Today Google announced one sign that they’ve already been working to assimilate DoubleClick technology, even in advance of this week’s finalization of the acquisition. Google Ad Manager is essentially a “self-serve ad server” — or an expanded version of Adsense — that lets site publishers alternate manually-sold ads with AdWords-driven Adsense ads.
It could be a great tool for middle-tier site publishers who can afford the resources to sell premium ad placements but want to make sure every space is “monetized” at all times by serving Adsense ads when premium ad inventory is low.
For AdWords advertisers (especially ones who have been following my SEW Content Advertising series) this is good news and further evidence that the click inventory coming from the Content Network is growing faster than inventory from the Search Network.
Here’s the Ad Manager announcement:
Earlier this week, we completed our acquisition of DoubleClick. Together, we’re now focused on building a full suite of products and tools that help publishers of all sizes improve productivity, manage their inventory, generate additional revenue opportunities and save time so they can focus on what they do best — creating great content and delivering an exceptional experience to their users.
First, let us address the options that publishers have when it comes to selling and managing ad space on their websites. Some publishers use ad networks like Google AdSense to fill their ad space. Still others employ a direct sales force to manage and sell their ad inventory with solutions like the DoubleClick Revenue Center, and partner with third-party ad networks to fill in any unsold space. Regardless, it is a challenge for publishers to effectively manage their available inventory and ensure all of their clients’ campaigns serve on time without a sophisticated ad management and ad serving solution.
Today, we’re announcing a new tool for publishers with the beta launch of Google Ad Manager. Directed at addressing the ad management and serving needs of publishers with smaller sales teams, Google Ad Manager is a free, hosted ad and inventory management tool that can help publishers sell, schedule, deliver and measure their directly-sold and network-based ad inventory. It offers an intuitive and simple user experience with Google speed and a tagging process so publishers can spend more time working with their advertisers and less time on their ad management solution. And by providing detailed inventory forecasts and tracking at a very granular level, Ad Manager helps publishers maximize their inventory sell-through rates.
Google Ad Manager effectively complements the DoubleClick Revenue Center, which is focused on publishers with larger sales teams. We’re excited to add DART for Publishers to our suite of products, and we’re committed to the continued development and enhancement of DoubleClick’s offerings. Today’s announcement demonstrates this promise, and at the same time furthers our goal of creating new opportunities for publishers of all sizes. Dozens of publishers have been using Google Ad Manager successfully in early trials. To hear what those publishers have to say check out some Ad Manager success stories or take a product tour to learn more.
As we are still in beta, Google Ad Manager is available to publishers by invitation only. If you’re interested in learning more about it or would like to be considered for the program, visit the Google Ad Manager site. Existing DoubleClick customers are not affected by this announcement. As we expand the Google Ad Manager beta program, we will be in touch again to include additional publishers and offer updates on our progress.
