
12 Nov How to Stop Google Ads Showing on Mobile Apps
Ensuring your Ads are shown to the right people on the right device can ‘make or break’ the success of an advertising campaign.
Up until September 2018 excluding the URL “adsenseformobileapps.com” from placements would stop ads showing on: Mobile app, Mobile app interstitial, Tablet app, and Tablet app interstitial.
However Google is now depreciating “adsenseformobileapps.com” as a placement exclusion.
So now what…
It is as simple as
Step 1) Select the Campaign
Step 2) Go to Settings
Step 3) Open Additional Settings
Step 4) Select Specific targeting for devices
Step 5) Unselect those which need to be excluded
Update: February 2019:
Google have deprecated the above “Mobile App” and “Mobile App Interstitial” targeting (or ability to exclude).
Google first moved the exclusion of Mobile App targeting to the “Content Exclusions” below the Additional Settings (as above). However, Google believe that, in our best interest, that we have to target Mobile Apps (yeah right! more like it’s in Google’s best interest)
They advise “To expand your reach to more customers on mobile, this exclusion is no longer supported.”
Therefore, there is no easy way to exclude Mobile Apps using the “G-mob mobile app non interstitial” selection.
The new work-around:
Step 1) Through Google Ads Campaign Settings….
> Select the Campaign
> Go to Settings
> Open Additional Settings
> Select Content Exclusions
> Tick “Games”
Step 2) Through Google Ads Placement Exclusions…
> Select Placements
> Select Exclusions
> Select Pencil > Exclude Placements
> Select “Exclude from” > Account
> Select App Categories
> Select “Apple App Store” and then “Google Play”
> Select all the App Categories
Since the “Content not yet labelled” is ticked in the Content Exclusions, and all the App Categories are ticked, the ads should not show on Apps. Google have covered themselves with the disclaimer:
“While content exclusions are completed to the best of our ability, we can’t guarantee that all related content will be excluded.”
They really want our ads to show on Mobile Apps, even if we don’t want to target them. I wonder why? Sigh!