Block advertisers and brands

This article is for Google Ad Manager users only. Ad Manager is a publisher ad management platform. If you don't have an Ad Manager account, we recommend you:

• Read how to block certain ads
• Visit My Ad Center to control the information that Google uses to show you ads.

You can block advertisers and brands from appearing on your network or specified inventory.

Brands are "children" that are mapped to parent advertisers, providing you with more granular blocking options. An example of an advertiser/brand relationship might be a food company (the advertiser) and a specific cereal they manufacture (the brand).

Ad Exchange tags cannot be used with protections. Instead, implement Google Publisher Tag.

You can combine advertiser/brand protections with all other protections except for Custom labels.

Advertiser/brand blocks apply to these transactions

• Open Auctions
• First Look
• Programmatic Guaranteed, if you select the Apply to all direct traffic as well checkbox.
• Traditional, if you select the Apply to all direct traffic as well checkbox and tag line items with advertisers/brands. See step 10 below for details.

Advertiser/brand blocks don't apply to Private Auctions. Private Auction block settings are within the individual auction settings, rather than in the Ad content protections settings.

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Protection rules are additive

Multiple "Block all buyers with following exceptions" block types targeting the same inventory may result in a significant decrease in the number of advertiser and/or brands eligible to purchase that inventory.

When multiple "Block all buyer with following exceptions" are created for the same inventory, only advertisers and/or brands that appear on all blocks will be allowed to bid and serve, which may not be your intention.

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Protections, and then Protections.
3. Click New protection, and then Ad content.
4. Name your protection.
5. From the "Inventory type" dropdown, select the medium on which you want to control the display of ads, such as Mobile app.
6. The default is to apply the protection to all inventory. To target specific inventory:
   • Select Only protect specified inventory, click Add targeting, select an item from the dropdown, and make your targeting selections.
   • Learn more about targeting in protections.
7. Under "Blocks," click Add next to "Advertisers/Brands".
8. Next to "'Block list type" select one of the following:
   • Block the following advertisers &/or brands: Blocks only the advertisers and brands you select.
     Note: Even if you block all of an advertiser's listed brands, "unclassified" brands from that advertiser might continue to serve. 
   • Block all advertisers &/or brands, with the following exceptions: Blocks all advertisers and brands except those you select.
9. (Optional) To block all unclassified advertisers, select Block any advertisers or brands that are not classified:
   • An advertiser is considered "unclassified" if it doesn't appear on our list of advertisers available for setting pricing rules. Any brands belonging to these advertisers are also considered unclassified.
   • If none of our existing categories are applicable to an ad, the ad belongs to an unclassified category. The block only applies to categories included in a protection.
   • Unclassified advertisers are only blocked on the open auction.

   • You can't block an individual unclassified brand. You can only block an unclassified advertiser, which will block all of its associated brands.

     Can I block an individual advertiser's "unclassified" brands?

     You have to block the advertiser to block their unclassified brands. To block unclassified brands from an individual advertiser, block the advertiser as follows:

     1. Check the box next to the advertiser's name to block them.
     2. Uncheck any boxes next to their listed brands.

     For example, if Advertiser X has listed brands 1, 2, and 3, check the box next to Advertiser X to block them, and uncheck the boxes next to their listed brands 1, 2, and 3. 
10. Select Apply to all direct traffic as well to apply the blocks to Traditional and Programmatic Guaranteed transaction types.
    For the blocks to apply to direct traffic, you must tag your line items with advertisers/brands.
11. Click Update.
12. Add more protections as needed and click Save.