The ad network is measurable, flexible, and scalable. As you keep using it, Google Ads will help you analyze your ads, improve them, and significantly improve your reach. One of the best ways to improve website traffic is the Google Display Network (GDN). 

Your website can appear on more than 2 million websites and 650,000 smartphone apps using the display network. However, to harness the power of GDN, you need to learn how to use it properly. In this post, we’ll talk about the GDN placement exclusion and how it can help your advertising efforts. 

What are Google Display Network Placement Exclusions?

For those who have never run an ad campaign before, you probably aren’t familiar with placement exclusions. Placement exclusions allow you to list websites, channels, networks, and apps that you don’t want your advertisements to appear on. 

There are over 38 million unique websites signed up for the AdSense network but not all of these websites have a lot of traffic, and a vast majority may not be suitable for your ads. Having your ad appear on a low-quality website may not seem like a big deal at first, but it’s a bigger problem than you may think. By advertising your business on poorly designed, low authority websites, you’re associating your company with brand risk.

Having your ad appear on irrelevant websites might harm the consumers. They may not only feel compelled to visit your website but to actively avoid it. New research suggests that around 50% of consumers reject brands with irrelevant ads. 

The Benefits of Google Display Network Placement Exclusions

What are the problems associated with ads being shown on irrelevant websites? While advertisers only pay for goal-related actions that took place on their ads, there are also a few more reasons why excluding several websites from ad campaigns is a good idea:

1. Protecting Brand Image

One of the most apparent reasons to prevent your website from appearing on certain websites is to protect your brand’s image. Both small and large brands alike have become careful about where their ads are associated, as this may not only affect the brand itself, but also potential customers.

Ads could potentially appear on a website that has inappropriate content and may attract people your brand does not associate with. Also, if a customer sees your advertisements on malicious or irrelevant websites, they may think you support their views and opinions. 

2. Improving Return On Investment

An ad placement, sometimes, simply isn’t economical enough to continue advertising. While the ad campaign may be getting numerous clicks from a single website, you have to see whether those clicks are converting into sales. If the clicks aren’t converting, it would be best to stop the ad and check possible factors that might be affecting the campaign.

You can try changing your ad copy or creative or make edits on the landing page to see if you could improve your conversions. However, if nothing changes after a while it would be best to stop running the affected ad use the budget for a better-performing campaign.

3. Preventing Ad Fraud 

One of the less-discussed but significant reasons why a company should exclude websites from GDN campaigns is ad fraud. In the last couple of years, there’s been a dramatic increase in ad fraud, especially on PPC ads. 

In the first half of 2020, $38.5million in ad spend damage was caused by digital ad fraud. Ad fraud is one of the biggest problems in the advertising industry. Invalid clicks, one form of ad fraud, causes high ad spend and low conversion results to advertisers and one method to prevent this is to exclude the source of the fraudulent activity.

How to Set Up Google Display Network Exclusions

GDN exclusion can be beneficial for several reasons. But what is the process required to set up GDN exclusions?

Here are 5 steps on how to set up GDN exclusions:

• Step #1: Access Google Ads dashboard and select the settings button in the screen’s top right corner. Depending on the version you’re using, you’ll see a wrench or a gear icon there.
• Step #2: Go over the “Shared Library” tab and click on it. Then, select “Placement Exclusion Lists.”
• Step #3: Here, you will need to create a new list. Click on the “New List” option and name your list accordingly. If you’re running your ads on YouTube or smartphone apps, you can also create exclusion lists for them. 

• Step #4: Once you have created the list, copy and paste the URLs you want to exclude from your campaign.
• Step #5: Click the “Save” button once done and your Google Display Network exclusions will automatically take effect.

The Bottom Line

Once you have successfully created your GDN exclusion list you can also do this easily across one or multiple accounts. You can also check Google’s official tutorial on GDN exclusions here for more details.

By excluding unrelated and untrustworthy websites from your GDN list, you’ll make sure that your ads only appear on reputable and relevant websites, and will keep your content and brand image safe. 

Spider Labs can also help you protect your brand by identifying and blocking ad fraud from your campaign and/or network traffic. Speak with one of our experts today and protect your business.