Quick answer: Go to Campaign Settings > Locations > Advanced Search. Search for a location and click Exclude. For bulk exclusions, use the Add locations in bulk tab to upload up to 1,000 locations at once.
Why Exclude Locations in Google Ads
Showing ads outside your service area burns budget on clicks you can never convert.
Budget efficiency and waste prevention
Every click from a region you can't serve costs money with zero return. Excluding those areas keeps spend focused on the right people.
Per Google's Ads Help Center, location targeting is Google's best effort based on signals like user settings, device data, and platform behavior. It's not perfectly precise. But exclusions still dramatically reduce wasted impressions in areas you know are wrong.
Real-world use cases (shipping limitations, regional restrictions)
A few situations where exclusions pay off immediately:
- E-commerce with no shipping to certain states or countries.
- Local service businesses covering only specific zip codes.
- Franchises with enforced territory restrictions by region.
- Regulated industries where advertising is restricted in certain markets.
Google Ads documentation confirms you can exclude regions within countries, cities within states, or zip codes within cities. Any geographic layer is fair game.
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Method 1: Excluding Individual Locations
This method gives you the most granular control. Use it when you have a small number of specific areas to block.
Navigate to Campaign Settings
Open Google Ads. Select Campaigns from the left navigation. Click the campaign you want to edit. Choose Settings from the page menu.
Access the Locations section
Scroll down to Locations in Settings and expand it. You'll see your currently targeted areas alongside a map view on the right side.
Search and exclude specific areas
Click Edit, then select Advanced Search. Type the location you want to block, such as a state, city, or postal code. When the result appears, click Exclude rather than Add. Repeat for each area you want to prevent.
Save and review excluded locations on map
Excluded locations appear with a red pin on the map. Scroll your list to confirm everything looks right. Click Save.
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Method 2: Bulk Location Exclusion
Use bulk exclusion when you have a long list of areas to block. It's much faster than excluding one by one.
Use Advanced Search for bulk uploads
In the Locations section, click Advanced Search. Look for the Add locations in bulk tab at the top of the panel.
Upload up to 1,000 locations at once
Per Google's Ads Help Center, bulk location exclusion supports up to 1,000 locations per upload. Paste location names directly into the text field.
CSV import with Negative type or minus (-) prefix
After pasting your locations, mark them as exclusions in one of two ways. Select Negative from the type dropdown, or prefix each location name with a minus sign (-). Google Ads treats both as exclusions.
Review and apply bulk exclusions
Click Search. Google matches your inputs to its location database. Review the results and confirm the right areas are matched. Click Add as negative to apply. Save the campaign.
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Key Rules and Limitations
Get these wrong and your exclusions may not work as intended.
Exclusion takes priority over targeting
If a location is both targeted and excluded, the exclusion always wins. Excluding California while targeting Los Angeles means ads won't show in Los Angeles either. Per Google Ads Help documentation, this hierarchy is absolute. Plan your inclusions and exclusions to avoid accidental overlap.
122-country limit for 'all territories' campaigns (as of March 2024)
Starting March 31, 2024, campaigns set to target "all countries and territories" can only apply up to 122 country-level exclusions. Plan around that cap for global campaigns.
Number of exclusions shouldn't exceed targeted locations
Google Ads guidance states that excluded locations should not outnumber targeted locations in the same campaign. Too many exclusions can collapse your reach unintentionally.
Presence vs. Presence or Interest targeting options
Location exclusions use Presence targeting by default. This blocks people likely to be physically in the excluded area. The Presence or Interest option would also block people who show interest in that location without being there. Note. Hotel Ads campaigns only support Presence targeting for exclusions, not Presence or Interest.
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How Coinis Accelerates Campaign Setup
The native Google Ads workflow covers all the steps above. Coinis makes the full campaign faster to build and launch.
Campaign Launcher audience step for faster location targeting
Coinis Campaign Launcher walks you through audience setup in a clear, structured wizard. The audience step prompts you to define geographic targeting up front, no digging through nested settings menus. You define who you're reaching before you ever pick a creative. Direct publishing to Meta (Facebook and Instagram) is live today. TikTok and Google direct publishing are on the roadmap.
Brand Profile for consistent messaging across geographies
When you exclude certain regions, your remaining audiences still need the right message. Brand Profile learns your brand voice, product details, and positioning once. Every ad it powers stays consistent, no matter which markets you're targeting or which ones you've excluded.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a location exclusion override targeting if the same location is both targeted and excluded?
Yes. In Google Ads, exclusion always takes priority. If you target the United States but exclude California, your ads will not show in California, even though it's within your targeted country.
How many locations can I exclude at once using the bulk upload feature?
Google Ads supports up to 1,000 location exclusions in a single bulk upload via the Advanced Search panel in your campaign's Locations settings.
What is the difference between Presence and Presence or Interest for location exclusions?
Presence excludes people Google believes are physically located in the excluded area. Presence or Interest also excludes people who have shown interest in that location, even if they're not physically there. Most campaigns use Presence by default.