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Controlling Which Ads Run

Applies to: Publishers · needs the matching permission on your account

As a publisher you decide what may appear on your sites. This guide covers the two account-wide controls — Blocked Domains and Better Ads — and points you at the per-zone controls that do the rest.

What this is#

Two separate pages, both under the publisher menu:

  • Blocked Domains — a list of advertiser domains you don't want your visitors sent to. A block is account-wide: it applies to every website and every ad zone you own.
  • Better Ads — a single switch that filters out ad experiences failing the Better Ads Standards, either across all your sites or on a chosen subset.

Neither one is a content rating. Ratings and categories are set per zone — see Ad Zones.

When you'll use this#

  • A competitor's ads are running on your site and you want them gone.
  • An advertiser's landing page is broken, misleading, or off-brand for your audience.
  • You want to keep your sites compliant with the Better Ads Standards.
  • A specific placement needs stricter rules than the rest of your account.

Step by step#

Block an advertiser domain#

  1. Open Blocked Domains from the publisher menu.
  2. In Block Domain, type the advertiser domain you don't want your visitors sent to — example.com, not a full URL.
  3. Click Save. The domain appears in the list.
  4. Repeat for each domain. There's no bulk import; a block is one domain at a time.

A block is a single domain, so there's nothing to edit. To change one, unblock it and add the corrected domain.

Unblock a domain#

  1. Find the domain in the list and use its Unblock action, or
  2. Tick several with the checkboxes and unblock them together.

Turn on Better Ads#

  1. Open Better Ads from the publisher menu.
  2. Switch on Enable Better Ads.
  3. Under Websites, leave the selection empty to apply it to all your websites, or pick specific sites for targeted compliance.
  4. Save.

Options reference#

Blocked Domains#

Control What it does
Block Domain Adds one advertiser domain to your block list.
Search Filters the list you already have.
Unblock Removes a single block.
Bulk select → Unblock Removes several blocks at once.

Better Ads#

Control What it does
Enable Better Ads Turns the Better Ads Standards filter on for your account.
Websites Which of your sites the filter covers. Empty means all of them.

The Better Ads Standards identify ad experiences that fall beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability — the formats that most reliably drive visitors to install ad blockers. Enabling the filter keeps those formats off the sites you select.

Where the other controls live#

I want to… Go to
Set a floor price so cheap ads don't win Ad Zones → the zone's Prices tab
Allow only specific advertisers on a placement Ad Zones → Whitelisted Campaigns, with force whitelist only
Stop blank space when nothing pays Ad Zones → Own Ads
Restrict a placement's content rating or category Ad Zones → Settings
Block animation or iframes Ad Zones → Settings
Keep an outside network off certain pages Smart Zones → referrer stopwords / keyword targeting

Example#

Keeping a competitor off your site. Ben's blog earns well, but a direct competitor keeps buying his inventory.

  1. He opens Blocked Domains and adds competitor.com.
  2. He checks the competitor's other properties and adds those domains too — each one separately, since a block is one domain.
  3. He opens Better Ads, switches the filter on, and leaves the website list empty so it covers every site he owns.
  4. For his most valuable placement he goes further: on that zone's Prices tab he raises the country floors, so only well-paying advertisers can win it at all.

Tips#

  • Block the landing domain, not the network. The block matches where the ad sends your visitor.
  • Add the whole family of domains. Advertisers commonly run several; blocking one leaves the rest running.
  • Better Ads costs you some fill. That's the point — it trades a slice of revenue for a better experience and fewer ad blockers. Enable it site by site if you want to measure the effect first.
  • Blocking is a blunt instrument. For one placement that needs tighter control, floors and whitelisted campaigns give you more precision than an account-wide block.
  • Re-check your list occasionally. Blocks accumulate, and a domain you blocked two years ago may be costing you fill for no reason.

Troubleshooting#

Symptom Likely cause Fix
I blocked a domain and the ads still appear Domain blocks are stored but not yet applied to live ad serving — the page says so in an amber notice. Until that ships, use the per-zone controls: floors, whitelisted campaigns, or content rating. Report the advertiser to your account manager for a manual block.
"This domain is already blocked" It's on your list already Search the list to find it
I can't edit a block A block is a single domain with nothing else to change Unblock it and add the corrected domain
Better Ads is on but fill dropped a lot Expected — the filter removes the formats that fail the standard Scope it to specific websites instead of all of them, or accept the tradeoff
I don't see one of these pages The feature isn't enabled for your account Ask your account manager
  • Ad Zones — floors, whitelisted campaigns, own ads and per-zone rules
  • Smart Zones — controlling what outside networks serve
  • Websites — the sites these controls apply to
  • Publisher Statistics — measuring the effect on fill and earnings