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Using the Placement Report to Improve Ad Spend Efficiency

The Placement Report is a crucial tool for anyone running campaigns on the Google Display Network, YouTube, or Performance Max.

It shows you the specific websites, YouTube channels, and mobile apps where your ads are appearing and highlights which ones are sending you high levels of fraudulent traffic.

This guide will show you how to use this report to identify and block wasteful placements, dramatically improving your campaign efficiency.

What the Report Shows

The report consists of two main parts:

The Placement Data Table This is the core of the report. It's a table that lists each placement where your ads have been shown and clicked, along with key fraud metrics for the selected time period.

Placement URL: The specific website domain, YouTube channel, or mobile app where your ad was displayed.

Ad Clicks: The total number of clicks your ad received from that specific placement.

Fake Clicks: The number of those clicks that ClickSambo identified as fraudulent.

Fraud Rate (%): The percentage of the placement's total clicks that were fraudulent. Sorting the table by this column is the fastest way to identify your worst-performing placements.

The Fraud Breakdown Chart This chart provides a quick visual summary, often showing the distribution of fraud across your top placements or breaking down the types of fraud detected on those placements.

How to Take Action on Placement Insights

Your goal is to find low-quality placements that are wasting your budget and add them to your "Placement Exclusions" list in Google Ads.

Step-by-Step Guide to Excluding Placements:

Step 1: Identify Bad Placements in ClickSambo

In your ClickSambo Placement Report, sort the table by "Fraud Rate" or "Fake Clicks" to bring the worst offenders to the top.

Select and copy the URLs of the websites or the names of the YouTube channels/apps you wish to block.

Step 2: Add Exclusions in Google Ads

Log in to your Google Ads account and navigate to the relevant campaign.

In the main content menu, go to Content > Exclusions.

Click the blue pencil icon (✏️) to edit your exclusions.

Ensure you are adding exclusions at the correct level (Campaign is common).

Paste the list of placement URLs you copied from ClickSambo into the box.

Click Save.

Once saved, Google Ads will stop showing your ads on these low-quality placements, immediately making your ad spend more efficient. Regularly checking your Placement Report and managing your exclusion list is one of the most effective ways to take control of your Display and Video campaigns.