigns, ad groups, and ads.
“Pending” or “Under Review”: Your ads are not live yet and will not deliver until approved.
“Active”: Your ads are live, but you still need to check metrics like impressions and spend to confirm actual delivery. If you see “Active” but have zero impressions or spend, your ads are likely not delivering effectively.
“Not Delivering” or “Limited”: This is the problem we are mentioning. It could be due to low bids, small audience size, budget issues, or policy violations.
TikTok Ads Not Delivering: 12 Reasons & Fixes
Mega Digital has identified 12 factors that might be contributing to your ad campaigns falling short of expected results. Explore them below with expert solutions for you to deliver your ads effectively!
Reasons
Fixes
Account under review or rejected
Wait for review approval or create a new account if penalized. Follow TikTok’s checklist.
Currency mismatch
Set your ad account currency to match your target country’s currency.
Out of budget
Meet TikTok’s minimum budget: $50 for campaigns, $20 for ad groups. Adjust budgets on time.
Insufficient balance
Add funds to your account via the Payment section in TikTok Ads Manager.
Outside of schedule
Schedule ads 2–3 hours early and use “Run All Day” to avoid sudden pauses.
Overlapping targeting
Avoid stacking too many filters; simplify audience setup.
Too niche targeting
Broaden your audience or use Lookalike Audiences to increase reach.
Too large targeting
Refine audience by selecting only key traits to maintain relevance.
Low bidding strategy
Raise your bid or use Smart Optimization. Go 30% above suggested if needed.
Unsuitable content
Use native TikTok formats, trends, UGC, and influencers for better engagement.
Inaccurate ad size
Use proper video specs (1080×1920, 9:16). Avoid low-res or obscured visuals.
Limited optimization volume
Start with broader goals (e.g., Add-to-Cart), increase budget, and allow learning time.
1. Account under review or rejected
If you are facing the issue of TikTok ads not converting, the first thing to check is whether your account is under review by TikTok.
Before your account is issued, TikTok will review it to ensure compliance with Advertising Policies. So, what can happen during this time?
Status
Meaning
In review
Ad account is being reviewed after creating or modifying information.
Not approved
Ad account has failed the reviewing process.
Penalized
Ad account is disabled due to violations of the ads policy.
Account reviews can take up to 24 hours. Campaigns and ads will not be delivered during this time. Ads will also be paused while in the review queue. Ads must be approved if they are new or if a part of the ad has been changed.
How to fix:
You should wait until it passes TikTok’s evaluation before adding ad creatives.
If your account is denied, TikTok will show you what criteria you are missing or violating to be approved. However, there is only one solution for the penalized account: create a new one and avoid violating advertising policies.
To help you to avoid delays in the reviewing session, here is the checklist:
Landing Page: Ensure it contains valid information, is mobile-friendly, and avoids prohibited products and sensitive information.
Ad Messaging: Align your ad messaging with the product/service on your landing page. Match the ad text with the content in your videos or images and ensure the display name matches the branding on the landing page.
Ad Language: Use languages accepted in your target location.
Ad Quality: Follow TikTok’s specifications for images and videos. Ensure clear and coherent background audio.
2. Currency Mismatch
If you are running TikTok advertisements and are not seeing the desired results, it may be because your currency does not correspond to the target nation. For example, if you advertise in German, your product price must be in EURO, while Yen is for Japan.
How to fix:
In this situation, ensure that the currency on your ad account is set correctly. You can do this by going to the Currency part in your ad settings. Please change it to the currency of the nation you’re targeting.
3. Out of budget
This is a common problem faced by many TikTok advertisers. TikTok requires a minimum budget of $50 at the campaign level and $20 at the ad group level. If your set budget falls below these thresholds, your ads won’t deliver, even if everything else is set up correctly. To ensure your campaign runs smoothly, always meet the minimum budget required.
How to fix:
TikTok Ads Manager operates on Pacific Time (PT), so make sure to adjust your daily budgets before 00:00 PT if you plan to increase or decrease them. If your ad has already spent its daily budget, it will pause until the next day unless you raise the limit.
4. Insufficient Balance
TikTok requires your account to have sufficient budget before the algorithm starts delivering your ads. Therefore, an insufficient account balance can result in TikTok ads not approved, causing them to stop running and receive no interactions.
How to fix:
To resolve this issue, follow these steps to top up your account balance:
Step 1: Log in to your TikTok Ads account, navigate to the Tools section, and select Payment under Settings.
Step 2: Click on Add balance.
Step 3: Enter the amount you wish to add and confirm the transaction.
Step 4: Select your payment method and provide the necessary payment details.
Step 5: Wait for the payment to be processed and verify your account balance to ensure it has been successfully updated.
5. Outside of schedule
TikTok Ads Outside of Schedule happens once you’ve scheduled an ad; it will be marked with a red dot labeled “out of schedule” until the ads receive approval and begin spending. If you’ve set the schedule for midnight, the status will change to green, and the ad will start utilizing your allocated budget.
Conversely, if you’ve scheduled the ads to begin immediately, they will remain in an “out of schedule” status until they receive approval and commence running.
How to fix:
Patiently wait for the approval state and the scheduled time to work in your favor. Of course, TikTok will take its time to assess your video. Therefore, you need to set your time for 2-3 hours in advance.
The time schedule should be set depending on the customer’s goals. However, I recommend that customers run ads ALL DAY. This is more efficient for the system and prevents ads from being stopped abruptly.
6. Overlapping targeting
Overlapping targeting is when multiple targeting options or criteria intersect or coincide, potentially leading to a more focused but narrower audience. This can occur when advertisers use several targeting parameters simultaneously, and the combined criteria reduce the audience size.
How to fix:
Select the criteria and characteristics of the target ad group.
Avoid choosing features that are too specific, or you will make the mistake of targeting too deeply.
7. Too Niche Targeting
Too in-depth targeting is also a problem. TikTok will narrow the pool of users accessing your ads. Therefore, if your ads target too specific user groups, it will lead to poor visibility, less interaction, and less spending.
How to fix:
Expand the targeted audience range, including potential customers or Lookalike Audiences in the Ad Manager setting.
8. Too Large Targeting
This problem is the opposite of in-depth targeting. In-depth targeting does not apply to this issue. TikTok will eventually show your ads to all users, including those who have never used the goods or services you’re advertising. Users who find your ads offensive may also report you, affecting ad delivery.
How to fix:
Re-optimize the target customer. You should combine information about gender, age, interests, and topics they often watch on TikTok. However, only choose some of the most specific characteristics of the target audience to avoid the overlapping issue. Then, let’s TikTok algorithm do its job to optimize audiences accordingly.
9. Low Bidding Strategy
TikTok bidding methods is one of the most influential factors determining your ads. Therefore, your bidding price needs to be balanced with the market.
TikTok bidding methods allow users to bid for ad placements, which means the higher you bid, the better ad placement you can get. As a result, if your bidding is too low, your ad will be placed under your competitors. So, who will scroll long enough to see your advertisements? Therefore, it is essential to consider using your competitors’ bidding prices to ensure your plan stays following the market.
How to fix:
Adjust bids according to bidding methods and relative competitors. If you are new to running ads on TikTok, you can use Smart Optimization to optimize bids automatically.
According to TikTok’s research, setting a bid 30% higher than the system’s suggestion can increase conversion rates by up to 20%.
10. Unsuitable Content
There are two most common issues that many advertisers can make within ad content on TikTok:
Reposting content from other platforms
Using outdated content to advertise
These types of content often fail to attract users because TikTok’s distribution algorithm focuses on users’ experiences. If a video is not optimized according to TikTok’s standard format or conveys unhelpful content, it is understandable that advertising cannot deliver to users or not spend.
How to fix:
Ads on TikTok are all about embracing the community’s spontaneity, creativity, and fun. Therefore, Mega Digital usually proposes 3 keynotes to make ads that suit the TikTok platform:
Adapt to UGC (user-generated content) to create ads related to viewers.
Include KOL, KOC, and influencers in the ads to attract users.
Keep up with the trends, including soundtracks, filters, or hashtags.
Let’s take some of the best TikTok ads examples from big brands and utilize them to make yours.
11. Inaccurate Ads size
Running into the issue of incorrect ad sizes can result in a variety of problems that may impact the assessment, such as:
Low resolution or blurry video/image.
Covered video/image with the caption or TikTok logo.
Incomplete text in videos.
How to fix:
Remember that TikTok video dimensions are 1080×1920 and must follow the aspect ratio:
Vertical (9:16)
Square (1:1)
Horizontal (16:9)
If you want to use a background, avoid using black or white.
12. Limited Optimization Event Volume
When running conversion-optimized campaigns (e.g., Purchase, Add-to-Cart), TikTok requires a minimum number of events (around 50 per week) for the algorithm to learn and deliver effectively. If your campaign doesn’t generate enough conversions, delivery may slow down or stop altogether as the system lacks data to optimize.
How to fix:
Start with broader goals like “Add-to-Cart” or “View Content” instead of “Purchase.”
Increase your daily budget to generate more conversion signals (aim for 10× your target CPA).
Allow the campaign time to complete the learning phase before making major changes.
We’ve compiled all the essential insights, tips, and solutions into our comprehensive ebook ‘Cracking all TikTok Ad Issues: Expert Strategies for Troubleshooting.’ Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or new to TikTok advertising, this resource is a must-have. Save this and steer clear from all TikTok Ads issues from now on!
Final Word
TikTok has clear TikTok Ad review checklist you can consult before creating and running ad campaigns. To avoid the issue of having your ad account suspended or TikTok ads not delivering, make sure to follow and adhere to all of TikTok!
If you still encounter issues, contact us now for expert support!
Kaylin Hoang is an Ads expert at Mega Digital, passionate about crafting data-driven strategies that deliver real results. Her insightful advice helps businesses maximize ROAS and thrive in the digital landscape.
