Display Placement Exclusions: Keeping Banners Off Poor-Quality Sites

A placement exclusion tells Google Ads not to show your Display ads on a specific website, app or YouTube channel. Review the placements report, exclude sites and apps that send clicks but no enquiries, add account-level exclusions for repeat offenders, and use content exclusions for sensitive topics. Judge placements on enough data, not a few clicks.

Display ads reach people across a very large number of websites, apps and videos. That is the strength of the Google Display Network, and also the risk: some placements send clicks that never turn into customers, and some show your brand where you would not choose to be. This guide explains how to see where your banners appear and how to exclude the poor ones without cutting good reach.

Key takeaways - Placement exclusions stop ads from showing on specific sites, apps or channels. - The placements report shows where your ads appeared. - Judge placements on conversions and quality, not clicks alone. - Use account-level exclusions for placements that are wrong for every campaign. - Too many exclusions can shrink reach, so exclude with evidence.

What are placement exclusions?

A placement is a website, mobile app, YouTube channel or video where your ad can appear. A placement exclusion prevents your ads from appearing there. Exclusions can apply to one campaign or, with account-level exclusions, to every campaign in your account.

Placement exclusions are one of several controls. Content exclusions, such as topics and sensitive content categories, work at the level of the page's subject, and app-level options work at the level of the type of app.

Why do poor placements happen?

Display ads can show on a wide mix of pages. Some of them are:

• Low-quality sites built mainly to show ads
• Apps where accidental taps are common
• Pages unrelated to your product or audience
• Placements in languages or countries you do not serve
• Content that does not suit your brand

Automated targeting and expansion settings can increase reach to placements you would not choose yourself, so checking the report matters.

How do you find poor placements?

1. In Google Ads, open the placements report that shows where your ads appeared (menu names can change).
2. Choose a date range long enough to give meaningful data.
3. Sort by cost or clicks.
4. Add columns for conversions, cost per conversion and, if you can, engagement.
5. Compare with Google Analytics: look at bounce, time on site and whether visitors reached key pages.
6. Visit suspicious placements yourself to see what they are.

Warning signs:

• Many clicks and no conversions
• Very short visits or no interaction after the click
• Unfamiliar domain names or app names with no clear content
• Pages unrelated to your business
• Placements in languages you do not serve
• Spikes of clicks at odd times

How much data do you need before excluding?

Avoid reacting to a few clicks. A placement with a handful of clicks and no conversions may simply have had too little traffic. A placement with a lot of spend and no conversions is a stronger case. Use your normal cost per enquiry as a rough guide. If a placement has spent well above that with no result, it is a candidate. Always check that conversion tracking is working before you judge placements by conversions.

How do you add placement exclusions?

1. Decide the level: campaign, or account-level for placements that should never show.
2. Open the placement exclusions settings for the campaign or account.
3. Enter the website address, app or YouTube channel you want to exclude.
4. Save, then record what you excluded and why.

Use a short spreadsheet with the placement, date, reason and evidence.

What about apps?

Mobile apps can be a source of low-quality clicks, particularly games and similar apps where taps happen by accident. You can exclude individual apps, and Google Ads offers broader options to limit app placements if apps do not suit your goal. Decide this based on your own data. Some businesses get good results from apps and others do not.

What are content exclusions?

Content exclusions work on the type of page, not the individual placement. Depending on the campaign, they can include:

• Sensitive content categories, such as sexual or violent material
• Topics you do not want to appear next to
• Content types, such as embedded videos
• Digital content labels, which keep ads off content intended for certain audiences

Choose these to protect your brand. They do not replace a regular placement review.

How often should you review placements?

Check weekly for the first month of a campaign or after a major change, then monthly. Display campaigns can pick up new placements over time, so the list changes.

Does excluding placements reduce results?

It can reduce the number of impressions and clicks, which is expected. What you want to see is a better ratio of enquiries to cost. If volume drops sharply, review whether you excluded too much. Remarketing audiences and carefully chosen targeting usually show ads to more relevant people than broad prospecting. For background on how Display compares with Search, read search ads vs display ads.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Excluding based on a few clicks
• Judging placements without checking that conversion tracking works
• Never reviewing the report after launch
• Excluding so much that campaigns cannot spend
• Forgetting to keep a record of exclusions
• Treating Display like Search and expecting the same type of intent

How does DAB handle this?

DAB offers Google Display Network (GDN) services in Bangkok and has 18+ years of experience in digital marketing. Our GDN display ads services include reviewing where banners show. If you are new to the network, read what the Google Display Network is.

Want a review of where your banners appear?

If you suspect your Display ads are showing in poor places, contact DAB through LINE or our contact page. See our GDN display ads services in Bangkok.

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