YouTube brand safety accreditation
YouTube has a brand safety accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC).
Our platform and content policies ensure that certain types of content can’t be monetized, automatically preventing your ads from showing on content that isn’t appropriate for most advertisers.
Inventory types
Inventory types help you quickly define the type of content that aligns with your brand or the message of your campaign. Keep in mind, these settings apply to all campaigns running on YouTube and the Google Display Network except App campaigns.
You can select from the following 3 inventory types. You can view more details about what type of video content is included and excluded for each inventory type.
Expanded inventory
Expanded inventory lets you show ads on all monetized content. This option is an appropriate choice for brands that want to maximize their reach by placing ads on content that may be sensitive for some brands, including, for example, videos that have strong profanity in the context of comedy or a documentary, or violence as featured in a video game.
Standard inventory
Standard inventory lets you show ads across a wide range of content that’s appropriate for most brands, such as popular music videos, documentaries, and movie trailers. The content you can show ads on is based on YouTube's advertiser-friendly content guidelines that take into account, for example, the strength or frequency of profanity, or the appropriateness of subject matter like sensitive events. Ads won’t show, for example, on content with repeated strong profanity, strong sexual content, or graphic violence.
Limited inventory
Limited inventory is intended to be used by brands with very strict guidelines around inappropriate language and sexual suggestiveness—beyond what our advertiser-friendly content guidelines address. For example, your ads will be excluded from showing on some of YouTube's most popular music videos and other pop culture content across YouTube and Google video partners.
Content exclusions
Our policies define the type of content that creators and publishers aren't allowed to monetize. Content suitability settings provide additional filtering on videos, channels, websites, and apps that aren’t the right fit for your product or brand. Keep in mind, content exclusions can limit your campaign performance.
It's recommended that you also review YouTube’s community guidelines and YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
Excluded sensitive content
Sensitive content exclusions prevent your ads from showing on categories of content considered sensitive for some brands. They apply to all campaigns running on the Google Display Network except Video campaigns.
You can choose from the following categories:
- Tragedy and conflict: Excludes graphic content of combat or war
- Sensitive social issues: Excludes content intended to elicit a response about controversial issues
- Profanity and rough language: Excludes content with infrequent or mild profanity, or profanity used in entertainment, comedy, satire, or music
- Sexually suggestive content: Excludes content about sex or sexual products
- Sensational and shocking: Excludes content of disasters or accidents that show casualties or death
Excluded content types
Content type exclusions prevent your ads from showing on certain categories of content, such as live video streams or videos embedded on websites. They apply to all campaigns running on YouTube or the Google Display Network.
- Live streaming YouTube video: Footage of a live event streamed on YouTube
- Embedded YouTube videos: Videos embedded on websites outside of YouTube.com
- Below-the-fold: Section of a page people have to scroll down to view (Display campaigns only)
- Parked domains: Registered but undeveloped website domains (Search campaigns only)
Excluded content labels
Videos, channels, websites, and apps on YouTube and the Google Display Network are analyzed by Google classification technology and given a digital content label. Content label exclusions let you choose the maturity level of the content that your ads can show on or next to.
Keep in mind, your campaign won’t run if you select all content labels.
- DL-G: Content suitable for general audiences (can also select “Content suitable for families” which includes Made for Kids videos on YouTube)
- DL-PG: Content suitable for most audiences with parental guidance
- DL-T: Content suitable for teen and older audiences
- DL-MA: Content suitable only for mature audiences
- Not yet labeled: Content that hasn’t been labeled yet because they haven’t yet completed the classification process
Excluded content keywords
Content keyword exclusions prevent your ads from showing on videos, channels, websites, and apps related to those specific words. You can exclude up to 1,000 content keywords at the account level. They apply to all campaigns running on YouTube or the Google Display Network.
Excluded content keywords only support exact matches, so they have to be spelled correctly. Keep in mind, some words have multiple meanings. Excluding a content keyword will prevent your ads from showing on any content related to that word, even in a different context than you intended.
Excluded placements
Placement exclusions prevent your ads from showing on specific videos, channels, websites, and apps that may not be the right fit for your product or brand. You can exclude up to 65,000 placements. They apply to all campaigns running on YouTube , the Search Partner Network, or the Google Display Network. Learn more about how to Exclude specific webpages and videos.
Excluded content themes
Content theme exclusions help prevent your ads from showing on videos, websites, or apps related to specific themes that may not suit your brand, like religion, politics, or video games that feature mature content, among others. Excluded content themes apply to campaigns on both the Display Network and YouTube. You can access excluded content themes under “Advanced settings” on the Content suitability page of your Google Ads account.
Content Suitability Coverage
|
Content suitability settings |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventory sources | Inventory types2 | Content type exclusion3 | Content label exclusions | Excluded placements | Excluded content keywords | Excluded content themes |
| In-stream video1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube Watch Next feed1 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube Shorts | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| YouTube Home feed | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Google video partners | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google Display ads | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Google Play |
No | No | No | No | Yes4 | No |
|
Mobile app |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes5 |
| Search & Search Partner Network | No | Yes | No | No | Yes4 | No |
| Discover feed | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Gmail | No | No | No | No | No | No |
1 Content suitability settings apply to the main video on the YouTube watch page
2 All campaigns running on YouTube or Display except App campaigns
3 Content type exclusions are specific to certain inventory sources
4 Keyword exclusions for the Play Store and Search Partner Network should be applied in “Account Settings”
5 Content themes apply to Mobile app inventory except “News” themes
Third-party brand safety and suitability measurement
Third-party brand safety and suitability reporting is available in Google Ads, Display and Video 360 (DV360), and YouTube Reserve. Learn more about third-party measurement on YouTube for Google Ads and DV360 and supported measurement vendors. For additional guidance, you can contact your Google representative.
How to access the Content suitability page
- In your Google Ads account, click the Tools icon
- Click Content suitability.
