How to set up placement exclusions in Google Ads, level by level
Part of Google Ads placements
The short answer
Placement exclusions in Google Ads stop ads from showing on named websites, apps, YouTube channels and videos. Add them to a campaign or ad group on the Content page, to the whole account under Content suitability, or through shared exclusion lists. Enter domains without www. so every subdomain is covered, and add them a day before launch.
Key takeaways
- Pick the exclusion level by who the block protects: one ad group, one campaign, the whole account, or every client account under a manager account.
- A domain entered without www. covers its subdomains and pages; each country domain needs its own entry, and Google domains cannot be excluded directly.
- Google's pages disagree: one says exclusion lists can only be created in manager accounts, another that each client account can have up to 20; one gives 250,000 exclusions per manager list, another 65,000 per list.
- Scheduled lists read from Google Sheets, HTTPS or SFTP, and changes must be made in the source file, not inside Google Ads.
- Category exclusions reduce exposure to related pages but Google says it cannot guarantee full coverage, so named sites belong in placement exclusions.
What exactly does a placement exclusion block in Google Ads?
Definition
- Placement exclusion
- A named website, page, mobile app, YouTube channel or YouTube video on which an advertiser tells Google Ads not to show ads. It is entered by URL, app ID or video ID and applies to every ad format in its scope.
Google's help page on excluding webpages and videos (opens in a new tab) says exclusions cover the Display Network, YouTube and Search partner sites, and that a campaign exclusion applies to all ad groups within the campaign unless the advertiser specifies otherwise. Because the block names a property, it is precise: the site is off for that scope regardless of which keyword, topic or audience would otherwise have reached it.
Which level should each placement exclusion live at?
The level decides who inherits the block, and the right answer depends on why the site is being excluded. A block driven by one brief belongs low in the account. A block driven by agency policy belongs as high as possible, so a new campaign cannot forget it. Google's account level exclusion page (opens in a new tab) adds that account exclusions override campaign and ad group settings. Google's help pages gave two paths to the account settings when checked in October 2026, Tools > Content suitability and Admin > Account settings; confirm in the account.
| Reason for the block | Level to use | Why | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| One creative or audience should avoid a site | Ad group | Keeps the rest of the campaign open to the site | Easy to lose when ad groups are copied or rebuilt |
| One brief or flight should avoid a site | Campaign | Applies to all ad groups in the campaign by default | Does not reach Performance Max or other campaigns |
| No campaign in the account should run there, including Performance Max | Account, under Content suitability | Covers Display, YouTube and Search partner sites for the whole account | Shares the account's overall exclusion capacity |
| An agency policy for many client accounts | Manager account exclusion list | One list, maintained once, inherited by every linked account | Lists cannot be applied to sub-manager accounts |
| A list kept in a spreadsheet or by a list provider | Scheduled exclusion list | Uploads from Google Sheets, HTTPS or SFTP on a timetable | Edits made inside Google Ads do not stick |
Demand Gen deserves a check of its own. Google's help pages disagreed when checked in October 2026: the Demand Gen FAQ (opens in a new tab) says topic and placement exclusions are not generally available at the campaign or ad group level, while other Demand Gen pages list content exclusions. Confirm the exclusion options in the account, and where in doubt hold the block at the account level.
How do you format domains, subdomains and apps in an exclusion?
An exclusion that seems to fail can come down to how it was typed. Google's exclusion page explains that excluding a domain prevents ads from appearing on any page on or within it, that multi-level domains are not supported, and that subdomain, subsite and subpage exclusions do not work on the Search Partner Network. The account level page adds that different country domains need separate exclusions.
| Entry | What it excludes | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| example.com | The domain with its subdomains, directories and pages | The default for a site the client never wants |
| www.example.com | That subdomain and its paths; other subdomains may still serve | Only when one subdomain is meant; it leaves sister subdomains open |
| example.com/section | That directory and the pages under it | A publisher whose one section is unsuitable |
| example.com/page.html | One individual page | A single article flagged after a campaign |
| example.co.uk beside example.com | Each country domain is a separate exclusion | Publishers that run regional editions |
| mobileapp::1- followed by the iTunes ID | One iPhone app | Apps from the app store URL, not by name |
| mobileapp::2- followed by the package name | One Android app, using the text after id= in the Play Store URL | Apps from the Play Store URL |
What limits and timing should a buyer plan around?
| Item | What Google states | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Account level exclusions | 20,000 entered at a time, 65,000 per account in total | Exclude placements at the account level (opens in a new tab) |
| Lists in a manager account | A maximum of 3 exclusion lists | Placement exclusion lists (opens in a new tab) |
| Lists per client account | Up to 20 exclusion lists | Placement exclusion lists (opens in a new tab) |
| Size of one list | Manager account lists: a maximum of 250,000 exclusions per list. Lists scheduled from list providers: the standard shared limit of 65,000 per list | Account level page (opens in a new tab) for manager lists; exclusion page (opens in a new tab), scheduled upload best practices |
| Time to take effect | Typically within 12 hours for new exclusions | Exclude placements at the account level (opens in a new tab) |
The two list sizes are not a typo on this page. When checked in October 2026, the account level page said "Manager accounts can create up to 3 placement exclusion lists with a maximum of 250,000 exclusions per list." The exclusion page, in its best practices for list providers who schedule uploads, said lists "are subject to the standard shared placement exclusion limitation of 65,000 exclusions maximum per list," and that advertiser accounts face additional limits based on their targeting usage. A third page says placement exclusion lists can only be created in manager accounts, while the list page says each client account can have up to 20. Google does not reconcile them. Plan to the lower figure until the account itself accepts more, and split a larger blocklist across lists by reason rather than by alphabet.
What does a placement exclusion setup look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A Gulf Coast hot sauce brand with two Google Ads accounts
A fictional New Orleans maker of hot sauces and Cajun spice blends runs Display and Demand Gen campaigns for home cooks in Louisiana and Mississippi, plus a separate account for its online gift boxes. Its agency manages both from one manager account.
The agency's standing policy blocks sites it has reviewed and rejected for any client. That list lives in the manager account and is applied to both client accounts, so a campaign built next quarter inherits it on day one.
The brand adds its own block at the account level: two recipe aggregator sites whose copied content it does not want beside its ads, entered without www. so their mobile and community subdomains are covered too. A regional edition of one aggregator gets its own entry, since country domains are separate.
One spring campaign launches a new pepper sauce. The brief avoids a single food news section about product recalls, so the planner excludes that directory path at the campaign level only, leaving the rest of the publisher open to other campaigns. The lists go in the day before launch, and the planner checks Change history the next morning.
How does PlacementGraph keep unwanted sites off a list before exclusions are needed?
What should a buyer check after adding placement exclusions?
Placement exclusion audit for a Google Ads account
- Each exclusion sits at the level that matches its reason: ad group, campaign, account or manager list.
- Domains were entered without www. unless only one subdomain was meant to be blocked.
- Every regional or country domain of an excluded publisher has its own entry.
- Apps were entered with the mobileapp::1- or mobileapp::2- prefix and the store ID, not the app's name.
- Scheduled lists are edited in their source file, and the source file is shared with the account.
- Exclusions were added at least 12 hours before launch and confirmed in Change history.
- The placement report was read in the first days to confirm excluded sites received no impressions.
For deciding which kinds of sites belong on a blocklist at all, see the made for advertising sites guide and the brand suitability guide. For how exclusions sit beside placement targeting in each campaign type, see the Google Ads placement targeting hub. To confirm exclusions held after launch, see the guide to the where ads showed report.
Frequently asked questions
Why are my ads still showing on a domain I excluded?
Two causes to check first are format and timing. An entry that keeps www. leaves other subdomains open, a regional edition on another country domain needs its own exclusion, and new exclusions typically take up to 12 hours. Subdomain and page level exclusions also do not work on the Search Partner Network, so block the whole domain there.
Can an account level exclusion list be added to one campaign only?
No. Google's exclusion list page says account level exclusion lists cannot be added to specific campaigns; they cover the account. For a campaign specific block, use the campaign's own exclusions on the Content page, or a list from the account's Exclusion lists applied to that campaign through Use placement exclusion list.
Do I still need to exclude parked domains?
Not as a separate surface. Google's exclusion page says Parked Domains ceased to be an ad surface within the Search Partner Network effective February 10, 2026, and that the option to include them in Content suitability was removed. New accounts had already been opted out of parked domains by default since October 2024.
Do category exclusions make placement exclusions unnecessary?
No. Google says it cannot guarantee that a category exclusion removes all related pages. Categories reduce exposure to a kind of content; placement exclusions block a named site, app, channel or video. The two can run together, with named sites always in placement exclusions.
Sources
- Exclude specific webpages and videos (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Exclude placements at the account level (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About placement exclusion lists (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Demand Gen Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.