In 2025 entrepreneurs and marketers in Ukraine face a paradox: video advertising on Google Ads provides unprecedented reach, but up to 60% of video campaign budgets is spent on placements that are irrelevant and do not deliver sales or quality leads. According to international studies, more than 45% of advertisers report that their ads regularly appear on platforms that do not match the target audience or the business’s theme.

A natural question arises: why, despite detailed targeting settings, do advertising budgets continue to “leak” to placements that do not generate value?

I am convinced: maximal return from Google Ads video advertising is achieved not only through creatives and targeting strategies, but above all through systematic management of placements and exclusion of irrelevant sites. This is not just a technical task, but a strategic tool for increasing ROI, controlling traffic quality and protecting the brand.

The practice of BUSINESS SITE has shown: proper management of exclusions in Google Ads video campaigns can reduce customer acquisition cost (CPA) on average by 25–40%, increase conversion and provide transparency of results.

In this article I reveal proven methods used by BUSINESS SITE specialists to optimize video advertising, sharing strategic approaches and concrete tools that allow you to exclude irrelevant placements and manage the budget with maximum efficiency. If it’s important for you not just to run ads but to get measurable and predictable results, I recommend reading to the end.

Analysis of Google Ads video ad placements for ROI

analiz razmeshcheniia videoreklamy google ad h2 img 1 Optimizing video ads in Google Ads how to exclude irrelevant placements

The first step to optimizing Google Ads video advertising is a deep analysis of placements. In my experience, regular placement audits make it possible to identify sites that “eat” the budget without delivering real conversions.

How to use the Google Ads Report Editor and placement reports

At BUSINESS SITE we start with a detailed analysis using the Google Ads Report Editor and standard placement reports. These tools allow you to see exactly where your video ads are shown: on which YouTube channels, partner network sites, and mobile apps. It’s important not just to record a list of placements, but to evaluate them by key metrics:

  • Clicks: reflect the level of audience engagement.
  • Cost per view (CPV): shows how efficiently the budget is being spent.
  • Conversions and cost per acquisition (CPA): allow you to assess the real return from each placement.
  • Audience relevance: how relevant the placement is to your product or service.
In a case with a pharmaceutical company for which we implemented a video campaign, regular analysis of placements revealed that more than 30% of the budget was going to children’s channels and entertainment sites that did not match the target audience. After implementing a filtering and exclusion system for such placements, we achieved a 38% reduction in CPA and a 22% increase in conversions.

For full control of results and timely decision-making, it is necessary to regularly monitor and deeply analyze the effectiveness of all elements of the video campaign.

Monitoring and analysis of video ad performance

I believe that monitoring should not be a one-time procedure, but an integrated process of managing a video campaign. Weekly report checks, setting up automated dashboards and integrating Google Analytics 4 with Google Ads make it possible to promptly identify irrelevant placements and adjust the placement strategy. BUSINESS SITE specialists recommend using multi-channel analytics and tracking not only direct conversions but also the impact of placements on LTV, the lifetime value of the customer.

Levels of placement exclusions in Google Ads — how to manage effectively?

urovni iskliucheniia mest razmeshcheniia google h2 img 2 Optimizing video ads in Google Ads how to exclude irrelevant placements

Effective exclusion of irrelevant placements is built on understanding the levels at which placements can be managed:

Exclusions at the account, campaign and ad group levels

  • Account level: exclusions apply to all campaigns in the account. This is convenient for global filters, for example to block placements with low-quality traffic or themes that do not match the business.
  • Campaign level: allows flexible management of placements for individual products or services. For example, for an online store we exclude gaming apps only in campaigns targeted at adult audiences.
  • Ad group level: targeted settings for specific audience segments or specific creatives.

The practice of BUSINESS SITE confirms: choosing the right exclusion level allows you to balance reach and relevance, minimize the risk of losing potential customers and optimize the budget.

How to choose the right exclusion level?

If the task is to protect the brand from unwanted content (for example, adult themes or political discussions), it is reasonable to use exclusions at the account level. To optimize individual campaigns where maximum reach is important, it is recommended to work at the campaign or ad group level so as not to limit the potential of other areas of the business.

Excluding irrelevant placements in Google Ads video advertising

iskliuchenie nerelevantnykh ploshchadok v goog h2 img 3 Optimizing video ads in Google Ads how to exclude irrelevant placements

Excluding irrelevant placements in Google Ads video advertising is an important step to increase the effectiveness of your campaigns and make rational use of the budget. Proper analysis and selection of placements allow you to focus on the sites that really deliver results while avoiding spending on non-target audiences.Next, let’s look at how to perform targeted optimization by excluding unsuitable placements.

Excluding placements for targeted optimization of Google Ads video advertising

At BUSINESS SITE we implement the exclusion of specific placements using the “Exclude placements” function in the Google Ads interface. Step-by-step it looks like this:

  1. Open the placements report.
  2. Select placements with low CTR, high CPV, or no conversions.
  3. Add them to the exclusion list at the appropriate level.

Google Ads allows excluding up to 65,000 placements per account, which provides flexibility in managing reach. It’s important to note that exclusions apply to YouTube, the Display Network and partner sites, including mobile apps.

In the case of the laboratory for which we ran a video campaign, targeted exclusion of placements with children’s and gaming content increased ROI by 31% already in the first month of optimization.

Google Ads exclusions: management and automation

For large businesses or agencies working with multiple projects, the optimal solution is to use Placement exclusion lists via the Shared library. This is a centralized tool that allows you to create and apply lists of excluded placements to multiple campaigns at once.

At BUSINESS SITE we automate updating these lists through integration with Google Sheets, https or SFTP. This allows quick reaction to the emergence of new irrelevant placements without spending time on manual addition. In the case of an online store, automating the update of exclusion lists reduced campaign optimization time by 70% and ensured a steady increase in conversions.

Excluding YouTube channels from video campaign ads

Excluding entire YouTube channels is an effective way to cut off irrelevant traffic, especially if the report shows that your ads regularly appear on channels with an unsuitable audience. It’s important not to act impulsively: before excluding a channel, BUSINESS SITE specialists analyze its content, audience and engagement dynamics.

Too strict exclusions can lead to loss of reach, especially if a channel contains mixed content. I recommend testing exclusions, monitoring their impact on metrics and adjusting lists depending on results.

Negative keywords for Google Ads video campaigns

Negative keywords: a powerful filtering tool in Google Ads video campaigns. Unlike search campaigns, here negative keywords work on the principle of exact matches and semantic analysis of content, which allows more flexible control of impressions.

Limitations: at the account level you can add up to 1,000 negative keywords. It’s important to consider the specifics of video indexing: new videos may not immediately fall under filtering, and Google Ads’ semantic analysis sometimes interprets words in context rather than literally.

BUSINESS SITE’s practice has shown that expanding the negative keyword list by adding synonyms, splitting phrases and regular updates can reduce impressions on irrelevant placements to a minimum. For example, for a travel agency we implemented negative keywords related to children’s and gaming content, which allowed focusing the budget on an adult audience.

Negative keywords to exclude children’s content in Google Ads

For businesses targeting adults, it’s important to exclude impressions on children’s channels and content. At BUSINESS SITE we use negative keywords and phrases such as “children”, “toys”, “cartoons”, “cartoon”, “kids”, “gaming”, “educational”, “baby”, “family”, “school”, “play”, “game”. Regularly updating the negative keyword list and analyzing reports helps track the emergence of new children’s channels and exclude them promptly.

It’s important to remember that words can have multiple meanings: some terms may be used in different contexts, so I recommend testing negative keywords and monitoring their impact on reach and conversions.

Excluding topics in Google Ads to protect brand and budget

Google Ads allows excluding entire content topics: religion, politics, adult content, gambling and others. This is especially relevant for brands that seek to protect their reputation and budget from unwanted associations.

At BUSINESS SITE we recommend testing topic exclusions, analyzing their impact on reach and campaign performance. Risks of excessive targeting include loss of part of the audience, reduced reach and increased cost per view. The optimal solution is gradual implementation of exclusions, regular metric analysis and flexible strategy adjustments.

Impact of exclusions on the effectiveness of Google Ads video campaigns

vliianie iskliuchenii na effektivnost goog h2 img 4 Optimizing video ads in Google Ads how to exclude irrelevant placements

Excluding irrelevant placements directly affects reach, cost per view (CPV) and profitability of video campaigns. In our observations, proper management of exclusions allows:

  • Reduce CPV by 20–35% by concentrating the budget on relevant placements.
  • Improve traffic quality and conversions by minimizing impressions to audiences that are not interested in the product.
  • Protect the brand from unwanted content and associations.

Risks of losing reach and how to minimize them

Excessive exclusion of placements and topics can lead to reduced reach and increased acquisition costs. At BUSINESS SITE we use risk management methodologies: we test exclusions on separate campaigns, analyze metric dynamics, and adjust lists depending on the results.

Regular monitoring and adjustment of exclusions: the key to maintaining the balance between reach and relevance. Integrating Google Analytics 4 with Google Ads makes it possible to track the impact of exclusions on ROI, LTV and other strategic metrics.

Evaluating effectiveness with analytics

At BUSINESS SITE we use comprehensive analytics: Google Ads reports, Google Analytics 4, multichannel dashboards. This allows us to see not only the direct effect of exclusions but also their impact on the long-term profitability of campaigns. Regular metric analysis is the basis for making decisions about budget optimization, campaign scaling and strategy adjustments.

Optimizing Google Ads video advertising for maximum ROI

optimizatsiia videoreklamy google ads dlia h2 img 5 Optimizing video ads in Google Ads how to exclude irrelevant placements

Optimization of Google Ads video advertising and the exclusion of irrelevant placements is not a one-time task, but a systematic process that requires expertise, regular analysis, and flexible management. The practice of BUSINESS SITE confirms: a comprehensive approach, including placement analysis, the use of exclusion lists, negative keywords, automation, and analytics integration, ensures maximum return on the advertising budget and sales growth.

I am convinced that the success of video campaigns is built on a balance between reach and relevance, constant monitoring, and professional optimization. If your goal: transparent, measurable, and predictable results, it is worth engaging experts capable of implementing a strategy to exclude irrelevant placements and managing the budget with maximum efficiency.