What is Google Ad Manager

What is Google Ad Manager and How to Use It

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

Nowadays, every brand has an urge 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 more ads?

However, it is known that selling and purchasing ad space and ads is a complicated task. Businesses should take advantage of 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 is beneficial for businesses, and one can use it. But, let’s first find out what GAM is?

What is Google Ad Manager?

Paid Advertising Helps Rank

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 are delivering mobile web pages, ads to websites, games, mobile apps, or the blend of all. 

And, if you have experienced Google Advertising tools has been merges 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 appreciative of GAM and its impeccable functionalities.

How has Google Ad Manager 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 had changed its approach.
  • In 2019, Google Ad Manager has been considered in the price auction process. Here, the highest bid defines the closing price of every ad.
  • In 2020, things have changed so that it now supports a vast amount of distribution channels, such as smart televisions, desktop, video, and mobile.

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

online ppc ads adwords

For small businesses (free)

It is appropriate for small to mid-sized businesses (online advertising publishers) with no ad impression needs. Large publishers that had 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, you can use Ad Manager SMB. Practicing the Google Account Manager, you can communicate with them regularly for verifying 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 to the best end to end management of every digital marketing attempt.

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

“Automation continues to change the way 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 help 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

Google Ad Manager 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

What is geo targeting

GAM gives control of how one can consider the ads and it requires which types to be displayed. There is a possibility that you are more inclined towards targeting mobile users. But, consider the fact that with Google Ad Manager, you can focus on the small elements, like, Firefox users with versions 40.0 and above. The more targeting option it includes are:

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

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

Two DoubleClick Platforms

GAM has taken DoubleClick almost ten years back. It is used by advertisers to boost their businesses. However, the demand for combining the two programs – DoubleClick Ad Exchange (AdX), and DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) into one came into 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 to one ad platform such as online scheduling ads, ads optimization, ad list prioritization to attain more revenue. 

DoubleClick Ad Exchange

AdX was useful when the agencies, ad networks, and publishers sell and purchase the advertising space in real-time. It simplifies the ad buying process. When it was about Programming Advertising, AdX was considered as an example for the Demand Side Platform (DSP) for purchasing ad space.

Combining the platforms mentioned above, Google can offer two related services at one point.

Ad Server with Significant Features

Use GAM to run every campaign even if it is guaranteed or not on 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, a new set of challenges like discovering yield groups for tags, apps, finding the most suitable ad units for desktop and mobile, etc. are derived.

With Google Ad Manager, you can practice a single platform for handling the measuring, optimizing, and delivering in every platform and a device like YouTube, AMP, mobile apps and CTV, etc.

Save You and Your Brand

The digital advertising market came across many challenges, such as ad fraud and brand safety. The problems do not harm only the user experience but also affect black-hat advertisers. This is the reason Google Ad Managers offers 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 Revenue of Every Buyer

The main aim of Google Ad Exchange was to aid the publishers to get 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 for the optimization of every relationship. The Ad Exchange buyers also got changed to the allowed buyers.

Smart Bidding Technology with Google Ad Manager

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. Now, 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 for maximizing the effect of the video ad.

Saves Your Inventory

Considering the advertising industry fraud challenges, guarding the advertisers and inventory brands are very crucial.

Deception can give rise to several issues for the publishers, like downgrading the user experience by presenting inappropriate ads, irritating creatives, and also 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,” is growing at an excellent rate for the last few years.

Also, the local searches are providing 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, therefore, encouraging traffic to grow revenue rate at the physical location.

Google Ad Managers’ local campaign feature provides a new campaign for getting more traffic at the store. 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 as DoubleClick for Publishers, GAM enables the 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. Google Ad Manager 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 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 require to use Google Adsense, but holding an account is a must). 
  • Navigate to admanager.google.com.
  • Click on “Create an Account” and answer some of the questions related.
  • 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 get access to Google Ad Manager, you need to provide a large amount of data.
  • You can make reports to check the performance on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis or for some particular date range.
  • Sorting can also be done on different reporting dimensions, such as Ad Location, Activity, Activity Group, Advertiser, Ad Sources, bid ranges, Digital Marketing Agencies, Salespeople, etc.
  •  For Google Ad 360, check out this link.

Future Updates for Google Ads Manager

From the Google tools, you can get constant updates regarding Google Ad Manager. Google has stated on the coming changes that the users should be aware of it. The updated date, for now, is January 2020. 

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

  • In January 2020, Google Ad Manager will update the Demand Channel reporting dimension. The exchange bidding will be termed as Open Bidding (retroactively) and will assure the flexibility of the product. Also, when it is about publishers in the Network Bidding, Open Bidding will be the other name of 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 or not. There is also an update in the NetworkBackfillBids sample file. 

Wrap Up on Google Ad Manager

Google Ad Manager is of utmost importance. It has many features and tools that businesses can get benefit from. For the firms that control multiple ads or the values that give immense benefits, it is a helpful tool.

Designed for businesses of every size, its free version allows around 150 monthly impressions to the 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 a large number of features, like, limited reports, like standard or vast delivery, historical reach, active view impressions, and API. 

Let’s revise some of the benefits Google Ad Manager for your business growth:

  • Improve brand awareness
  • More active result 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 queries related to Google Ad Manager, then ask. And, if you are experiencing it for a long time, then share your experience with us.

Thanks for reading. 

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General FAQ’s

What is Google Ads Manager (GAM)?

Google Ad Manager is a comprehensive hosted ad serving platform that streamlines your ad management, whether you deliver ads to websites, mobile webpages, mobile apps, games, or a combination. 


How does Google Ad Manager work?

When you sign in to Google’s Ad Manager, you’re signing in to a particular network. Most publishers use a single Ad Manager network to manage all of their advertising across all of their content. Your Ad Manager network is where you define your inventory and create, manage, and report on your advertising campaigns.


Is Google Ad Manager free?

There are two types of Google Ad Manager accounts: Ad Manager for Small Businesses (free) and Ad Manager 360 (paid version). The small business offering has limited features but works well for small to medium-sized businesses.


What are the programmatic ads?

Programmatic Ads provide advertisers access into the vendor-neutral RTB (Real-Time Bidding) ecosystem. Programmatic Ads can reach 98% of the internet, including the Google platform allowing for 15 billion impressions and counting through programmatic ads buying.

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