A stop list tells an outreach team which publishers to exclude and why. It prevents duplicate research, repeated placements and contacts that conflict with your brand requirements. A useful list combines domains with clear rules; a long column of unexplained names is harder to maintain.
Prepare the list before the team starts researching or contacting publishers. Then agree who may change it and how new exclusions will be communicated during the campaign.
What belongs on the list?
- Domains where the project already has a placement, if repeat placements are excluded.
- Competitors and publishers with a relationship you want to handle yourself.
- Sites you have reviewed and rejected, with a short reason.
- Restricted topics, languages, markets or publication types.
- Domains currently being negotiated by another team member or agency.
Some exclusions are permanent. Others apply only to the current campaign. Give temporary restrictions a review date so an old negotiation does not exclude a publisher forever.
Normalize domains before matching
Store a canonical domain in its own column. Remove the protocol, page path and tracking parameters. Decide whether www.example.com and example.com should be treated as the same site. Usually they should, but document the rule.
Subdomains need a separate decision. Excluding example.com might mean every subdomain, or it might mean only the main publication. The team should not have to guess. Add a matching rule such as exact domain or domain plus subdomains.
Example: if a placement exists at https://www.example.com/articles/brand-story, record example.com as the domain and keep the live article URL in a separate column.
Use columns that explain the decision
A practical stop list contains domain, matching rule, reason, owner, added date, review date and campaign. Keep the current list in one shared location. An “excluded” status in a publisher review sheet can work, provided it is checked before the next outreach batch.
Download the free stop-list template for these columns. The file is a structure to fill with your own domains; it does not contain a suggested blacklist.
Check exclusions at more than one stage
- Before research: remove clearly excluded domains from candidate lists.
- Before contact: check for newly added exclusions and active negotiations.
- Before approval: compare the proposed shortlist with current placements.
- Before booking: confirm that the publisher is still approved and the client has not changed the brief.
A list that is checked only once can become outdated during a long campaign. Maintain a simple change log and tell the campaign owner when an exclusion affects an already approved publisher.
Pair the stop list with positive criteria
Exclusions alone do not define a good placement. Include target countries, publication language, relevant topics, budget, editorial expectations and approval rules in the brief. Separate a required condition from a preference. For example, “English content required” and “US audience preferred” are different instructions.
Agree what should happen when a publisher partly matches the brief: reject it, investigate it or send it for client review. This keeps the shortlist useful without hiding uncertainty.
At LinksFlow, a managed outreach brief can include your stop list and existing placements. We use those requirements when researching a shortlist. Read our publisher selection checklist to define the remaining review criteria.