PPC-HubLow-quality website placements for Google Ads
Updated: August 13, 2026
Domains with inflated traffic, bot activity, ad click fraud, children's and pro-Russian content — to exclude from Display (GDN) and Performance Max campaigns.
The table shows a sample of domains in the format Google Ads expects for placement exclusions. Export the complete website list from the Google Sheet linked above.
This list is indicative and does not guarantee full coverage. We recommend periodically reviewing it and supplementing it with your own observations.
Frequently asked questions
What are Placement Exclusions in Google Ads?
Placement Exclusions are lists of websites, apps, videos, or channels where Google Ads should not appear.
How do Display campaigns (GDN) and Performance Max differ in placement control?
Standard Google Display Network campaigns generally provide more direct control over targeting and exclusions for individual placements. Performance Max works automatically across several channels, so controls for specific websites and reporting detail can be more limited. Account-level exclusions and content-suitability settings are therefore especially important for Performance Max.
How can I find the current placements where my ads appear?
In Google Ads, open the placement report for the campaign you want to audit and set a date range with enough traffic to be meaningful — often 30 days for established campaigns, shorter for new ones. The report lists domains, apps, and video placements alongside impressions, clicks, cost, and conversions; export it if you need to annotate or share with a team. Section names and available columns vary by campaign type and interface version, so search the help center for your exact campaign label if the menu moved.
What is brand safety, and how is it related to domain exclusions?
Brand safety keeps ads away from content that could harm reputation.
How often should I review and update excluded websites?
High-spend or newly launched Display campaigns benefit from weekly placement reviews until spend patterns stabilize. After that, a two- to four-week cycle is usually enough, with extra checks following budget, geo, or bidding changes. Older exclusions deserve another look too — domains change owners, pivot topics, or improve quality, and a block from last year may no longer be warranted.
How to control placement quality in Google Ads Display campaigns
In many mature Display accounts, the first thorough placement-report review shows that roughly 15–25% of spend went to domains with clicks but no conversions — not always fraud, but specialists routinely cut that spend. The Google Display Network distributes impressions across millions of sites automatically, so even well-targeted audiences can see ads beside thin, off-brand, or inflated-traffic pages. Excluding those domains protects budget and keeps performance data interpretable.
Where to review current placements
Open the Google Ads placement report at campaign or account level and sort by cost. For each domain, compare impressions, clicks, spend, conversions, and frequency — cheap clicks with no downstream value often flag poor inventory, but wait for enough volume before excluding. Visit the site itself: subject matter, language, ad density, and page quality matter as much as the metrics row.
Signs of a low-quality website placement
Key warning signs include a suspiciously high CTR without conversions, unnatural impression frequency, very short or empty sessions, automatically assembled pages, and excessive ad units around minimal content. Also assess themes that do not fit the brand, content aimed at children where advertising may be inappropriate or restricted by platform policies, and pro-Russian or Russian-language contexts when they conflict with campaign requirements. No single metric proves inflated traffic, so review behavioral and conversion data together. Low-quality video inventory deserves the same scrutiny — cross-check with the low-quality YouTube channel list when running Display and video side by side. Document the domain, date, and reason in a shared log so the next reviewer understands why it was blocked and can revisit the call if site content changes.
Placement exclusions for Performance Max
Performance Max spreads ads across channels with less granular placement control than a standard Display campaign. Lean on account-level exclusions, shared lists, and content-suitability settings, then judge results from overall conversion contribution — not one rogue domain in isolation. Sites that are clearly unsafe for brand safety should still be blocked centrally so the rule applies everywhere.
How to use this resource
The domains listed above are a formatting reference only; download the full inventory from the Google Sheet link. Match each entry to your geography, language, audience, and campaign objective before bulk upload. Enrich the baseline with domains from your placement report, document why each site was blocked, and audit older rows because site quality drifts. Search traffic is a separate lever — pair this list with the basic negative keyword list for Google Ads, not as a substitute.