How do you keep low quality sites out of Google Display campaigns?
Part of Google Ads placements
The short answer
Combine three layers. Set account level content suitability and placement exclusions before launch, keep topics and keywords out of ad groups that use a placement list, and review the where ads showed report weekly, opening suspect sites before excluding them. For the tightest control, target an approved placement list, since optimized targeting then limits serving to those placements.
Key takeaways
- Google's settings reduce sensitive content, but none of them is documented as a made-for-ads detector, so opening the sites in a placement review is the step that checks quality.
- Google recommends spending an hour or more each week analyzing Display performance, and warns that placement level results are generally not statistically significant.
- A suspect row in the placement report is a lead: open the site and check it against the ANA's five characteristics of made-for-advertising sites before excluding it.
- Targeting an approved placement list is the tightest Google Ads control, because optimized targeting limits serving to manually selected placements and still honors exclusions.
Which Google Ads settings reduce low quality inventory?
No Google Ads setting is labeled low quality or made for advertising. The controls Google offers were built for suitability, and they help with quality only at the edges. Google's content suitability page (opens in a new tab) describes three inventory types: Maximum lets you show ads across all available inventory, Moderate excludes strong profanity, dramatized violence and sexually suggestive themes, and Limited is intended to exclude as much sensitive content as possible and may limit your reach and performance.
| Control | What Google says it does | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Inventory type | Filters sensitive content at three levels, from Maximum to Limited | Judge whether a site is built mainly to show ads |
| Content type exclusion: below the fold | Excludes the section of a page people have to scroll down to view, in Display campaigns only | Remove a cluttered site; it limits where on the page the ad sits |
| Excluded placements (account level) | Blocks named domains across the account and overrides campaign settings | Find new weak sites on its own |
| Excluded content keywords and themes | Keeps ads off content related to chosen words or themes | Assess ad density, refresh or traffic sources |
| Optimized targeting off, or manual placements | Limits serving to selected placements when they are chosen | Vet the placements chosen |
Two settings paths are documented. Google's help pages gave two paths when checked in October 2026, Tools > Content suitability and Admin > Account settings; confirm in the account. Account level placement exclusions, per Google's account level exclusion page (opens in a new tab), typically take effect within 12 hours, so add them the day before a launch.
How do you keep low quality sites out of Google Display campaigns?
The routine below runs in three phases: before launch, during the first weeks, and on a weekly cadence after that. It assumes a Display campaign. Google began a phased rollout of a migration tool that moves Display campaigns to Demand Gen in June 2026, and Google's help pages disagreed on Demand Gen exclusions when checked in October 2026, so confirm the exclusion options in the account for any migrated campaign.
A quality routine for one Display campaign
- Set the account floor. Before launch, choose the inventory type, add below the fold as an excluded content type if the brief calls for it, and load the agency's standing placement exclusions at account level.
- Separate the ad groups. Keep the approved placement list in its own ad group with no topics or Display keywords, because Google says ads show on content matching any of the targeted topics, placements or keywords.
- Decide on expansion. For audience ad groups, decide whether optimized targeting stays on. Google's optimized targeting page (opens in a new tab) gives the steps to clear it in the ad group's settings.
- Read the first report after a few days. Google's Display bidding page (opens in a new tab) suggests waiting a few days after launch before looking, and a couple of weeks before making too many changes.
- Review weekly. Open the where ads showed report, sort by impressions, and open each unfamiliar site in a browser before acting on it.
- Exclude at the right level. Sites that fail the review go into the account level list with the date and reason, so the account's campaigns inherit the block.
How often should Display placements be reviewed?
Google's own figure is a time budget, not a calendar. Its page on evaluating Display performance (opens in a new tab) says to try to spend an hour or more each week analyzing the performance of Display ads, and to look for poor performing placements to exclude based on how they compare with your other placements. That hour covers more than quality, so a buyer focused on site quality can give part of it to the placement report alone.
The where ads showed help page (opens in a new tab) sets the limits on that review. Placements appear only above minimum thresholds of impressions or interactions, the report is not an exhaustive list, and performance data in it is generally not statistically significant. Google says it is therefore not recommended to over optimize campaigns from the report, which can limit available inventory. A quality exclusion rests on what the site is, not on a week of weak numbers.
How do you spot MFA sites in a placement report?
A report row carries a domain and its numbers, not the site's character, so spotting a made-for-advertising site means opening it. The ANA's September 2023 release (opens in a new tab) describes MFA sites as created for the singular purpose of simultaneously buying and selling advertising inventory, and lists five characteristics a reviewer can check on the page itself. The ANA's own recommendation is that advertisers should determine, independently, if MFA sites fit with their brand suitability standards for content and user experience.
Opening a suspect placement: what to check
- Ads take up a large share of the screen against the article text, which the ANA calls a high ad-to-content ratio.
- Banner ads refresh while the page is open, or autoplay video ads appear without a click.
- Content is split into slideshows that force a click per page, each with its own ads.
- Articles read as syndicated, dated or repeated, with no named authors or original reporting.
- The design looks templated, with sections that repeat across unrelated topics.
- The site has little visible audience of its own, and its traffic appears to come from clickbait ads elsewhere.
Should you use an inclusion list instead?
In Google Ads, an inclusion list means placements added to an ad group with the Targeting setting. Google's add and edit placements page (opens in a new tab) explains that Targeting narrows the reach of the ad group to the selected items, while Observation does not narrow reach. Google's optimized targeting page adds that when placements are manually selected, the system limits ad serving to those placements and honors all exclusions.
| Question | Exclusion led routine | Targeted placement list |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | Broad: the network minus what was excluded | Narrow: only the listed sites |
| Work up front | Light: settings and a standing exclusion list | Heavy: each site is reviewed before it is added |
| Work after launch | Ongoing: new weak sites appear and need review | Lighter: reports confirm where ads ran |
| Main risk | Weak sites serve until a review catches them | Delivery depends on the listed sites' available inventory and bids |
| Breaks when | Reviews lapse | Topics or keywords are added to the same ad group |
The two are not exclusive. Google's pages describe the two working together: Targeting narrows serving to the list, and the exclusions still hold if a listed site is later found wanting. Removing a site from the list is not enough on its own, because Google warns that ads may still appear on a removed placement through matching keywords or topics; exclude it as well.
What does a Display quality routine look like on a real campaign?
Fictional example
A martial arts studio group in Charlotte and Raleigh
An unnamed group of martial arts studios in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, runs a Display campaign promoting a free trial class for adults and teens. Its agency sets Moderate inventory, excludes below the fold placements and loads its standing account exclusion list the day before launch.
The campaign has two ad groups. One targets an approved list of local news, parenting and fitness sites with no topics added. The other uses a custom segment with optimized targeting left on, to find new readers.
In the weekly review, the planner sorts the audience ad group's placements by impressions and opens the unfamiliar ones. Two sites show slideshow articles with several ad slots per slide, and one refreshes its banners while she reads. She adds the three domains to the account list with the date and reason. No performance figures are implied.
How can a planner start from sites already checked for quality?
What should a Display quality review record each week?
Weekly Display quality log
- The date range of the report and the campaigns and ad groups it covered.
- Each site opened, the articles viewed and what was seen on them.
- Each exclusion added, at which level, with its reason in one line.
- Any list ad group found with topics or keywords added since the last review.
- Whether optimized targeting is on or off for each audience ad group.
- Any campaign migrated to Demand Gen, with its exclusion options checked in the account.
For keeping a documented blocklist of made-for-advertising domains, see the MFA exclusion list guide. For reading the report itself, see the where ads showed guide, and for parked and typo domains see parked domains in Google Ads. The Google Ads placement targeting hub explains how placements and exclusions fit each campaign type.
Frequently asked questions
Does Limited inventory keep MFA sites out of Display campaigns?
Google does not describe it that way. Limited inventory is intended to exclude as much sensitive content as possible, such as profanity or sexual themes, and may limit reach. A made-for-advertising site can carry content that passes those filters, so inventory type is a suitability control, not a quality screen.
Should I exclude a placement after one week of poor results?
Google warns that placement level performance in the where ads showed report is generally not statistically significant and that over optimizing from it can limit inventory. Open the site first. Exclude it for what the site is, such as cluttered pages or copied content, rather than for a short run of weak numbers.
Why do ads still appear on a site I removed from my placement list?
Google's add and edit placements page says ads may still appear on a placement you remove if the ad group has keywords or topics that match it. Removing a site only ends targeting it. To keep ads off the site, add it as a placement exclusion, ideally at account level.
Does optimized targeting ignore my placement exclusions?
No. Google's optimized targeting page says the system honors all exclusions, including audience, placement, content and brand safety exclusions. It also says that when placements are manually selected, it limits ad serving to those placements. In an ad group built only on a placement list, serving stays on that list.
Sources
- About content suitability (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Exclude placements at the account level (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About the Where ads showed report (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Evaluate ad performance on the Display Network (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Add, edit, and copy placements (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Use optimized targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About placement targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Choose a bid for your Display Network campaign (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About Display to Demand Gen migration (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Leading Trade Groups Define Made For Advertising Websites (opens in a new tab)ANA
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.