AdSense Blocking Controls: How to Block Unwanted Ads on Your Site

Your site is approved and ads are running. Then you notice an ad from a competitor, or an ad that does not fit your readers. Maybe you run a family-friendly Shayari site and do not want certain topics next to your content.

AdSense gives you tools to control this. This guide explains each blocking control in simple steps, so you can remove the ads you truly do not want while keeping your earnings healthy.

What are AdSense blocking controls?

Blocking controls are settings inside your AdSense account that stop certain ads from showing on your pages. You can find them under Brand safety in the left menu.

According to Google's guide to allowing and blocking ads, the main options are:

How to block a specific ad with the Ad review center

This is the most precise option. It blocks one ad, not a whole topic.

1. Sign in to AdSense and open Brand safety.
2. Open Ad review center from the Brand safety page. If it is not set up yet, follow the prompt to enable it.
3. Use the search and filters. You can search by text, ad network, ad type or status. You can also upload a screenshot of the ad (PNG under 3 MB) to find it.
4. Open the ad to see its details.
5. Click Block, or Block and report if the ad breaks Google's ad policies.

Google's Ad review center overview notes a few limits. It does not support every AdSense product. Blocks apply at the product level, not site by site. And it can take up to 24 hours for a blocked ad to stop running.

How to block advertiser URLs in AdSense

Use this when you want to block every ad from one website, such as a direct competitor.

Block for all your sites

1. Open Brand safety > Content > Blocking controls.
2. Click Manage Advertiser URLs.
3. Enter the URLs. Separate several with commas or new lines.
4. Submit.

Block for one site only

1. Open Brand safety > Content > Blocking controls.
2. Search for your site and select it. If it is missing, add it in site management first.
3. Click Manage Advertiser URLs, enter the URLs and submit.

How URL blocking works

Google's advertiser URL help page explains the rules:

• You can block a maximum of 500 URLs.
• Blocking example.com also blocks its subfolders and subdomains, like www.example.com.
• Blocking a subfolder such as example.com/shoes does not block other folders on that site.
• Blocking a subdomain such as shop.example.com does not block the main domain.
• For country domains like example.co.in, enter the full domain with the country code.

How to block general categories

General categories are broad groups of ads, such as Apparel, Internet, Real Estate and Vehicles.

1. Open Brand safety > Content > Blocking controls.
2. To apply to one site, search for and select it. To apply to all sites, skip this step.
3. Click Manage General categories.
4. Switch a category to blocked. Changes save automatically.

How to block sensitive categories

Sensitive categories cover topics that some publishers prefer to avoid, such as Religion, Politics, Dating, or Astrology and esoteric topics.

1. Open Brand safety > Content > Blocking controls.
2. Select a site, or skip this step to apply to all sites.
3. Click Manage Sensitive categories.
4. Block the categories you do not want. Changes save automatically.

Which blocking control should you use?

How to block ads without losing too much income

• Have a reason for every block. "I do not like it" is weaker than "this is a competitor" or "this topic is wrong for children reading my site".
• Prefer narrow blocks. One ad is narrower than one advertiser, and one advertiser is narrower than a whole category.
• Note the date of each change. Then compare your page RPM before and after in Reports. Our guide on AdSense RPM explains what to look at.
• Review blocks every few months. Unblock anything you no longer need.
• Remember that ads change. AdSense shows different ads to different visitors, so the ad you see may not be what most readers see.

Common problems and fixes

"I blocked an ad but still see it"

Wait up to 24 hours. Then check in a private browser window. The Ad review center can also keep listing ads that had impressions in the last 30 days, even after you block them by URL or category.

"My site is not in the Search sites box"

Site-level blocking needs the site to be added and eligible in site management. Add the site under Sites first. If you have not done this yet, see how to add and verify a site in AdSense.

"I see no ads at all after blocking"

Blocking a few items should not stop all ads. If your ad spaces are empty, the cause is likely somewhere else, such as code, ads.txt or a policy issue. Work through our checklist for AdSense ads not showing.

Final word

AdSense blocking controls let you keep your site clean and on-brand. Use the Ad review center for single ads, advertiser URLs for competitors, and categories only when a whole topic is wrong for your audience. Block carefully, note your changes, and check your RPM afterwards.

Next step: open Brand safety in your AdSense account today and look at the Ad review center for 10 minutes before you block anything. If you are building a new content site, our AdSense-ready scripts, such as the Hindi Shayari website script, come with ad spaces planned in the layout.

Sources: Google AdSense Help, Guide to allow and block ads on your site, Block advertiser URLs, Block general categories, Block sensitive categories and Ad review center overview.