You’re spending money on Google Ads. Do you know where your ads are appearing?

Most businesses review Google Ads performance through clicks, conversions and return on ad spend (ROAS). Placements deserve the same attention, for conversion quality and for the brand associations your ads create.

Automated campaign types like Performance Max can show your ads across websites, mobile apps, YouTube and other platforms. That reach opens up new customers, and it also puts your brand in places you haven’t chosen. Placement reports and exclusions give you a way to review and control that.

What is the Google Ads placement report?

A placement report lists the websites, apps, YouTube channels and other locations where your ads have appeared. For Performance Max, Google’s automation decides where ads run, so advertisers have less direct control over individual placements. The report shows you where your brand is appearing and which placements to remove.

Why should you care?

Without regular reviews, your ads can end up on irrelevant placements, low quality publishers and controversial or misleading content.

• Reputational damage: ads next to controversial, misleading or inappropriate content can create associations you don’t want.
• Low quality publishers: some sites carry questionable content, excessive advertising or a poor user experience.
• Irrelevant placements: your ads can appear in apps or on sites that don’t match your brand or intended audience.
• Limited oversight: without a review, Google’s automated decisions are the only filter on where your ads run.

Google has safeguards in place, and they won’t reflect your individual brand values. Plenty of unfamiliar placements are perfectly fine, so judge each one on its merits. A review matters most if you advertise a range of products from other brands as a third party. Placements to look out for include betting sites, editorial or blog content, spam sites, and games and apps.

How to find your Google Ads placement report

You can review Performance Max placements directly in Google Ads.

1. Sign in to your Google Ads account.
2. Go to Reports and open the predefined Performance Max placement report.
3. Select a reporting period, ideally the previous 30 to 90 days.
4. Review the websites, apps and other placements listed.
5. Export the report to a spreadsheet to flag potentially unsuitable placements.

Look for unfamiliar websites, questionable publishers and unusually high impression volumes on particular placements. The Performance Max placement report is built for brand safety review. It shows impressions only, with no clicks or revenue, so it can’t tell you how an individual site or app converts.

How to exclude unwanted Google Ads placements

Found a placement you’d rather avoid? Google’s exclusion setting prevents future ads on supported placements.

• In Google Ads, go to Tools > Content suitability.
• Under Advanced settings, expand Excluded placements.
• Add the websites, apps, YouTube channels or videos you want to exclude.
• Save your changes.

If you manage multiple accounts, Google Ads manager accounts also support shared placement exclusion lists. You can upload these for Google to review and apply using [LINK: Google support page for shared placement exclusion lists].

Our advice: Investigate each unfamiliar placement before you exclude it. Broad exclusions can restrict your campaign reach and performance, so remove placements you have a reason to remove. 

Keep control of your ads under automation

Automation handles scale well, and it still needs oversight. Regular placement reviews protect your brand, flag questionable environments and give you confidence in where your budget goes. Reaching potential customers matters, and so does reaching them in the right places.

Contact us about your Google Ads

At Mucky Puddle, we run Google Ads strategy and performance analysis, including the detail that is easy to overlook. If you’re concerned about your Performance Max placements, or want a clearer view of how your advertising performs, contact us.