What should a media buyer check between an approved list and live placements?
Part of Google Ads placements
The short answer
A media buyer checks placements in three passes. At intake, confirm the list version, count, mode and destination. Before launch, confirm location, content targeting, optimized targeting, environment and suitability settings in Google Ads or Display & Video 360. After launch, confirm the live list matches the version, then report gaps to the planner and review placements weekly.
Key takeaways
- Split the buyer's work into three sign offs: intake of the approved list, settings before launch and live delivery after launch.
- In Google Ads, Presence or interest is the default location option, and placements combined with topics or keywords widen reach to any match.
- Optimized targeting is on by default; Google says it limits serving to selected placements, but in Display it can use keywords and topics as signals.
- The Where ads showed report applies minimum thresholds and is not an exhaustive list, so report its gaps to the planner along with its findings.
- Google suggests spending an hour or more each week on Display performance, which sets a floor for a weekly placement review.
What should a media buyer check when an approved list arrives?
The buyer is the person who turns a planner's decision into platform settings, so the buyer's first job is to make sure the decision is complete before building anything. An approved list that arrives without a version name, a count or a stated mode forces the buyer to guess, and a guess made at intake becomes a setting nobody approved.
Sign off 1: intake of the approved list
- The file names its list version, the approver and the approval date.
- The site count in the file matches the count stated in the approval message.
- The list says whether it is an inclusion list or an exclusion list.
- Websites, apps, YouTube channels and videos are separated, so each goes to the right placement type.
- The destination is named: which Google Ads campaigns and ad groups, or which Display & Video 360 line items.
- Geography, language and flight dates are stated, not implied by the brief.
- Open questions from the planner are listed with an owner, and none blocks the build.
If any item fails, send the list back with the exact gap named. A short delay at intake is cheaper than a flight launched on an assumed mode or the wrong version. The planner's side of this handoff is covered in the media plan handoff guide.
Which settings must be confirmed before launch?
A clean list can still run in the wrong places, because the settings around it decide where the campaign may serve. Each setting below is documented by Google and each has a default that may not match the plan. Check them in the platform, not in the build sheet.
| Setting | What the platform documents | What the buyer confirms |
|---|---|---|
| Location option, Google Ads | Presence or interest is the default and recommended option; Presence reaches people likely to be located, or regularly located, in the area (1722038 (opens in a new tab)) | The option the plan calls for is selected, not left at the default by accident |
| Geography, Display & Video 360 | A line item with no geography targeting bids on impressions from all geographic locations (2948712 (opens in a new tab)) | Each line item carries the planned countries or regions |
| Content targeting mix, Google Ads | Ads show on content matching any of the topics, placements or Display or Video keywords targeted (2580292 (opens in a new tab)) | The ad group holding the list has no topics or keywords unless the plan widens on purpose |
| Optimized targeting, Google Ads | On by default; with specific placements the system limits serving to them; Display signals can include keywords and topics (10537509 (opens in a new tab), 10538014 (opens in a new tab)) | The checkbox state in each ad group matches the plan |
| Environment, Display & Video 360 | Targeting a website can also reach its mobile or connected TV app by default (2650521 (opens in a new tab)) | Environment targeting is set when the plan is web only |
| Brand controls, Display & Video 360 | Brand Controls lists active settings across all line items and YouTube ad groups, including authorized sellers, sensitive categories and digital content labels (9179543 (opens in a new tab)) | Advertiser level settings agree with the client's suitability decisions |
Content suitability in Google Ads deserves its own look. Google describes three inventory types, Maximum, Moderate and Limited, for YouTube, the Display Network and Google video partners, and says they do not apply to App or YouTube Sponsorship campaigns (12764663 (opens in a new tab)). Google says that as of September 2024 YouTube ads no longer use digital content labels, and that sensitive content exclusions apply to the Display Network and Google video partners. Google's help pages gave two paths when checked in October 2026, Tools > Content suitability and Admin > Account settings; confirm in the account.
Sign off 2: settings before launch
- Location option or geography targeting matches the plan on each campaign and line item.
- No topic or keyword sits beside the placement list unless the planner approved the wider reach.
- Optimized targeting is set as the plan states, ad group by ad group.
- Environment targeting limits web lists to web inventory where the plan says so.
- Content suitability inventory type and account exclusions match the client's decisions.
- Display & Video 360 Brand Controls show the expected advertiser level settings.
- Line items are active, with budget and an active, assigned creative.
How does the buyer confirm the right list version is live?
Counting rows proves that a list landed; it does not prove which list landed. Version confirmation compares the live entries with the approved file itself. In Display & Video 360 the line item's Download composite list exports what the line item actually targets, which can be compared line by line with the approved version. In Google Ads, export the placements of each ad group from the account and compare them the same way.
Four steps to confirm the live version
- Export what is live. Download the composite list in Display & Video 360, or the ad group placements in Google Ads.
- Diff it against the approved file. Sort both, compare entry by entry and list anything present in one and missing in the other.
- Explain each difference. A rejected entry, a formatting change or a late edit each gets a one line reason.
- Write the version into the platform. Display & Video 360's event history (opens in a new tab) accepts notes on changes that anyone with access can see; record the version name there.
The post upload count and field checks are covered in the placement import verification checklist; this step comes after them and answers a different question, whether the live list is the approved one.
What should the buyer report back to the planner?
The planner chose the sites, so the planner needs to hear what happened to them. A buyer's report is not a performance report. It describes whether the approved list became the delivered list, and where it did not.
| Item | What to include | Why the planner needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Version live | List version, date it went live, line items or ad groups using it | Ties each result back to one approved decision |
| Entries not loaded | Rejected or changed entries with the reason | The planner may want a replacement site |
| Sites with no delivery | Approved sites that received no reported impressions | A listed site may not be buyable on the path used |
| Off list delivery | Placements reached through other targeting, such as automatic placements | Shows whether settings widened the plan |
| Settings that differ | Any setting changed from the plan and who approved it | Keeps the plan and the platform in agreement |
| Report limits | Thresholds and caveats of the source report | Stops a missing row being read as no delivery |
How often should the buyer review placements?
Google's guidance to evaluate Display Network performance (opens in a new tab) suggests spending an hour or more each week analyzing the performance of Display ads, including placements that performed well and poor performers to exclude. Treat that as a floor. The rest of the rhythm below is an editorial recommendation built around documented timings: Display & Video 360 may take a few hours to update bidding after a change, and Google advises waiting until a campaign has at least 50 conversions or two weeks before judging optimized targeting.
Sign off 3: live delivery
- The live entries match the approved version, with each difference explained.
- The first report to the planner went out by the end of week one.
- Off list delivery was read and either approved or closed off with an exclusion.
- A weekly placement review is on the calendar for the length of the flight.
- Any new list version restarted the intake and settings sign offs.
What does the buyer checklist look like on a real brief?
Fictional example
A chocolate maker in Hawaii
A fictional bean to bar chocolate maker with shops in Honolulu and Hilo asks its agency for English display ads in Google Ads and Display & Video 360, beside food writing, local events and gift guide coverage in Hawaii. The planner sends version 2 of a 48 site inclusion list.
At intake the buyer finds that the file holds two YouTube channel URLs mixed with the websites, and sends them back to be listed separately. Before launch, the Google Ads campaign shows Presence or interest, while the plan asked for people in Hawaii; the buyer switches it to Presence. The Display & Video 360 line item has no environment setting, so the buyer limits it to web.
After launch, the composite list matches version 2 exactly. The week one report tells the planner that six approved sites show no reported impressions, notes the report's minimum thresholds, and flags one off list site reached through a topic left in a test ad group, which the buyer removes.
How does PlacementGraph support the buyer's sign offs?
Frequently asked questions
Should the buyer ever edit the approved list directly?
No. When a site has to change, the buyer tells the planner, the planner issues a new version and the buyer loads that. A direct edit in the platform leaves the live list and the approved record disagreeing, and the next comparison will flag a difference nobody can explain.
Who signs off each stage when the buyer and planner are on different teams?
Each sign off has one owner: the buyer signs intake and settings, and a second person, ideally the planner, countersigns live delivery after reading the first report. Record names and dates beside the list version so the trail survives staff changes.
Does the checklist change for YouTube placements?
The structure stays, but some settings behave differently. Google says that on YouTube, keywords and topic targeting act as a hint while placement targeting is fully supported, and that as of September 2024 YouTube ads no longer use digital content labels. Check suitability and exclusions per surface rather than assuming Display settings carry over.
What if a client asks for daily placement reports?
Provide them, with the report's caveats attached. Daily views of the Where ads showed report are subject to the same minimum thresholds, so a small site can be absent on a given day and present in the weekly view. Agree with the client that decisions to exclude sites wait for the weekly review.
Sources
- About advanced location options (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About combining content targeting types (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About optimized targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Use optimized targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- About content suitability (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
- About contextual targeting (opens in a new tab)Google Ads Help
- Set targeting (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- App, channel, and website targeting (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- View and edit brand controls for your advertiser (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
- Event history (opens in a new tab)Display & Video 360 Help
Researched and written by PlacementGraph Research. Read how we research, source and update these pages. Corrections: diana@placementgraph.com.