What is Google Ad Manager and How to Use It

Google Ad Manager (GAM) is a Google Hosted Ad-serving Platform that Controls Online Advertising Management.

Google Ad and Adwords Manager help you test, manage, and scale your online advertising campaigns.

Nowadays, every brand is urged to get the most from PPC advertising.

But we can adopt other measures. And Google Ad Manager (GAM) is one of them. Why should one pay more when it can give you more business opportunities and ads?

However, it is known that selling and purchasing ad space and ads is a complicated task. Businesses should utilize and work with ad networks like Amazon Advertising and Google Ads.  

Programmatic Ads can reach 98% of the internet, including the Google platform, allowing for 15 billion impressions and counting through programmatic ads buying.

Here, our concern lies in showing you how GAM benefits businesses and how to use it. But let’s first find out what GAM is.

What is Google Ad Manager?

GAM is also recognized as DoubleClick by most publishers. It is a comprehensive Google-hosted ad-serving platform that controls ad management- even if you deliver mobile web pages, ads to websites, games, mobile apps, or a blend. 

Google Ad Manager (GAM) is a comprehensive ad management platform that helps publishers sell, deliver, and measure their digital advertising. It offers a wide range of features, including:

• Ad inventory management: GAM allows publishers to manage their ad inventory across all of their digital properties, including websites, apps, and videos.
• Ad serving: GAM delivers ads to publishers’ websites and apps and optimizes ad delivery to maximize revenue.
• Ad reporting: GAM provides publishers with detailed reports on their ad performance so they can see what’s working and make necessary adjustments.
• Ad blocking prevention: GAM helps publishers prevent ad blockers from blocking their ads so they can maximize their revenue.

GAM is used by publishers of all sizes, from small businesses to large media companies. It is a powerful tool that can help publishers increase their ad revenue and grow their businesses.

Here are some of the benefits of using Google Ad Manager:

• Increased revenue: GAM helps publishers maximize their ad revenue by providing various ways to sell and deliver their ads.
• Improved efficiency: GAM automates many of the tasks involved in ad management, such as ad delivery and reporting. This frees up publishers’ time to focus on other aspects of their businesses.
• Better insights: GAM provides publishers with detailed insights into their ad performance so they can make informed decisions about their ad campaigns.

Google Ad Manager is a free platform to use, but there is a premium version called Google Ad Manager 360 that offers additional features and functionality.

And, if you have experience in Google Advertising tool have been merged features of Doubleclick Ad Exchange and DoubleClick for ad publishers.

You can get help from Google AdWords Advertising Services to target the potential users who search for your services and products. Otherwise, we are here to make you appreciate GAM and its impeccable functionalities.

How has GAM Changed in the Past Years?

• Its first version came into the market in August 2008. But, its working is almost different now. 
• In 2018, the digital advertising line changed its approach.
• In 2019, GAM was considered in the price auction process. Here, the highest bid defines the closing price of every ad.
• In 2020, things changed, so it now supports many distribution channels, such as smart televisions, desktops, video, and mobile.
• 2023, ads are still a quick way to drive traffic.

What is Google Marketing Platform?

With Video 360 and the other Google Marketing Platform products. The new Google Marketing Platform features listed above are linked to the new common product switcher. 

Two Fundamental Measures of Google Ad Manager

For small businesses (free)

It is appropriate for small to mid-sized businesses (online advertising publishers) with no ad impression needs. Large publishers that have at least 90 million monthly impressions can use remarkable features kept by Ad Exchange integration and DFP Premium. 

There might be new Ad Manager features for larger publishers that are not accessible, but with smaller publishers, and you can use Ad Manager SMB. Practicing the Google Account Manager, you can communicate with them regularly to verify the features and functionalities in a particular Ad Manager network. 

It is a premium yet exclusive digital marketing resolution from Google. Ad Manager 360 combines Ad Exchange, Google Analytics, AdSense, and Ad Manager for the best end-to-end management of every digital marketing attempt.

Is GAM, SSP, or Ad Server, or Both?

“Automation continues to change how we do business, with advertisers looking to transact all their campaigns, guaranteed or not, programmatically.

That’s why we broke away from the traditional constraints of “ad servers” and “SSPs” to build new programmatic solutions directly into the product we now call Ad Manager—from our programmatic deals framework to features like Optimized Competition that helps you maximize yield across reservations, private marketplaces, and the open auction. –Google

With Ad Manager, you get a complete ad platform that helps you earn more and grow revenue, no matter how you sell”.

Features of GAM

GAM amalgamates a lot of its utility for online advertising.  

It has many significant features to make your business thrive. All these features vary according to your business type and what you are trying to sell (ad space or product). Also, the amount of impression you are getting every month. 

Let’s look at its features and advantages below:

Granular Ad Targeting

GAM controls how one can consider the ads and requires which types to display. There is a possibility that you are more inclined toward targeting mobile users.

But, consider that with GAM, you can focus on the small elements, like Firefox users with versions 40.0 and above. The more targeting options it includes are:

• The user device is a tablet, phone, connected TV, or smartphone. 
• Browers, comprising versions and “unknown.”
• Device manufacturers like BlackBerry, Apple, HTC, Ericsson, etc.
• Geographical location
• Operating system
• Supportive Language
• Mobile carrier or Internet connection 

It also includes custom targeting with which you can target the custom fundamental values, content metadata, audience, and system-defined criteria, like geographical location, OS, and bandwidth.

Two DoubleClick Platforms

GAM has taken DoubleClick almost ten years back. Advertisers use it to boost their businesses. However, the demand for combining the two programs – DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX) and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) into one came to notice. Check out below what AdX and DFP are:

DoubleClick for Publishers

Primarily, this tool enables the publishers to handle the ads on the website. It permits the publishers to include many functions in one ad platform, such as online scheduling ads, ad optimization, and ad list prioritization to attain more revenue. 

DoubleClick Ad Exchange

AdX was useful when agencies, ad networks, and publishers sold and purchased advertising space in real-time. It simplifies the ad-buying process. Regarding Programming Advertising, AdX was considered an example of the Demand Side Platform (DSP) for purchasing ad space.

Combining the abovementioned platforms, Google can offer two related services simultaneously.

Ad Server with Significant Features

Use GAM to run every campaign, whether guaranteed or not in the programmatic arena, with the waterfall of the Exchange Bidding Dynamic Allocation (EBDA) auction framework.

It also offers advanced competition features to amplify the inventory yield in open auctions and private or reserved marketplace sales. This is an all-in-one platform that permits publishers to get more ad revenue without considering the selling process of ad inventory. 

Monetize New Arenas

Keeping the growth and consumption of content creation, GAM gives you different ways to build new ad opportunities on different screen sizes.  

Considering these monetization opportunities, new challenges like discovering yield groups for tags and apps, finding the most suitable ad units for desktop and mobile, etc., are derived.

With GAM, you can practice a single platform for measuring, optimizing, and delivering on every platform and device, like YouTube, AMP, mobile apps, CTV, etc.

Save You and Your Brand

The digital advertising market encountered many challenges, including ad fraud and brand safety. The problems do not harm only the user experience but also affect black-hat advertisers. This is the reason GAMs offer many critical safeguards.  

It has almost 30 controls for guarding the advertisers and controlling the ads in such a way that they fulfill your brand values.  

Optimize the Revenue of Every Buyer

The main aim of Google Ad Exchange was to aid the publishers in getting more profits with real-time competition. But, with time, the goal has shifted from exchange or auction to a comprehensive sales channel.

With the help of Ad Managers, the publishers can assist the ad inventories with the programmatic and reserved demand to optimize every relationship. The Ad Exchange buyers also got changed to the allowed buyers.

Smart Bidding Technology with GAM

The popularity of YouTube is known to everyone. The percentage of its users has crossed one billion users, which is around one-third of the Internet. Most of us prefer to consider YouTube as a reference before purchasing anything. 

This is not only worth advertising on YouTube because videos can increase conversion rates by over 85%, but it also guarantees that the video ads are presented to the right audience and at the right time and is worth it.  

To assure better results, Google has proposed Smart Bidding technology, a feature from the concept of machine learning. Using this technology, you can manage the ads at an appropriate time.

This also assists the ads in serving the users who acknowledge your brand after checking the video. This technology adjusts the bids automatically to maximize the effect of the video ad.

Saves Your Inventory

Considering the advertising industry’s fraud challenges, guarding the advertisers and inventory brands is crucial.

Deception can give rise to several issues for the publishers, like downgrading the user experience by presenting inappropriate ads, irritating creatives, and malware. This tool comprises 30 tools for managing the ads you want to show on the publishers’ properties. 

Local Campaigns

It does not make any difference when the users check out the product on YouTube or Google. They can yet purchase the physical location. Google has even asserted that the searches with the keyword “near me” have grown excellently for the last few years.

Also, the local searches provide a high conversion rate with a decent percentage. The plans may be different, from the product requirement to needing an outing, but the outcome is the same.

All they need is to, but something is encouraging traffic to grow revenue rate at the physical location.

GAMs’ local campaign feature provides a new campaign to get more store traffic. It only demands necessary information, such as ad creative and business locations. Here, Google will optimize the ads to get more customers at your store door.

How to Use Google Ad Manager

Generally termed DoubleClick for Publishers, GAM enables advertisers to maintain the purchasing and selling of ads easily from different third-party networks and exchanges.

If you are operating ads on various platforms and obtaining better value. GAM is the best solution your business should go with. Find out below how to set up and use GAM: 

• The foremost thing is that you need a Google account and a Google AdSense account to access the GAM. Create a Google account if you do not have it.
• If you have not used it, check out if it is active. (You do not need to use Google Adsense, but holding an account is necessary). 
• Navigate to admanager.google.com.
• Click “Create an Account” and answer some related questions.
• Confirm the network settings. 
• After creating an order, you cannot change the currency and time zone.
• For this, navigate to Admin==> Global Settings ==> Network Settings.
• Make an inventory structure and start working on the ads.
• There are two versions of GAM. To access GAM, you must provide a large amount of data.
• You can make reports to check the performance weekly, monthly, quarterly, or for some particular date range.
• Sorting can also be done on different reporting dimensions, such as Ad Location, Activity Group, Advertiser, Ad Sources, bid ranges, Digital Marketing Agencies, Salespeople, etc.
•  For Google Ad 360

Future Updates for Google Ads Manager

You can get constant updates regarding GAM from Google tools. Google has stated the coming changes that the users should be aware of it.

Below are some of the changes that you should be aware of:

• In January 2020, GAM will update the Demand Channel reporting dimension. The exchange bidding will be termed Open Bidding (retroactively) and will ensure the product’s flexibility. Also, regarding publishers in the Network Bidding, Open Bidding will be the other name of the Reporting Dimension. And, if it changes your reporting process, you can plan before any further change. Now, the Ad Manager 360 publishers can access the information of auctions from the Ad Manager Data Transfer.   
• The NetworkBackfillBids file will incorporate features of each authorized Buyer bid and Open Bidding for your inventory, even if the bid acquires the auction. There is also an update in the NetworkBackfillBids sample file. 

Wrap Up on GAM

GAM is of utmost importance. It has many features and tools that businesses can benefit from. It is a helpful tool for firms that control multiple ads or the values that give immense benefits.

Designed for businesses of every size, its free version allows around 150 monthly impressions to non-video ad units in significant countries.

But, this number has reduced to 90 million in countries like New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the US. Whereas states like Arab and Europe are getting 200 million monthly impressions.

GAM offers access to many features, like limited reports, standard or vast delivery, historical reach, active view impressions, and API. Have you tried the Google Ad Manager app?

Let’s revise some of the benefits of GAM for your business growth:

• Improve brand awareness
• More active results than search engine optimization (SEO)
• Command the audience to purchase
• Grow Ad visibility to the potential audience
• Plan Campaign strategies according to users’ demographics
• Schedule Ads to reach the audience at the correct time

If you have any Google Ad Manager documentation queries, then ask. And, if you have been experiencing it for a long time, share your experience with us. Google ad manager help is at your fingertips.

General FAQ’s