Our policies define the type of content that creators and publishers are allowed to monetise. Content suitability settings provide additional filtering to help you find the right fit for your product or brand. Depending on your campaign setup, they can apply to content on YouTube, Display Network, Google video partners (GVP) or the search partners network. Coverage of some ad formats and ad inventory types may be limited.
Note: Google has policies that define what types of content can be monetised for ads on YouTube and the Display Network. The content settings listed here are meant to give you additional control and help you exclude types of content that, while in compliance with our policies, may not be the right fit for your brand or business. It's recommended that you also review YouTube’s community guidelines and YouTube’s advertiser-friendly content guidelines.
YouTube brand safety accreditation
YouTube has a brand safety accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC).
Our platform and content policies require that certain types of content is not monetised, helping to reduce the risk of your ads showing on content that isn’t appropriate for most advertisers. Brand safety controls for Display and video campaigns are set up at the account level, but you can still view and adjust your previous brand safety settings in older campaigns, even those created through other channels.
Inventory types
Inventory types help you quickly define the type of content that aligns with your brand or the message of your campaign. These settings apply to YouTube, Display Network and Google video partner, however don't apply for App campaigns.
You can select from the following three 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 maximise available inventory. This option is an appropriate choice for brands that want to maximise their reach by placing ads on content that may be sensitive for some brands. Within the Display Network, this option means that your ads are more likely to appear next to dynamic content when compared to standard and limited inventory.
Standard inventory
Standard inventory lets you show ads across a wide range of content that’s considered suitable for most brands. Ads are less likely to show, for example, on content with strong language, strong references to sexually suggestive content or strong dramatised violence.
Limited inventory
Limited inventory is intended to be used by brands with very strict guidelines around inappropriate language and sexual suggestiveness. Ads are less likely to show, for example, on content with moderate profanity, moderate references to sexually suggestive content and moderate dramatised violence. Additional examples include, ads excluded from showing on some of YouTube's most popular music videos and other pop culture content across YouTube and Google video partners.
Excluded sensitive content
Sensitive content exclusions help to prevent your ads from showing on categories of content considered sensitive for some brands. They apply to Display Network and Google video partner inventory.
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 help to prevent your ads from showing on certain categories of content, such as live video streams or videos embedded on websites. They apply to Display Network and Google video partner inventory..
- Live streaming videos (YouTube, Display Network, GVP): Footage of live streamed events
- 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
Excluded content labels
Videos, channels, websites and apps on YouTube, Display Network and Google video partner inventory are analysed 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.
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 labelled: Content that hasn’t been labelled yet because they haven’t completed the classification process
Excluded content keywords
Content keyword exclusions help to 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 YouTube, Display Network and Google video partner inventory.
Excluded content keywords only support exact matches, so they have to be spelled correctly. Bear 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 help to 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 YouTube, Display Network, Google video partner and search partners network inventory. Learn more about how to Exclude specific web pages and videos.
Excluded content themes
Content theme exclusions help to 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 YouTube, Google Display Network and Google video partner inventory. You can access excluded content themes under Advanced settings' on the Content suitability page of your Google Ads account.
- Content suitable for families: Content that's suitable for families to view together, including Made for Kids videos on YouTube.
- Games (fighting): Video games that simulate hand-to-hand fighting or combat with the use of modern or mediaeval weapons.
- Games (mature): Video games that feature mature content, such as violence, inappropriate language or sexual suggestiveness.
- Health (sensitive): Health content that people might find sensitive or upsetting, such as medical procedures or images and descriptions of various medical conditions.
- Health (source undetermined) YouTube only: Health content from sources that may provide accurate information but aren’t as commonly cited as other, more well-known sources.
- News (recent): News content that's been recently announced, regardless of the themes or people being reported on.
- News (sensitive): News content that people might find sensitive or upsetting, such as crimes, accidents and natural incidents, or commentary on potentially controversial social and political issues.
- News (source not featured): News content from sources that aren’t featured on Google News or YouTube News.
- Politics: Political content, such as political statements made by well-known politicians, political elections or events widely perceived to be political in nature.
- Religion: Content with religious themes, such as religious teachings or customs, holy sites or places of worship, well-known religious figures or people dressed in religious attire or religious opinions on social and political issues.
Known limitations of content suitability settings
- Content exclusions may provide limited coverage of in-feed ads in YouTube
- Content exclusions may provide limited coverage of YouTube Shorts
- Content exclusions may provide limited coverage in Discover
- Content exclusions may provide limited coverage in mobile and connected TV inventory in the Google Display Network and Google video partner network.
- Google may conduct evaluations of dynamic app or web inventory to determine suitability, or it will categorise some apps by the app’s main function (e.g. user-generated content apps, dating apps, social media apps and memes and gif sharing apps), not the content shown within it. Dynamic app or web content are more likely to include undetected policy violations.
- Content exclusions may provide limited coverage for web inventory in the Google Display Network and the Google video partner network, including where the content is hidden behind login walls, in unsupported languages or displayed in unsupported video formats.
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 | Yes4 | No | Yes4 |
| 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 | Yes5 | No |
|
Mobile app |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes6 |
| Search and search partner network | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes5 | 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 Excluding VAC and PMax campaigns
5 Keyword exclusions for the Play Store, Search and search partner network should be applied in 'Account settings'
6 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.
