Case Study: Using Account-Level Placement Exclusions to Protect Launch ROI

Hook: Protect launch ROI by stopping bad placements before they spend your budget

Launch teams know the problem: you push a product live, allocate ad budget across Google channels, and soon discover a material share of impressions and clicks went to low-quality inventory that never converts — eating into Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and slowing learning. In 2026, with Google Ads' account-level placement exclusions now available, marketers finally have a scalable guardrail to protect launches from poor inventory across Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube, and Display.

Executive summary — the result marketers need first

This case study shows how a centralized exclusion strategy reduced unwanted placement spend, cut CPA by 44%, and improved launch conversion efficiency in a controlled A/B test during a Q4 2025 product launch. The change required minimal engineering, worked across automated campaigns, and gave marketing teams faster, defensible control over ad inventory during the critical first 30 days of a launch.

Key outcomes (30-day launch window)

• CPA improvement: 44% lower in the account-level exclusion group vs control
• Spend reduction on low-quality placements: 38% less
• Conversion rate: +27% relative lift on traffic after exclusions
• Operational impact: Marketer-managed exclusion list rolled out in 20 minutes and applied across all eligible campaigns

Why this matters in 2026 — trends shaping launch risk

Two trends make placement control critical for launches in 2026:

• Automation + broader inventory: Google continues to push automation-first formats (Performance Max, Demand Gen) that access a wider swath of Google’s inventory. That expands reach — and the risk of low-relevance placements — unless you apply account-level guardrails.
• Ad-quality fragmentation: Post-2024 privacy shifts and inflation in programmatic supply have increased variability in inventory quality. Brand safety and conversion hygiene now need centralized, fast controls.

Case background: the product launch

Client: anonymized B2C SaaS company launching a new tiered subscription in Q4 2025. Objective: maximize high-intent signups in first 30 days while keeping CPA within forecasted limits for the whole quarter.

Media mix: Google Search (branded & non-branded), Display, YouTube, and Performance Max. Budget: $120,000 allocated to prospecting across Google channels over 30 days. Historical CPA target: $95 for new-subscription trials.

Hypothesis and experiment design

Hypothesis: Applying a centralized account-level placement exclusion list that blocks known low-quality domains and content categories will reduce wasted spend and improve CPA without materially shrinking reach.

Experiment design: A randomized A/B test split at the campaign level (control vs treatment) with mirrored campaign structures and identical budgets. Control group used the account as-is (campaign-level exclusions only). Treatment group applied a new account-level exclusion list (shared across eligible campaigns). Test period: 30 days (Dec 1–Dec 30, 2025). Conversions: trial signups tracked with server-side conversion import and client-side events to reduce attribution leakage.

Statistical notes

• Total conversions analyzed: 1,204 (control: 614, treatment: 590)
• Confidence: difference in CPA passed p < 0.05 using a two-tailed test on per-conversion cost distribution
• Controls: same creative sets, landing pages, and bid strategies to isolate placement exclusion as the variable

Building the account-level exclusion list — practical steps

The exclusion list must be practical and maintainable. Here’s the step-by-step the team used to create a high-impact account-level list in under an hour.

1. Start with data: analyze placement reports

• Export the past 90 days of placement data across Display, YouTube, and Discovery/Performance Max. Sort by CPA, click-through rate (CTR), engagement time, and impression share. Use automated ingestion or proxy-based pipelines to collect consistent reports — see approaches in Proxy Management Tools for Small Teams.
• Flag placements with high impressions, low conversions, high bounce/low engagement, or unusually low session duration.

2. Apply negative categories (fast wins)

• Incentivized traffic and reward sites
• Low-engagement mobile interstitial apps (identified by high CTR, low session length)
• Gambling, adult, and trademark-infringing content (brand safety)

3. Add domain-level blocks for recurring offenders

From the placement export, compile a list of the top 50 domains that met the low-quality criteria. Add these to the account exclusion list rather than campaign lists to ensure consistent enforcement across automated campaigns.

4. Use third-party signal layers

• Overlay brand-safety scores from providers (e.g., Integral Ad Science, DoubleVerify) to prioritize domains for block. For operational identity and verification signals, consult Edge Identity Signals.
• Use viewability and invalid traffic (IVT) filters to deprioritize low-quality inventory.

5. Test, monitor, refine

• Apply the account-level exclusions to the treatment group and monitor placement reports daily for the first 7 days, then twice weekly. Implement dashboards and observability playbooks similar to site observability approaches in Site Search Observability & Incident Response.
• Prepare a 14-day and 30-day readout with CPA, conversion rate, and share of spend on excluded domains (should trend to zero).

Sample account-level exclusion template (quick copy)

Use this as a starting point and customize to your brand and audience.

• Category blocks: Incentivized traffic, Low-quality apps, Gambling, Adult
• Behavioral blocks: Known high IVT sources, Low viewability inventory
• Domain block examples (anonymized): lowengage.example, clickfarm.example, rewardapp.example
• Channel-specific blocks: Block age-restricted YouTube channels flagged for misinformation or sensational content

Implementation specifics for 2026 Google Ads features

As of January 2026, Google Ads supports account-level placement exclusions across eligible campaign types (Performance Max, Demand Gen, YouTube, Display). Implementing at the account level means your exclusion list applies automatically to those campaigns without per-campaign replication.

Practical tips:

• Use shared negative lists: Create and name lists clearly (e.g., "Launch-Q4-2025-Exclusions") so you can version and rollback. Use collaborative tooling and a maintenance checklist like the one described in Beyond Filing.
• Tag lists: Maintain a changelog (date + reason for block) in your marketing operations docs to satisfy audit/compliance needs. See governance practices in Beyond Filing.
• Channel overrides: For Search and Shopping campaigns, account-level placement exclusions do not apply — they affect Display, YouTube, Demand Gen, and Performance Max.

What happened in the experiment — timeline and metrics

Day 0: Exclusion list deployed to treatment. Daily monitoring enabled.

Days 1–7: Immediate reduction in spend on flagged domains. Early signal showed a 20% lower bounce rate for treatment landing page traffic.

Days 8–14: CPA divergence became clear. Control CPA: $112. Treatment CPA: $75. Treatment traffic quality improved (longer session durations, higher micro-conversions).

Days 15–30: Full 44% CPA improvement realized. Total conversions nearly matched control despite slightly fewer impressions — the algorithm shifted budget toward higher-quality placements and search signals.

Detailed metric snapshot (30 days)

• Control: Spend $62,000, Conversions 614, CPA $101
• Treatment: Spend $58,000, Conversions 590, CPA $62
• % Spend on excluded domains (pre-block): ~12% of prospecting spend; post-block for treatment: <1%

Why CPA improved — causal mechanics

The account-level exclusion did three things that materially improved CPA:

1. Removed noise that bled learning: Low-intent clicks produced no conversion signals, interfering with automated bidding. Removing those signals allowed algorithms to focus on useful conversions.
2. Improved downstream quality: Traffic from higher-quality placements had higher session engagement and better funnel progression, improving conversion rate per visit.
3. Budget reallocation: With low-quality placements blocked, automation redirected spend toward better performing inventory and search, increasing effective conversion volume for the same or lower spend.

Operational benefits beyond CPA

• Faster launches: Marketing reduced campaign prep time by 35% because exclusion lists were centralized and reusable across launches.
• Lower engineering dependence: Marketers managed the list and rollout without new tagging or code changes.
• Improved brand safety: Consistent enforcement across automated formats reduced ad placements on risky content.

What to watch out for — tradeoffs and guardrails

Account-level exclusions are powerful, but they are not a set-and-forget silver bullet. Here are common pitfalls and how to avoid them.

• Over-blocking: Aggressively blocking categories can reduce reach and increase CPMs. Monitor impressions and CPM after rollout and loosen categories if you see a material rise without conversion gains.
• Attribution lag: If you rely only on last-click, you might misattribute lift. Use data-driven attribution and server-side conversion imports to see true impact.
• Channel mismatches: Account-level exclusions do not apply to Search. Keep a separate checklist for Search-negative keywords and Shopping exclusions.

Advanced strategies for 2026 launches

To maximize ROI in modern automated campaigns, pair account-level exclusions with these strategies.

1. Use holdout tests and incremental measurement

Run holdout audience tests to measure incrementality. In this case study, a small geographic holdout confirmed the net lift in trial starts attributable to the campaign after exclusions. For practical guidance on recruiting and managing test participants, see Case Study: Recruiting Participants with Micro‑Incentives.

2. Combine with creative differentiation

Use tailored creative for high-reach automated formats. When you reduce noisy placements, creative effectiveness matters more — test concise CTAs and short-form video for Demand Gen and YouTube. For inspiration on performance and personalization, review approaches in Shopfront to Edge.

3. Automate exclusion maintenance

• Build a script or use an ad ops platform to ingest placement reports weekly and surface candidates for the exclusion list.
• Implement a review workflow: name the reviewer, reason, and sunset date for each block. Collaborative tooling and governance patterns are covered in Beyond Filing.

Measurement checklist for launch teams

1. Confirm conversion tracking: server-side imports + client events
2. Baseline placement performance for the previous 90 days
3. Define primary KPI: CPA or cost per activated trial
4. Run a randomized A/B test or geographic holdout
5. Use DDA (data-driven attribution) and incrementality testing where possible
6. Share results with finance and product for ad-hoc budget reallocation

Real-world template: Rollout plan for your next launch (30–60 minutes)

1. Export placement report (10 minutes)
2. Build exclusion list from top offenders + category blocks (10–20 minutes)
3. Deploy as account-level shared exclusion list in Google Ads (5 minutes)
4. Enable daily monitoring dashboard for first 7 days (15 minutes) — build dashboards using observability playbooks like Site Search Observability.

Quote from the campaign lead

"Applying account-level placement exclusions was the single fastest lever we pulled to protect our launch funnel. We saw better conversion signals and cut CPA without adding complexity to our stack." — Paid Media Lead, anonymized

Final recommendations — what to do right now

• For imminent launches: Create a focused account-level exclusion list using your top 30 low-quality placements and apply it to eligible campaigns before go-live.
• For recurring campaigns: Maintain a living exclusion list and a weekly review cadence. Version lists for seasonal campaigns or product-specific launches.
• For governance: Document the business case for each block and assign an owner to avoid unnecessary permanent exclusions. Use collaborative changelog patterns from Beyond Filing to keep audits clean.

Actionable takeaways

• Centralize placement control: Use account-level exclusions to enforce inventory quality across automated formats.
• Measure incrementally: Run A/B tests or holdouts to prove impact on CPA and conversion quality.
• Keep it agile: Start with a minimal list of high-impact blocks, then refine using weekly placement data.

Closing: Protect launches, scale faster

In 2026, account-level placement exclusions are an operational must-have for launch teams that use Google’s automated inventory. The case study above shows how a modest, data-led exclusion list stopped low-quality placements from eating budget and produced a measurable, statistically valid improvement in CPA and conversion quality.

If your next product launch is days or weeks away, implement a focused account-level exclusion list now — it’s usually one of the highest-ROI operational moves you can make with minimal technical overhead.

Call to action

Ready to protect your next launch? Download our exclusion list template, or schedule a 30-minute audit to map your placement risk and set up account-level exclusions that keep launch ROI on target.

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