Data Exclusion Date Builder
Tracking broke, and Smart Bidding is learning from conversions that went missing or got counted twice. Put in when the problem started and when it was fixed. Get the exact window to exclude, moved back for your conversion delay, and the checks that stop it backfiring.
Checked against Google Ads Help on 19 October 2026. Every Google badge links to its source. Onward guidance marks our own rules.
1. The builder
The dates people get wrong are the start. Exclusions work on clicks, not conversion dates, so a click from days before the problem can still have lost its conversion to it. Google says to move the start back by your conversion delay and cover at least 90% of the affected clicks. Google
2. Find your conversion delay
In Google Ads, go to Campaigns, select Segment, then Conversions, then Days to conversion. Google Copy the Conversions figure from each row below. Pick a recent date range that leaves out the broken days, or the damage skews the answer. Onward guidance
Each row runs from its first number up to, not including, its second. The finder takes the row where conversions pass 90% and uses that row's upper end, so the window errs early.
3. Setting it in Google Ads
- Go to Adjustments in the Tools menu, open the Exclusions tab and select the plus button.
- Add a name and description. The builder writes both for you.
- Enter the start date and time and the end date and time from the builder. They use the account's time zone.
- Under Scope, pick the affected campaigns or the whole account, and only the affected devices. Google's example: a problem that only broke mobile tracking.
- Select Save, then Create data exclusion. Google
Agencies can set exclusions from a manager account as well as the client account. Google
4. Google's rules
| Rule | What Google says |
|---|---|
| What it's for | Conversion data outages: broken tracking, a tag in the wrong place giving wrong counts, failed offline uploads, website outages Google Google |
| Campaign types | Search, Display, Shopping and Performance Max. Not Hotel and Travel Google |
| Bid strategies | Conversion and conversion value Smart Bidding only Google |
| What it excludes | Clicks, and with them the conversions attributed to those clicks. Move the start back by your conversion delay and cover at least 90% of the affected clicks Google |
| Reporting | Unchanged. Excluded conversions still show in your reports; only Smart Bidding ignores them Google |
| When to apply | As soon as you find the problem. Use it for issues caught within a week, not for issues that have existed for more than 14 days on Search and Display, or 60 days on Shopping Google Google |
| Planned outages | Set it in advance. Exclusions for future dates usually take effect within a day Google |
| Removing it | Don't, even after the data is fixed Google |
| Backfilling | Generally not advised, because it can hit Search and Shopping bidding. For reporting only, wait at least five days after applying the exclusion Google |
| Afterwards | Past-date exclusions settle after a few days. A week or more of affected clicks can mean 1 to 2 conversion cycles of fluctuation. Adjust targets and keep budgets near historical spend meanwhile Google |
| Spend dips | Bids and spend can drop briefly. Lowering the target ROAS helps; put it back once the exclusion takes effect to avoid overspending Google |
| How often | Not frequently, and not for long periods Google |
5. How we work
- Pull Days to conversion first. Set the delay from the account's own data, not a guess. Onward guidance
- Round out to whole days when the times are fuzzy. A few clean hours excluded cost far less than damaged clicks left in. Onward guidance
- Write "Do not remove" in the description. The next person in Adjustments won't know why it's there, and Google says removing one causes more problems. Google
- Over-counting needs it as much as under-counting. A doubled tag tells Smart Bidding clicks are worth more than they are. Google lists a misplaced tag as a reason to use it. Google
- One outage, one exclusion. Not for a bad week, and not for a promotion: a sale is a job for a seasonality adjustment. Google
- Fixing tracking often means changing conversion goals too. That relearns on its own: check the Learning Reset Checker.
6. Sources
- Google: About data exclusions · Use data exclusions for conversion data outages · Smart Bidding with Shopping and Performance Max · Find your conversion lag reporting data
The builder applies Google's published rules to your dates. Meta has no equivalent setting, so this page is Google only. If you want to go through a tracking incident on your own account, get in touch.