Google Ads country exclusion list

When you need this list

You set Google Ads to target the United States, but the default location option is often People in or interested in your targeted locations. That still matches searchers abroad who research US cities, universities, or generic English keywords tied to your offer. If you cannot serve or convert outside the US, paste the exclusions below so international impressions do not drain budget.

Tighter option: switch to Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations when your offer is truly US-only. Many teams still keep a non-US exclusion list as redundancy — especially on Search campaigns with broad match or competitor terms that travel globally.

How to apply exclusions

1. Open your campaign or ad group → Locations → Excluded.
2. Paste a batch below (one country per line). The web UI caps bulk adds around 120 locations — use each batch in sequence, or import via Google Ads Editor for the full set in one pass.
3. Confirm United States remains in targeted locations and is not duplicated in exclusions.

Hong Kong and Taiwan are listed separately from China because Google Ads treats them as distinct locations. Sanctioned regions Google does not allow targeting (for example Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria) are omitted — you cannot target them, so excluding them is unnecessary.

Batched for the 120-location UI limit

2 batches · paste batch 1, save, then batch 2, and so on.

Related on PaidScope

• Presence vs interest targeting — when to tighten location options before excluding countries.
• Meta Ads country exclusion list — same US-only pattern for Facebook and Instagram.
• Google Ads placements map — surfaces and campaign types in one view.
• Google Ads Policy Watch — recent policy and enforcement changes.
• Google Ads specs — creative requirements by format.
• Glossary — includes geotargeting and location bid modifier definitions.

Official reference: Google Ads location targeting.