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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Google Ad Manager

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.N/A

    Google Ads

    Score8.3 out of 10
    N/AGoogle Ads (formerly AdWords) is Google's pay-per-click online advertising program. With Google Ads users set their budget and choose where their ads appear in search listings, and on partner websites. Google Ads uses cost-per-click (CPC) bidding.

    $500

    in Ads credit in the first 60 days

    Pricing
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Offer A
    $500
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Offer B
    $1500
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Offer C
    $3000
    in Ads credit in the first 60 days
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    Chose Google Ad Manager
    It allows me to find exactly the information I am looking for in one place. It allows me to share that data with others both internally and externally. There is a mobile version and though it isn't as good, it helps for when I am out of the office or traveling.
    Incentivized
    Google
    Chose Google Ads
    I find the Google products easier to use, and with the ease of use it is quicker to get my message out in front of my customer. I think with the other platforms we have also tried (Meta) that the approval process is so much longer that if you want to get something out NOW when …
    Incentivized
    Chose Google Ads
    Google Ads is bar none the leader in the space of the paid search industry. you will not find higher volume or budget or revenue delivery in any other vehicle in the space. Google Ads has great automation opportunities as well for those who like to spend less time in the weeds.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    81%
    Would buy again
    42 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    76%
    Delivers good value for the price
    37 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    79%
    Happy with the feature set
    41 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    69%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    34 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    75%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    70%
    Implementation went as expected
    35 Answers
    Features
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Ad Network Integration
    Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Google Ad Manager and Google Ads
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    7.8
    28 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Google Ads
    -
    Ratings
    Data Transfer7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
    DSP integration8.122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad Campaigns
    Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Google Ad Manager and Google Ads
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    7.4
    40 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Google Ads
    7.2
    11 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Ad campaign creation7.740 Ratings7.911 Ratings
    Ad deployment7.140 Ratings7.510 Ratings
    Display advertising7.639 Ratings7.410 Ratings
    Ad display and retargeting segmentation7.238 Ratings7.511 Ratings
    Sequence targeting7.528 Ratings6.810 Ratings
    Contextual advertising00 Ratings7.110 Ratings
    Social advertising00 Ratings6.25 Ratings
    Ad Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Google Ad Manager and Google Ads
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    6.7
    39 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Google Ads
    7.3
    11 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Ad dashboards6.537 Ratings7.411 Ratings
    Ad performance reports7.439 Ratings7.911 Ratings
    Ad conversion tracking6.738 Ratings7.311 Ratings
    Ad attribution reporting6.834 Ratings7.211 Ratings
    Cross-channel ad management7.029 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad forecasting and optimization5.734 Ratings6.811 Ratings
    Ad Auctions
    Comparison of Ad Auctions features of Google Ad Manager and Google Ads
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    -
    Ratings
    Google Ads
    7.9
    10 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Ad bidding00 Ratings7.910 Ratings
    User Ratings
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.2
    (40 ratings)
    8.7
    (126 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.6
    (21 ratings)
    Usability
    6.8
    (8 ratings)
    7.7
    (17 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    1.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Ad ManagerGoogle Ads
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    I like that I can see several clients in one place, which can be convenient. However, the UX could be a lot better as outlined previously. In other words, the benefits of combining clients into the Ad Manager don't seem to be much more beneficial than logging into each client's ad account separately
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    Google Ads is a useful advertising tool to build brand exposure and generate lead volumes for your chosen product. Whilst it can be costly at times due to competitor bidding strategies and requires constant monitoring to ensure campaigns perform as expected, it typically provides the desired quality and quantity of leads for custom budgets.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Google
    • The obvious is the data - Google Ads Manager gives me essential and even critical data about which jobs and industries are hot right now and what is driving the most response.
    • Google Ad Manager gives us more control over the search engine results page as we get more visibility and real estate on our branded search terms and job/industry-specific search terms.
    • Google Ad Manager gives us the chance to compete with major national players in job recruitment, Monster, Indeed, LinkedIn, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Automated targeting via Smart Shopping campaign. It's one of the best campaign types in Google Ads. In the beginning, you may see lower revenue and ROAS, but once you give some meaningful time to your campaign, it is most likely to perform well.
    • Smart bidding strategies: Google Ads has developed some really great bidding strategies such as maximizing conversion and maximizing conversion with ROAS settings. Based on one's requirement and their goal with revenue and target ROAS, they can choose the appropriate bidding strategy.
    • Reporting: A business owner and advertising must know about their audiences, how their campaigns have been performing, what's working and what's not, and for that reason, powerful, effective reporting is needed, and Google Ads provides rich details reporting that covers almost every aspect of a business.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Google
    • Support. Not that they don't call or offer help, it's that our account people are bullies. I tell them I don't have time, so I am insulted and told that I need to get in front of the laptop otherwise I have "failed the company." I have never had a situation where I wasn't bullied by our Ad reps. They don't respect or value our time, which can make their calls frustrating.
    • Too quick on support. They don't take the time to understand the product. We are a preschool which shares a name with a popular motorcycle. An Ad rep insisted he knew the company so well that he could help me within five minutes. After being interrupted frequently, I just let him continue to tell me how I "could increase awareness of our aerodynamic seat design by creating ads with those keywords..."
    • Better management of trademark keywords and program awareness. We switched over to a new site, the domain changed for about ten seconds. All of our ads were unapproved and put on pause. The email stated it would be fixed very quickly, but I had to go in for the last 3 days to reactivate each one individually.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • If you don't know what you're doing, it will be a costly mistake. You need to target ads, and it is difficult the first time to do that.
    • There isn't a feature to run an add for a couple set date spans, just hours you want to run them or a single date span.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    I think it's useful for our team and we rely on it to improve our business. It is within our budget also. Although we still will need an approval from the upper-level management team, I don't see any problem with that
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    I think Google Ads is good for getting your company out there and becoming more visible to potential customers in general. However, for specific product launches, social media advertising might be a better fit. Also, our user base is younger so social media is a better channel for our target audience.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Google
    While most of Google Ad Manager is user-friendly, certain parts of the ad creation process could use some improvements. Specifically, the way you insert keywords can be clunky and time-consuming, and I would like to see better and more keyword suggestions when designing a campaign.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    This is more of a subjective rating, because I think it can be increased with how much our ad spend is. The more of an ad spend, the more visibility we can get, and therefore all features can climb. With an overall larger presence the usability is that where we can get messages out quick, and that's the main thing we try to do with our campaigns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Google
    I could say a lot about this topic. As an agency, we get a new [representative] to talk to almost every quarter to go over select accounts and the campaigns within. Most of the time, these [educated representatives], don't provide any new feedback, or I just simply [disagree] with their approach. This is not all the time however. I have learned a lot from a rare few, [individuals] that have given me new strategies and access to betas early on. The other side of support, is the [overseas support platform]. [It] is usually not very helpful, but you can [emphasize] issues and they can research [them]. The Google Tag Implementation team is pristine though. When you need them, you need to set an appointment, which is usually 2 weeks out; they are so over-my-head intelligent, I've never had a bad experience with them and whenever I needed them for a fix, they solved it [within] the first call.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    We have not yet had an account rep who hasn't tried to bully me or other employees to raise our budgets. At the same time, several years ago, one attempted to help refine our ads and ended up changing the ads to be something we were not affiliated with
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    Google
    Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    As I've said in prior comments, I like how the Google Ad Manager makes better use of the Google data and results compared to the others. Yes, I've tried them - I used to evaluate software for a former company. They will all do the job I didn't like their usage as much as I preferred the Google information - and I said even that had flaws - so you have to realize that nothing is completely perfect so far.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    Our agency invests heavily in Google Ads (particularly paid search advertising) on behalf of our clients relative to competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo because Google is the top search engine in the world. Google collects the most search data which enables the company to improve its AI to drive better performance for agencies and brands. As such, our paid search and app install campaigns always start with Google. If a client has a large budget, we will allocate media dollars to other search engines, but in some cases, the entire search budget goes to Google because we see the best returns.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Google
    • I was able to work well with my budgets - mainly because of the reports.
    • I saw a great spike in the way my ad traffic increased.
    • It was a very easy way to work with Google Ad Manager than connecting other platforms with less compatibility - Less investment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Google
    • Google Ads is often one of our highest ROI channels, especially when you factor in branded ads.
    • Depending on the stage your business is in, search ads can be really powerful from an ROI perspective, providing an investment with a very high spend cap.
    • If you do not manage the campaigns well though, you can quickly spend a lot of money on nothing. So make sure someone is keeping an eye on your account.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots