Mastering Keyword Exclusion: Unlocking TAG & BSI’s Toolset for Smarter Brand Safety

How do you make sure your keyword blocklist is a scalpel… and not a sledgehammer?

To help companies make sure their blocklists are nuanced, collaborative, customized, targeted, and adaptable, TAG and the members of the TAG Community created the Keyword Exclusion List Toolset (KELT) earlier this year. This toolset aims to update the traditional clumsy exclusion list by creating a dynamic and effective approach that maintains the balance between monetising legitimate content and avoiding harmful content.

TAG and BSI have teamed up to create this KELT training module to guide both TAG and BSI communities in using this toolset, so it can revolutionize the way you manage your brand safety strategies.

Why Keyword Exclusion Lists Matter

First things first—why do keyword exclusion lists matter? In short, advertisers want to keep their brands safe by avoiding association with harmful, controversial, or inappropriate content online. Nobody wants their family-friendly ad showing up next to a conspiracy video, right?

But the problem with keyword blocklists, historically, has been that they're like using a chainsaw to trim your ornamental Bonsai plant. Often, blocklists not only filter out content you want to avoid but also restrict legitimate and safe opportunities. For example, blocking the word "shoot" could unintentionally exclude your ad from appearing on harmless content about "photoshoots" or sports coverage.

This TAG and BSI training module will help digital advertisers level-up their exclusion list practices to the modern era.

Benefits of the Keyword Exclusion List Toolset

This isn’t just another cookie-cutter tool for your advertising toolkit; it’s designed with the complexities of modern digital advertising in mind. That means:

1. Industry Standardization: Unlike traditional keyword blocklists, which often operate in a binary "block or don't block" mode, the toolset sets a new standard by integrating metadata fields into the process. 
2. Community Collaboration: Compiled together with TAG community, the toolset comprises 3 elements: 1)Always Block Keyword List. 2) Keyword Maintenance Tool. 3) Best Practices Guide. Used together, The toolset streamlines keyword management expands brand-safe content to boost engagement, and sets best practices to raise industry standards.
3. Dynamic Maintenance: The toolset enables stakeholders to submit, collaborate, and track potential additions.
4. Improving ROI: By allowing ads to serve in more relevant and safe environments, the toolset can potentially lead to better campaign performance and return on investment (ROI). That means no more missed opportunities because of an overly restrictive blocklist.

The Training Module

The KELT training module is designed to empower digital advertisers with the knowledge to take back control of your keyword exclusion lists and transform them from clumsy and blunt instruments into precision and highly-targeted tools for brand safety.

The training module will cover three key areas:

The problem with traditional blocklists: Users will get a brief history of the beginnings of the block list,  how the tool typically worked, how the industry has been using them and the negative effects that content creators and advertisers have experienced so far.

Unlocking TAG’s KELT: This module will help users understand how to keep your tools sharp and your lists even sharper! Users go through a deep dive of the tools and techniques that will enable smarter and more dynamic effective lists.

TAG's Best Practices for Keyword Exclusion: The module will also help you stay dialed in with your keyword strategy. TAG’s Best Practices Guide will help grow and increase campaign effectiveness by staying on top of their keyword exclusion strategies.

The Future of Keyword Exclusion: Balancing Safety and Opportunity

Digital advertising isn't slowing down, and neither is the pace of content creation. As our online ecosystems become more complex, the need for brand safety tools that can keep up is paramount. The TAG’s KELT is a fresh approach to a challenge that’s long overdue for innovation.

It’s time advertisers had a more sophisticated way to ensure their content appears in the right place, without blocking the vast opportunities the internet offers. Through this toolset, the adtech industry, content publishers, and digital advertisers can find that sweet spot between protection and performance.

Let’s leave the outdated blocklists in the past, where they belong. With TAG and BSI’s training module, you can learn to manage your keyword exclusions lists with precision, keep your brand safe, and still capture valuable opportunities.

Who says brand safety can't be smart and effective?