Using inclusion lists without excluding the intended audience

An inclusion list sharpens control over where ads appear but shrinks available supply. Build it around the audience and context the campaign needs, then check that audience reach before making the list a blanket rule.

When a line item uses both audience and placement targeting, an impression must match the selected audience and an eligible placement. A narrower list can therefore remove opportunities to reach people who remain in the audience.

Define what the list is meant to protect

Choose a clear reason for each inclusion: verified publisher identity, relevant editorial context, a required geography or a brand-suitability standard. Familiar domain names are not automatically useful placements.

Display & Video 360 offers inventory across websites, YouTube and apps. Include app IDs separately where the audience uses apps, and consider whether app and web placements need different handling.

If the campaign uses first-party data from a CRM or website, keep that audience selection in place while testing eligible placements. A placement match alone does not replace the audience match.

For example, a line item targeting the campaign’s first-party audience but limited to desktop news sites will not reach that audience when its members use mobile apps. Include relevant websites and app IDs.

Start with placements that have enough delivery and a defensible quality record. Do not copy the best-converting rows from a short period; that can overfit to a small sample and exclude potential new customers.

For a broad campaign, use a separate exploration line: a line item with a broader set of eligible placements, run in limited scope alongside the curated list. Keep the campaign’s required geography and suitability rules in place on that line.

Consider whether any tested additions belong in the curated list. Check that the intended audience and eligible placements can both serve before treating an addition as a solution.

Estimate the cost of control

Check forecast or inventory-availability data. If a line item struggles to spend, distinguish a supply shortage from budget, bid, creative or deal problems before relaxing the list.

A list that works for desktop news inventory may miss mobile app usage.

Ask whether a missing segment is genuinely out of scope or merely absent from the initial list.

Before applying a restriction broadly, compare forecast and delivery by market, device and audience segment. Confirm both the audience and the placements it uses remain eligible. Record the placement, reason for adding it, evidence considered, owner and review date.

Remove entries that change materially, and test additions in limited scope before rolling them across every line item.

Inclusion List Impact: Control vs. Reach

Key Metrics to Monitor When Using Inclusion Lists