# Exclusions not working

If ClickGuard's exclusions stay Pending, or blocked visitors still reach your ads, check the usual causes: a sync issue, missing permissions, Google still processing the change, too many exclusions, a Google Ads audience under 100 members, or your Meta audience settings. Each one has its own fix below.

Source: https://www.clickguard.com/help/troubleshooting/exclusions-not-working
Published: 2026-09-30
Updated: 2026-09-30
Author: Nikola Pejic

ClickGuard blocks visitors with IP exclusions and with audiences excluded from your campaigns. If your exclusions stay **Pending**, or visitors ClickGuard blocked still reach your ads, several things could be causing it. Below are the most common reasons and how to fix them.

## What does Pending mean?

A Pending exclusion is one ClickGuard has registered but that isn't applied in your ad account yet. Causes 1 to 4 below are the usual reasons.

## 1\. ClickGuard can't sync with your Google Ads account

If ClickGuard can't communicate properly with your Google Ads account, exclusions stay Pending.

**Solution:**

-   Go to **Settings** › **Connections** › **Ad accounts** and click your Google Ads account.
-   Click **Synchronize**.
-   Wait a few minutes for the sync to finish.

![The Synchronize button in the ad account settings](/docs-media/file-1790770843916.png)

![Ad account synchronization in progress](/docs-media/file-1776235953077.png)

## 2\. The connected user doesn't have enough access

If the Google Ads user connected to ClickGuard only has read access, ClickGuard can't add exclusions.

**Solution:**

-   Connect the account with a user who has **Admin** or **Standard** access in Google Ads.

## 3\. Google is still processing the exclusions

Even when everything is set up correctly, Google can take a few minutes to apply exclusions.

**Solution:**

-   Wait 10 to 30 minutes and check again.
-   Check **Change history** in Google Ads to see when the exclusions were applied.

## 4\. You've reached Google's exclusion limit

Google Ads limits how many IP addresses can be excluded per campaign.

**Solution:**

-   There's nothing to do: ClickGuard removes the oldest exclusions automatically to make room for new ones.

## 5\. Your Google Ads audience is still too small

Besides IP exclusions, ClickGuard blocks visitors by adding them to an audience that's excluded from your campaigns. Google only starts applying an audience once it has at least 100 members, so a new audience, or one on an account with little traffic, can take a while to kick in.

**Solution:**

-   There's nothing to fix. ClickGuard keeps adding the visitors it blocks, and Google starts excluding them as soon as the audience is big enough.

## 6\. Meta's Terms of Service for audiences aren't accepted

ClickGuard blocks visitors in Meta Ads through audiences, and Meta only lets it create them once its Terms of Service for custom audiences are accepted. See [How does ClickGuard block visitors in Meta Ads](https://www.clickguard.com/help/faq/how-clickguard-blocks-meta-ads-visitors).

**Solution:**

-   Accept the terms in Meta Ads. Someone with access to the ad account has to do it there, not in ClickGuard.

## 7\. Excluded audiences aren't set on your Meta ad sets

If **Automatically set excluded audience to ad sets** is unchecked, ClickGuard still builds the audience but doesn't add it to your ad sets, so blocked visitors can still see your ads.

**Solution:**

-   Go to **Settings** › **Connections** › **Ad accounts** and click your Meta Ads account.
-   Under **Exclusions**, check **Automatically set excluded audience to ad sets** and save.

![Ad account settings for a Meta Ads account, with Automatically set excluded audience to ad sets unchecked under Exclusions](/docs-media/meta-ads-ad-account-settings-exclusions.png)

## 8\. No Meta pixel is selected

ClickGuard builds the Meta excluded audience from your Meta pixel, so without one there's nothing to exclude.

**Solution:**

-   Under **Selected pixel**, in the same section, select the Meta pixel you use on this website.

Exclusions still not working? Contact [support@clickguard.com](mailto:support@clickguard.com) with a screenshot of the pending exclusions, your ad account ID and when the exclusions were created.

## Related articles

- [How does ClickGuard block visitors in Meta Ads](https://www.clickguard.com/help/faq/how-clickguard-blocks-meta-ads-visitors.md)