Delete Ad Units in DFP

This post was most recently updated on October 18th, 2019

Sometimes, when an ad unit isn’t performing as well as you’d like, you might want to delete the ad unit from DoubleClick for Publishers and replace it with a better-performing unit. After all, we strongly recommend an iterative approach to optimize your ad revenue.

By gradually culling poorly-performing ad units and replacing them with stronger ones, you’ll increase your chances of maximizing your ad revenue. If you’ve looked for the “delete ad units” feature in DoubleClick for Publisher, you may have come up short. That’s because unfortunately, Google doesn’t allow you to outright delete ad units in DFP. This restriction, while seemingly unnecessary, is to avoid users from accidentally deleting ad units without removing the ad tags from their websites.

To accomplish the same net effect of deleting an ad unit, though, you can simply deactivate and archive the ad unit. You can then restore the ad unit if you change your mind. Make sure to replace the ad unit with another one before deactivating it so that you don’t miss out on additional revenue.

While deactivating and archiving your ad unit is certainly a valid option, we recommend attempting to optimize the underperforming ad unit first; after all, why throw away the baby with the bathwater? Sometimes, ad units can be improved and optimized. For tips on optimizing your ad units, explore the blog archives or contact us today to begin running premium Google Ad Exchange ads.

Kean Graham

He is the resident expert in Ad Optimization covering areas like Adsense Optimization, DFP Management, and third-party ad network partnerships. Kean believes in the supremacy of direct publisher deals and holistic optimization as keys to effective and consistent ad revenue increases.

Email him directly at: kean@monetizemore.com