Custom Publisher List in the Google Display Network: Step by Step

A custom publisher list is a list of the websites and apps where you want your display ads to appear. The publisher is whoever owns the website and sells the ad space. You use the list in a Display campaign on the Google Display Network (GDN) and when you contact publishers directly.

Why you should have your own publisher list

With a list of selected websites you decide for yourself where your ads appear. That reduces the risk of your budget going to websites that do not suit your audience or your brand. Whether the list also gives you more for your money is something you will see when you compare it with a campaign where Google chooses the websites.

How to create your own publisher list step by step

1. Decide which websites are a good fit

Start by deciding which types of websites are relevant to your audience. Are they news media, industry forums or lifestyle magazines? Choose publishers that strengthen your brand.

2. Find publishers that could be included

• Manually: Look for well-visited websites in your industry through industry directories or with tools such as Similarweb, which estimates traffic to different websites.
• In Google Ads: When you add placements you can search with a word or a URL and get suggestions for websites and apps. If you already run Display campaigns, the Where ads showed report shows where your ads have appeared so far.

3. Check that the website sells ads through Google

Open the website's ads.txt. This is a public text file where the publisher lists which companies are allowed to sell its ad space. The file sits directly under the domain and for the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter the address is https://www.dn.se/ads.txt. Look for lines that start with google.com:

google.com, pub-0000000000000000, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0

The third field is DIRECT or RESELLER. DIRECT means that the publisher controls its own Google account. RESELLER means that the publisher has authorised another company to sell the ad space through Google. Both types mean that Google is allowed to sell the ad space and DN has lines of both kinds.

You get the final answer in Google Ads. According to Google a placement must be part of the Display Network or YouTube for your ads to appear there.

4. Group the publishers

Sort the list by reach and topic and by past performance if you have the data. The groups can become separate ad groups with their own message. Also note which publishers you can contact directly.

5. Add the list as placements in Google Ads

Create a Display campaign and add the websites as placements in the ad group. You do this on the Content page under Audiences, keywords, and content. Do not add topics or display keywords to the same ad group because according to Google your ads can then appear on any content that matches them.

Optimized targeting is on by default and can show your ads to more people than the audiences you have chosen. According to Google ad serving is still limited to the placements you have selected. Popular websites may require higher bids and with Manual CPC or viewable CPM you can adjust the bid for each placement.

6. Make direct deals with key publishers

For a few key websites it can pay to negotiate directly with the publisher. A direct deal is made outside Google Ads. You agree on price and ad space with the publisher or its sales house and can get exclusive placements that way.

7. Monitor and adjust the list

Go through the Where ads showed report regularly. Give each website enough impressions before you judge it and then replace the websites that do not deliver. Which bid strategies work for Display campaigns is covered in the guide to bid strategies in Google Ads.