Google Ads Placement Exclusions: A Practical Guide
Google Ads placement exclusions prevent ads from showing on selected websites, webpages, mobile apps, YouTube videos or channels, and other eligible placements. They can protect brand suitability, remove irrelevant inventory, or stop repeat waste after a placement review. They are different from removing a placement target: an exclusion blocks delivery, while removing a target may still allow an ad to appear through other targeting methods.
Google’s guide to excluding specific webpages and videos describes placement exclusions at the account, campaign, or ad-group level and explains how to enter URLs, app identifiers, video IDs, and exclusion lists. The right exclusion is the narrowest one that satisfies the actual brand, performance, or inventory requirement.
What is a Google Ads placement exclusion?
A placement exclusion is a rule that tells Google Ads not to serve an ad on a selected content location. Depending on the campaign and control, the placement can be a whole website or domain, a webpage or path, a mobile app, a YouTube video or channel, or another supported publisher location.
The word “placement” describes where an ad can appear; it does not necessarily describe what the person searched. Google defines placements as locations on the Display Network and YouTube such as websites, specific pages, videos, apps, and individual ad units. A placement exclusion removes one or more of those locations from eligible delivery.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Placement targeting | Requests delivery on selected websites, pages, apps, videos, or other locations. |
| Placement exclusion | Blocks delivery on selected locations even if another targeting method would otherwise qualify them. |
| Content exclusion | Removes broader categories or labels of content that may not fit the brand. |
| Excluded content keyword | Blocks content matching an entered keyword where the campaign and suitability control support it. |
| Placement exclusion list | Reusable collection of placement exclusions that can be applied to relevant accounts or campaigns. |
This distinction prevents a common mistake: removing a placement from a targeted list is not the same as excluding it. If the ad group can still reach content through topics, keywords, audience expansion, or automatic placements, the ad may continue to show unless the location is explicitly excluded.
What can you exclude with placement exclusions?
The exact entry format depends on the property you want to block. Google’s placement exclusion instructions cover several common forms.
Websites, domains, and webpages
You can exclude an entire domain, a subdomain, a path, or an individual webpage where the campaign supports that scope. A domain exclusion is broad: it can block pages throughout that domain. A path or page exclusion is narrower and may be the better fit when only one section or page creates the problem.
Do not confuse a visible URL with the exact placement scope the account will apply. Check the entered format and the platform’s current explanation before saving. Google notes that subdomain, subsite, and subpage exclusions do not work on the Search Partner Network, so a campaign that reaches that network may require a different account-level rule.
Mobile apps
Mobile-app exclusions can block a specific app using the supported app identifier format. An app may attract accidental clicks, be unsuitable for the brand, or produce poor-quality traffic. Review whether the app is a genuine placement issue before excluding a broad app category or mobile inventory type.
YouTube videos and channels
You can exclude individual YouTube videos or channels where the campaign supports that control. A video-level exclusion is narrow; a channel-level exclusion affects a broader set of content. Content can change, so review the reason and scope before using a channel rule as a substitute for a single unsuitable video.
Content themes, labels, and suitability controls
Content suitability settings can exclude broader categories or content labels, such as sensitive themes or inventory types that do not fit the brand. They solve a different problem from blocking one website or video. Use them when the business requirement is about a type of content, then use individual placement exclusions for specific locations that still need to be blocked.
Search Partner Network placements
Google states that account-level placement exclusions also apply to the Search Partner Network. That can affect campaigns beyond Display and Video, including Search and Performance Max. Treat an account-level exclusion as a broad control and confirm which campaign types and networks it will affect before applying it.
At what level should you apply a placement exclusion?
The right level is the narrowest scope that satisfies the requirement. A placement may be inappropriate for one ad group, one campaign, a whole account, or every account managed under a manager account. Applying a broad rule to solve a narrow problem can remove useful inventory elsewhere.
| Level | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Ad group | A placement that is unsuitable for one query theme, offer, or ad-group audience. |
| Campaign | A placement issue shared by one campaign’s offer, market, or brand context. |
| Account | A brand-wide exclusion or network-wide rule that must affect relevant campaigns in the account. |
| Manager account / shared list | A consistently required rule that should be reused across linked client accounts, with account ownership and review. |
Ad-group and campaign exclusions
Ad-group exclusions are useful when two ad groups in the same campaign have different brand or performance requirements. Campaign exclusions are broader and apply across the campaign’s relevant ad groups unless the interface lets you specify a narrower scope.
Account-level exclusions
Account-level exclusions can affect multiple campaign types and networks. Google states that account-level rules can extend to Search Partner Network placements and that Performance Max respects account-level and manager-account placement exclusions. Review the blast radius before saving an account-level rule.
Performance Max
Performance Max does not offer the same campaign-level placement workflow as standard Display campaigns. Google’s current Performance Max troubleshooting guidance says Performance Max respects account-level and manager-account placement exclusions, while campaign-level placement exclusions are not available in that workflow.
For Performance Max brand suitability, combine placement exclusions with the appropriate content-suitability settings and review the placement report. The report is not a complete view of every channel or auction, so use it mainly to address brand-safety and clearly unwanted inventory questions.
Placement exclusion lists
An exclusion list is useful when the same set of websites, apps, or videos should be applied to multiple relevant campaigns or accounts. Keep an owner, reason, source, and review process for each list. A shared list can save repetitive work, but it can also spread an outdated exclusion farther than intended.
How do you create a placement exclusion?
Start with the reason for the exclusion, then choose the narrowest location and scope that solve it. A practical workflow is:
- Review placement or placement-performance data, or identify the specific brand-safety issue.
- Confirm that the location is truly unsuitable rather than simply low-volume, delayed in conversion, or misread by the report.
- Decide whether the rule belongs at ad-group, campaign, account, or manager-account/list level.
- Identify the exact website URL, domain or path, app ID, YouTube video, channel, category, or content label.
- Add the exclusion under the account’s current Content or Content suitability controls.
- Verify the saved association, list, affected campaigns, and effective scope.
- Record the reason and review the delivery and business impact after the change.
Google’s current interface places many controls under Audiences, keywords, and content → Content → Exclusions, while account-level suitability controls are available under Content suitability → Advanced settings → Excluded placements. The labels can change, so use the control that corresponds to the current campaign and scope.
Enter the right placement format
Websites, paths, mobile apps, and videos use different identifiers. Copying a browser URL into an app or video field may not create the rule you intend. Use Google’s URL and placement-format instructions and confirm the exclusion appears in the saved table.
Verify before broadening
If one page is unsuitable, start with that page. If the same problem affects a whole domain or content category, broaden only after checking the examples and the business requirement. A broad exclusion can protect the brand but also remove placements that would have produced useful results.
How should you decide whether to exclude a placement?
Use two separate decision tracks: brand or content suitability, and performance. A placement can be unsuitable even if it converts, and a placement can be weak economically without creating a brand-safety issue. The reason determines the evidence and the scope of the rule.
Brand-safety decision
Exclude a placement or content category when it conflicts with a documented brand requirement, legal or policy constraint, client instruction, or explicit inventory standard. Record what made the placement unsuitable and whether the rule should apply to one campaign, the account, or linked accounts.
Performance decision
Review spend, impressions, clicks, conversions, conversion value, lead quality, and the placement’s role in the campaign. A low conversion count alone may mean the placement had little exposure or that conversion lag is still open. Look for a pattern or a clear waste mechanism, then choose the smallest exclusion that addresses it.
Do not invent a universal click, spend, or conversion threshold for every account. The evidence needed to block a high-risk placement may be immediate, while a low-volume performance decision may require more context. Use the account’s actual objective, data quality, and downside of being wrong.
Use placement reports carefully
Google’s Performance Max placement-report guidance warns that placement reports do not represent every channel or type of inventory. They can include categories such as Google-owned properties or anonymous placements, and Search impressions are not treated as placements in that report.
For Performance Max, use the report primarily to identify brand-safety concerns and clearly unwanted inventory. Do not interpret a partial placement report as a complete explanation of all campaign performance or as evidence that every unlisted placement was safe.
Recheck after an exclusion
An exclusion changes available inventory and can alter spend distribution. Check that the intended placement stopped receiving delivery, that the campaign still reaches appropriate inventory, and that the business outcome did not decline because the rule was broader than necessary. Keep the change log so an owner can reverse or refine the rule if the underlying requirement changes.
What are common placement-exclusion mistakes?
Excluding an entire domain for one bad page
A domain rule can remove useful pages along with the unsuitable one. Start with the narrowest path or page that satisfies the requirement, then broaden only when the pattern or brand rule supports it.
Removing a target instead of excluding the placement
Removing a placement from a targeted list does not necessarily block automatic or contextual delivery. Use an exclusion when the actual requirement is “do not show here.”
Applying a campaign rule to Performance Max
Performance Max respects account-level and manager-account placement exclusions, but the standard campaign-level workflow is not available in the same way. Confirm the current PMax control before promising a campaign-only block.
Treating the placement report as complete
Some inventory is grouped, anonymous, or not represented as a placement. A partial report cannot prove that every unlisted location is safe or that placement performance explains the whole campaign.
Blocking apps or videos without checking identifiers
Web URLs, app IDs, video IDs, channels, domains, and paths use different formats. A malformed entry can fail silently or target the wrong scope.
Using a shared exclusion list without ownership
Shared lists can affect multiple accounts and campaigns. Keep a reason, source, owner, and review process so an old client-specific rule does not become a permanent global block.
Excluding low-volume placements immediately
Low volume is not the same as poor quality. Check spend, outcomes, conversion lag, brand risk, and the actual decision before removing inventory that may simply have had little opportunity.
Forgetting the network impact
Account-level exclusions can affect Search Partner Network inventory as well as Display, Video, or Performance Max contexts. Inspect the affected networks before saving a broad rule.
Google Ads placement-exclusions checklist
Before saving an exclusion, confirm:
- What is the reason: brand suitability, policy, performance, client instruction, or inventory control?
- What exact placement or content category is unsuitable?
- Is the identifier formatted correctly for a domain, page, app, video, channel, or list?
- What is the narrowest scope that solves the issue?
- Which campaign types and networks will the rule affect?
- Does Performance Max require account-level or manager-account handling?
- Could the rule remove useful inventory or reduce reach materially?
- Is the exclusion list current, owned, and documented?
- What report will confirm that the intended placement stopped serving?
- What business or brand outcome will determine whether the rule stays?
Practical next steps
Use how to set up Google Ads placement exclusions correctly for implementation, the placement-exclusions settings guide for scope decisions, and the placement-exclusions best-practices guide for recurring review.
If the campaign uses Performance Max, review Google Ads Performance Max alongside Google’s current brand-suitability documentation. Keep placement exclusions separate from Google Ads location targeting and from keyword exclusions; they control different parts of delivery.
For an outside review of placement quality, brand suitability, conversion quality, and account structure, adz.so offers a free Google Ads audit for agencies. The audit should identify concrete risks and tests rather than recommend broad exclusions without a defined reason.