If you're managing Microsoft Ads and want to keep your ads off low-quality or irrelevant sites, using Website Exclusion Lists is the way to go. Here's a full breakdown of how to do it properly step by step.
Step 1: Pull a Publisher Performance Report
Start by generating a publisher performance report in Microsoft Ads. Filter by campaign or date range and sort by metrics like click-through rate, cost per acquisition, or conversion rate. This helps you identify poorly performing sites that may be harming your campaign performance or brand safety.
Step 2: Create Your Exclusion List
Once you have a list of underperforming or undesirable websites:
Navigate to your Manager Account dashboard.
Go to Tools → Exclusion Lists.
Create a new list, name it (e.g. "Low Quality Publisher List - March 2025").
Add up to 10,000 domains or URLs into that list.
Step 3: Apply the Exclusion List
With your exclusion list ready:
Go to your target campaign(s).
Select Settings → Website Exclusions.
Attach the newly created list.
The domains will be excluded from serving immediately across Search Ads or Audience Ads, depending on your setup.
Step 4: Monitor & Refine
After exclusion list deployment:
Keep an eye on your campaigns’ performance metrics (e.g. CTR, CPA, ROAS).
Re-run a publisher performance report after 1–2 weeks.
Remove well-performing domains back into your whitelist if needed.
Update the exclusion list regularly to keep pace with changing traffic and quality metrics
Website Exclusion Lists are a powerful way to reduce ad waste and improve performance, especially now that Microsoft supports centralized, scalable tools across accounts.