skill-116-mobile-app-placement-exclusion

Skill 116: Mobile App Placement Exclusion

Purpose

Exclude mobile app placements, particularly games and children's apps, which typically generate accidental clicks and low-quality traffic with near-zero conversion rates.

Data Requirements

Data Source: Custom GAQL Required

GAQL Query:

SELECT
  detail_placement_view.display_name,
  detail_placement_view.placement,
  detail_placement_view.placement_type,
  detail_placement_view.target_url,
  campaign.name,
  metrics.impressions,
  metrics.clicks,
  metrics.cost_micros,
  metrics.conversions,
  metrics.ctr
FROM detail_placement_view
WHERE segments.date DURING LAST_30_DAYS
  AND detail_placement_view.placement_type = 'MOBILE_APPLICATION'
ORDER BY metrics.cost_micros DESC
LIMIT 500

Run via /google-ads:get-custom with query name mobile_app_placements.

Standard Data:

• data/account/campaigns/*/campaign.md - Identify Display/Video campaigns

Analysis Steps

1. Identify Campaigns with App Exposure: Find Display, Discovery, PMax, Video campaigns
2. Pull App Placement Data: Get all mobile app placements and performance
3. Analyze App Performance: Compare conversion rates: apps vs. websites
4. Identify High-Risk Apps: Games, children's apps, utility apps with high CTR

Thresholds

Condition	Severity
>$500/month on mobile apps with <1% conversion rate	Critical
Game apps with zero conversions	Warning
App CTR >3% (likely accidental clicks)	Warning
No app exclusions configured	Info

Output

Short (default):

## Mobile App Placement Analysis
**Account:** [name] | **App Spend:** $[amount] | **App Conversion Rate:** [%]

### Performance Comparison
| Placement Type | Spend | Conv Rate | CPA |
|----------------|-------|-----------|-----|
| Websites | $[amount] | [%] | $[amount] |
| Mobile Apps | $[amount] | [%] | $[amount] |

### Critical
- **Mobile apps underperforming by [X]%** - Consider full exclusion

### Recommendations
1. **Option A:** Exclude all mobile apps - Save $[amount]/month
2. **Option B:** Exclude game and children's app categories
3. **Option C:** Exclude specific zero-conversion apps

### High-Risk Apps to Exclude
| App | Category | Spend | Conv | CTR |
|-----|----------|-------|------|-----|
| [name] | Game | $[amount] | 0 | [%] |