Question

I noticed that most of our YouTube Ads impressions are coming from mobile apps, and the performance there is much worse than on desktop placements. How do you exclude low-quality app inventory?

Answer 1

You're absolutely right to look into this — YouTube ads showing on mobile apps (especially games and kid content) can burn your budget fast with poor quality traffic, high bounce rates, and low intent.

Here's exactly how to exclude low-quality mobile app inventory from your YouTube campaigns in Google Ads:

Option 1: Exclude mobile app categories manually

1. Go to your Google Ads account

2. Navigate to your YouTube campaign → Placements → Exclusions

3. Click "Edit Exclusions"

4. Select "App Categories" under "Placements"

5. Choose to exclude:

   • All apps (under “Mobile app categories” → “All apps”)

   • Or selectively exclude:

     • Games

     • Kids & family

     • Social apps

This will block your ads from appearing in all mobile apps (Android & iOS), while keeping them on mobile web and desktop.

Option 2: Exclude by placement URL pattern (advanced method)

For older accounts or additional control:

1. Go to campaign or ad group level

2. Click on Placements → Exclusions

3. Use this domain-style exclusion: adsenseformobileapps.com

Note: This used to be a universal method, but Google has deprecated some of this functionality — still worth testing in some accounts.

Bonus Tip: Use device targeting filters

If app traffic is consistently poor, you can also:

• Go to Devices under your campaign settings

• Bid lower or exclude tablets/smartphones if needed

• Or create a desktop-only campaign (though this limits reach)

Pro Tip: Monitor placements

After a few days of spending:

1. Go to Placements → Where ads showed

2. Export and review poor performers (e.g., kids’ apps, random games)

3. Manually add those as exclusions