Some of your budget goes to places that never sell anything, and occasionally to content you would rather not be sitting next to. Neither shows up as a problem in a normal campaign report, because neither is a line anyone reads.
Where are the ads actually showing?
"Where are my ads showing up? Which places take money and never sell?"
They come back in three groups, because they are three different problems:
Group | What it is |
Accidental clicks | Mobile apps and games where the click pattern looks like a fat finger, not interest. You pay for the click either way |
Just not working | Real places that get real traffic and produce nothing |
Not where you want to be | Content you would not want your brand next to, whatever the numbers say |
That first group is worth asking about on its own: "Any mobile games where the clicks look accidental?"
The blocking mistake nearly everyone makes
Google lets you block a place in three different ways, and only one of them works everywhere.
Where you block it | Does it cover Performance Max |
In one ad group | No |
Across a campaign | No |
Across the whole account | Yes |
If Performance Max is a real part of your spend, the first two leave your biggest campaign exposed. People block a bad site at campaign level, see it keep spending, and assume the block failed.
Ask for the account-wide one:
"Block those across the whole account. Show me the list first."
YouTube channels
YouTube is handled separately from other places. If you want your ads off a particular channel, say so and it can be blocked everywhere.
On Meta
You can see which Meta placements are taking money and what they give back, alongside the device breakdown, since those two get mixed up and the fix is different for each.
Blocking a placement is a Google thing. On Meta what you have instead is ad set targeting, the brand safety settings, and capping how often someone sees your ad. All of those work from the chat.
What it will not do
It does not block placements on Meta. It can show you the numbers, but the blocking is Google.
It does not cover Performance Max with a campaign-level block. Only the account-wide one reaches it.
It does not decide what is off-brand for you. It shows you where the ads ran and you decide.
It does not block anything you have not seen and approved.
When something does not work
What you see | Why | What to do |
You blocked a site and it is still costing money | You blocked it at campaign level and the spend is coming from Performance Max | Block it across the whole account instead |
It will not block a Meta placement | That is a Google capability | Use ad set targeting or the brand safety settings on Meta |
The list is empty | The campaigns you asked about do not report places | Ask about a Display, Video or Performance Max campaign |
Common questions
Why is Performance Max still showing on a site I blocked?
Because campaign-level blocks do not reach it. Use the account-wide block.
Can it block a whole category of apps?
It blocks the ones it finds. Ask for the accidental-click group and block those together.
Can I unblock something?
Yes. Just ask.
Does this work on Facebook and Instagram?
You can see the numbers. The blocking is Google.
Still need help?
Message us in the app or write to support@orphex.co. Never share your password or an access key with anyone, including us.