Earlier this month, confusion spread across the Google Ads industry regarding the use of placement exclusions in Performance Max (PMax) campaigns, particularly in the Google Ads API. Many advertisers were unsure whether exclusions were supported and in what cases they could be applied.
Google’s Ads Liaison, Ginny Marvin, recently addressed these concerns in an email to Navah Hopkins. She clarified that Google has not changed its stance on placement exclusions. Instead, the confusion stemmed from unclear documentation, which Google is now in the process of updating to provide more precise information.
Key takeaways from Google’s clarification
Ginny Marvin outlined the following points to clarify how placement exclusions work within PMax campaigns:
- Google Ads API supports account-level placement exclusions – These exclusions apply to all Performance Max campaigns in the account.
- Web page placement exclusion lists can be applied from MCC-level – At the manager account level (MCC), exclusion lists can be applied to child accounts through the Google Ads UI. PMax respects account-level placement exclusion lists.
- Account-level placement exclusion lists are not supported in the API – While these lists can be applied through the UI, the API does not currently support them.
- Campaign-level placement exclusions are not available in PMax – Placement exclusions cannot be applied at the campaign level via the UI or API. However, account-level placement exclusions will automatically apply to all PMax campaigns within the account.
For now, advertisers should follow these guidelines to ensure their placement exclusions are set up correctly.
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