How do you build, size and maintain an advertising inclusion list?
Part of Programmatic media planning
The short answer
An advertising inclusion list names the only websites or apps a campaign may run on. Build it from a written brief, check each site separately, size it from the impressions the budget needs, load it in targeting mode so platforms respect it, and maintain it with change triggers and a served domain reconciliation after each flight starts.
Key takeaways
- An inclusion list restricts a campaign to named sites only when the platform setting actually restricts delivery.
- Size the list from the budget's impression need and the forecast inventory of the listed sites, not from a round number.
- Platforms can extend a listed website to its apps and subdomains, so read each platform's matching rules before upload.
- Maintain the list with named triggers, such as a seller change or an unlisted served domain, each with an owner and an action.
What is an inclusion list in advertising?
Definition
- Inclusion list
- A list of domains, apps or channels that a campaign or deal is restricted to. Anything not on the list is ineligible. Platforms also call it an allowlist, a site list or a target list.
An inclusion list reverses the default of open buying. Without one, a campaign can run anywhere its other targeting allows, and an exclusion list removes the places someone has already found and rejected. With one, a site must earn a place before it can receive a single impression. The programmatic media planning hub explains where the list sits in the plan; this guide covers the craft of the list itself: how it is built, how big it should be, how platforms read it and how it stays accurate once money is flowing.
How do you build an inclusion list step by step?
Seven steps from brief to a loadable list
- Start from a written brief. The reader, the article descriptions, avoid topics, markets, languages and buying route decide which sites qualify; the brief template shows each field.
- Gather candidates widely. Client favorites, past flight reports, specialist publishers found through the article descriptions and lookalike sites all feed one pool.
- Remove non publishers. Stores, brand sites and directories are not publishers; record why each one left.
- Run each check on its own. Topic fit from several articles, editorial quality, suitability, the selling path in ads.txt and sellers.json, and readers in the target country stay separate columns.
- Group sites by owner. Sites sharing ad or analytics account codes are one network; decide how many of its sites the list may carry.
- Write a reason line for every site. The reason names the description the site matched and at least one page that shows it.
- Normalize the entries. Write each site as the root domain or the exact subdomain the platform should match, with no tracking parameters.
How big should an inclusion list be?
Size is an output of three numbers the desk already has: the impressions the budget must buy, the frequency the client accepts, and the inventory the listed sites can actually offer during the flight. Impressions needed equal the budget divided by the planned CPM, multiplied by 1,000. Where the buying platform offers an inventory forecast, run it for the draft list with the campaign's geography and formats applied. When forecast supply comfortably covers the need, the list is large enough; when it does not, the list needs deliberate widening.
| Input | Where it comes from | Decision it drives |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions needed | Budget, planned CPM and flight dates from the media plan | The minimum supply the list must offer |
| Forecast supply of the draft list | The buying platform's forecast with geography, formats and the deal applied | Whether the list can deliver at all |
| Concentration | The share of forecast supply that the largest few sites hold | Whether one site would carry the campaign if others stall |
| Frequency cap | The client's accepted exposures per person per period | Whether a small list will hit the same readers too often |
| Reserve sites | Sites that passed every check but ranked lower | Which sites join first if supply falls short |
How do buying platforms read an inclusion list?
The same list can behave differently in each platform, and surprises after launch can come from matching rules nobody read. Check these before upload, and confirm them again in the platform's own help pages, since the rules below were checked in October 2026.
| Behavior | What the platform says | What to do with the list |
|---|---|---|
| Targeting or observation | In Google Ads, placements can be targeted, which narrows where ads show, or observed (opens in a new tab), which monitors them without limiting reach | Load the list as targeting, or it restricts nothing |
| Mixed content targeting | Google says ads target any of the selected content (opens in a new tab) in an ad group | Keep topics and keywords out of a list only ad group, or accept wider delivery |
| Equivalent apps | Google says that if a targeted website has an equivalent app, ads can also show there | Decide whether the app versions of listed sites are acceptable |
| Apps using a site's content | Display & Video 360 says targeting a website can also place ads in apps that use the site's content URL | Set environment targeting to web if the plan is web only |
| Path and subdomain depth | Display & Video 360 supports two levels of subdirectory and up to five levels of subdomain (opens in a new tab) targeting | List a section of a site only within those limits |
Placement mechanics for Google's campaign types are covered in depth in the Google Ads placement targeting guide. For deals, the exchange applies the list when the deal is built, so the desk confirms the uploaded domain count matches the approved version.
How does PlacementGraph help build an inclusion list?
How do you maintain an inclusion list once a campaign is live?
Maintenance works best as a set of triggers with owners rather than a vague promise to review. Each trigger below names what changed, what to check and what to do. Write the trigger owner into the list itself, so the next planner inherits the duty along with the domains.
| Trigger | What to check | Action |
|---|---|---|
| A served domain is not on the list | The platform's placement report against the approved version | Find the cause, such as observation mode or an equivalent app, and fix the setting |
| A listed site gets no delivery | Whether the site still sells through the desk's exchange | Move it to reserve or replace it from the reserve sites |
| The seller entries change | The site's ads.txt lines and the exchange's sellers.json record | Recheck the selling path before the next flight |
| The site changes owner or direction | Recent articles and the ads.txt owner domain declared under version 1.1 | Rerun the topic, quality and suitability checks |
| The brief changes | Which fields changed and which checks they drive | Rerun those checks on every site and approve a new version |
The served domain check needs care. Google's Where ads showed report (opens in a new tab) lists the websites, pages or apps where Display Network ads ran, but Google notes that placements with only a couple of impressions may not be included and that invalid traffic may not be removed from that report. Treat it as a map of where money went, not as a verified count.
What does inclusion list maintenance look like on a real campaign?
Fictional example
A New Jersey credit union in English and Spanish
A fictional Newark credit union plans a display campaign for first time home buyers in New Jersey, beside personal finance guides and local housing news, in English and Spanish. The planner builds the list from the brief, removes two bank comparison directories as non publishers, and groups three city magazines that share one owner's ad codes into a single network entry.
The sizing worksheet shows that two large regional news sites hold most of the forecast supply. The client approves adding a secondary article description, homeownership stories in Spanish language local news, and four reserve sites join in rank order, which spreads supply across more publishers.
In the first week the placement report shows a mobile app the list never named. The cause is a listed news site's equivalent app. The client decides the app is acceptable, the planner records that decision beside the site, and the next version of the list notes it for every future flight.
What should an inclusion list health check cover?
Inclusion list health check before each flight
- The list loaded in the platform is the approved version, and the imported count matches it.
- Placements are set to targeting, not observation, in every ad group that should be restricted.
- No list only ad group also carries topics or keywords that widen delivery.
- App and environment settings match what the client accepted for listed sites.
- Forecast supply of the list covers the impressions the budget needs.
- No single site or network holds a share of supply the client has not accepted.
- Every trigger in the maintenance table has a named owner.
- The last served domain reconciliation is filed with the list version it checked.
Frequently asked questions
Is an inclusion list the same as a whitelist or an allowlist?
Yes, the terms describe the same thing: a list of places a campaign is restricted to. Platforms and agencies also use allowlist, inclusion list, site list or target list. Whatever the name, check whether the platform treats it as a restriction or only as a reporting group.
Can an inclusion list name specific pages instead of whole domains?
Sometimes. Display & Video 360 supports two levels of subdirectory targeting and treats a URL that ends in a filename as an individual page. Page level lists suit a section such as a site's travel desk, but they deliver less and break when the site changes its URL structure, so confirm the platform's rules first.
Should one inclusion list be reused across several clients?
Use a shared pool of vetted publishers, but build each client's list from its own brief. Two clients with similar products can still differ on avoid topics, markets and buying route, and each client should be able to see the reasons and approval behind its own list.
What happens when a listed website is sold to a new owner?
Treat the site as a new candidate. A sale can change the editorial direction, the ad load and the companies authorized to sell the inventory. Reread recent articles, check the ads.txt file and the matching sellers.json entries, and keep the site off the next version until it passes again.
Does an inclusion list keep ads out of apps?
Not by itself. Google says ads on a targeted website can also show in its equivalent app, and Display & Video 360 says site targeting can reach apps that use the site's content URL. If the plan is web only, set environment or device targeting to match.
Sources
- About placement targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About "Targeting" and "Observation" settings (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About the "Where ads showed" report (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- App, channel, and website targeting (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- ads.txt (Authorized Digital Sellers) (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
- sellers.json (opens in a new tab)IAB Tech Lab
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.