Getting unwanted clicks that are costing you? You can take your ads off certain neighborhoods of the Internet map, so to speak, by excluding computer or network IP addresses.
This article explains how to exclude Internet Protocol (IP) addresses by the campaign so that all ads in that campaign are blocked from computers and networks associated with those addresses.
Why exclude by IP address
You could exclude specific IP addresses in order to limit showing your ad on particular networks that you believe aren't likely to be used by potential customers.
For example, people working at your company regularly check your website's organic search results, where your ads sometimes show. Since unwanted ad impressions and inadvertent clicks are costly, you decide to exclude your company's network IP address.
You can exclude up to 500 IP addresses per campaign. You can enter specific IP addresses, or use an asterisk (*) to replace the last 3 digits if you want to exclude a block of addresses.
Keep in mind
If you're trying to prevent your ads from showing in certain geographical locations, try excluding ads from a geographic location instead of excluding IP addresses.
IP addresses can appear in different versions, so make sure you use all versions of the IP address you’d like to exclude.
- Google Ads will merge the exclusion lists. This means all the IP addresses excluded at either level will be blocked from viewing your ads for that campaign.
- To manage account-level IP exclusions, you need to manage them through your account settings. You cannot edit or remove account level exclusions from within the individual campaigns.
Example: Imagine you exclude IP addresses 1, 2, and 3 at the campaign level (Campaign A). Then, you exclude IP addresses 4, and 5 at the account level. For the campaign you set up (Campaign A), Google Ads will effectively block IP addresses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Types of IP exclusions
Account-level IP exclusions
Internet Protocol (IP) Exclusions are now supported at the account level. You can use this to exclude specific IP addresses from seeing your ads across all campaigns in your account including Performance Max, Demand Gen, Search, Shopping, Display, Discover, and YouTube.
Key benefits:
- Streamlined control: Effortlessly exclude specific IP addresses from seeing your ads across all campaigns within your account, including Performance Max.
- Centralized management: Easily configure and maintain IP exclusions from one central location, streamlining campaign management.
- Enhanced targeting: Ensure your ads reach the most relevant audiences by precisely controlling where they appear.
How to exclude IP addresses at the account level
- In your Google Ads account, click the Admin icon
.
- Click Account settings.
- Go to the “IP exclusions” section.
- Enter the IP addresses you want to exclude from seeing your ads.
- Click Save.
How to remove existing account-level IP address exclusions
- Follow steps 1-3 (above).
- Remove any IP address exclusions that you don't want to apply.
- Click Save.
Campaign-level IP exclusions
While account-level IP exclusions offer a streamlined approach, you also have the flexibility to exclude specific IP addresses from individual campaigns using campaign-level settings. This allows you to fine-tune your targeting and ensure your ads are reaching the most relevant audiences within each campaign.
Note: IP exclusions aren't available for video campaigns, hotel campaigns, App campaigns, Performance Max campaigns, Smart Display campaigns, and Demand Gen campaigns.
How to exclude IP addresses at the campaign level
- In your Google Ads account, click the Campaigns icon
.
- Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
- Click Campaigns.
- Select the campaign you'd like to exclude IP addresses from.
- Click the settings icon
- On the “Settings” page, click Additional settings.
- Click to expand the "IP exclusions" section.
- Enter the IP addresses you want to exclude from seeing your ads.
- Click Save.
How to remove existing campaign-level IP address exclusions
- Follow steps 1-7 (above).
- Remove any IP address exclusions that you don't want to apply.
- Click Save.
