Google Ad Manager vs. PubMatic

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.N/A
PubMatic
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
PubMatic is an ad serving and retargeting solution. This platform is designed to serve as a control panel that provides users with a single view into their advertiser relationships across every screen, channel and format. The vendor says through workflow automation, real-time analytics and yield management, they are able to enable users to make smarter, faster decisions that drive revenue and streamline operations.N/A
Pricing
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
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 ManagerPubMatic
Considered Both Products
Google Ad Manager
Chose Google Ad Manager
We use also some of those platforms depending on the use case scenario. But comparing them, Google Ad Manager is better suited for managing ads in a more centralized and structured way. So it give us stronger operational control and a more scalable setup overall, centralizing …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Smartly definitely makes using Google Ads much easier, as it is more of an add-on and helps in cross-platform ad management.
Chose Google Ad Manager
Meta Business Manager has its own set of UX problems. I chose Google Ad Manager, because it's free and gives direct access to Google data, such as for keywords, competition, and auction pricing.
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ads Manager is simpler to use and easier to integrate into our agency's day-to-day operations. The functionality is great, and integration into our onboarding process is much easier. When new hires or interns work within the platforms, they learn more quickly and …
Chose Google Ad Manager
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 …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Among all the ad management platforms I use on a regular basis, Google Ad Manager is the most straightforward to use. However, I probably have a paid search bias, as I spend more time there than with the paid social or programmatic platforms. Even still, Google Ad Manager is …
Chose Google Ad Manager
I personally liked it because of the complex features available. Knowing that this comes from Google, I did not have second thoughts - Comes from an Top tier brand.

There were other products in the market, however, I chose to stick to this due to the following reasons,
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google ads manager is the forefront in search marketing. Other platforms mirror features and trends set by Google while Google continues to innovate and evolve in a class of its own.
Chose Google Ad Manager
With Google ad there are more options to be able to put an ad together and to be able to use the information that best suits our situation. With the other vendors, there is limited use to be able to target and also to be able to correct once deployed or pushed forward where …
Chose Google Ad Manager
The main advantage of Google Ad Manager over the Trade Desk is based on the fact that Google Ad Manager has better data to identify a user on any device as it has more data and the user is signed in over Google Ad Manager´s set of properties. That is why results on Google Ad …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ads is [completely different from] Bing. I mostly advertise on Google and prefer it over Bing tenfold.
Chose Google Ad Manager
We use Google Ads Manager to manage ad campaigns on Google I found that Google Ads Manager was confusing, had a steep learning curve, and had poor documentation. I found myself having to look at tutorials from other websites. I find this to be true of most Google products. They …
Chose Google Ad Manager
The other DSPs I've used were all managed services and this is the first time we've been able to manage the system on our own!
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google streamlines the process and is supremely easier to use than Facebook for Business (utilized for Facebook ad management.). Facebook's control over their management system makes the program much more cumbersome and less effective. Meanwhile, as mentioned, the Google Ad …
Chose Google Ad Manager
As I alluded to earlier, you kind of have to be on Google if you want to search marketing. I've tried Bing Ads and I just don't see the same volume or quality. With dwindling targeting abilities on social media sites like Facebook, Google is still tall and mighty and helps us …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager surpasses all competitor ad management services in every aspect. It is free to use and offers the best quality for your budget.
Chose Google Ad Manager
We selected Google Ad Manager in place of our internal software because Ad Manager allows us to better target our audience while tracking performance at a higher level.
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is the best simply because of how great it is to advertise on the largest search engine on the internet. The other platforms I think have better dashboards and segmentation options but Google is the best because their audience is the largest and most focused …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager is one of the only free to use ad management services out there. While there are several alternatives such as OpenX and Adzerk, Google Ad Manager provides the best bang for your buck (considering you don't spend any money on the actual product itself). …
Chose Google Ad Manager
Bings ad tool is clunky, geographies don't import well/accurately and it's old looking. It's basically a Google Ad Manager, but only for the Bing Microsoft network.
Chose Google Ad Manager
It's a similar product to Facebook, as Google Ad Manager is for Google. Google Ad Manager is better in terms of user segmentation and targeting.
Chose Google Ad Manager
We looked at Adsense and Google Ad Manager when we were selecting a platform. Google Manager seemed easier to use and more robust when it came to social management. Google Ad Manager was also easier to use and offered a better community to help you if you get stuck on an issue.
PubMatic
Chose PubMatic
We regret using PubMatic and are happy with our choice to move forward onto a better company.
Features
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
7.8
Ratings
6% above category average
PubMatic
-
Ratings
Data Transfer7.50 Ratings00 Ratings
DSP integration8.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
7.4
Ratings
6% below category average
PubMatic
-
Ratings
Ad campaign creation7.70 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad deployment7.10 Ratings00 Ratings
Display advertising7.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation7.20 Ratings00 Ratings
Sequence targeting7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Ad Manager
6.7
Ratings
15% below category average
PubMatic
-
Ratings
Ad dashboards6.50 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad performance reports7.40 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking6.60 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting6.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management7.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization5.80 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
Small Businesses
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 9.0 out of 10
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
Criteo Commerce Growth
Criteo Commerce Growth
Score 8.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
Likelihood to Recommend
8.2
(0 ratings)
5.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.0
(0 ratings)
1.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google Ad ManagerPubMatic
Likelihood to Recommend
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
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Do not go with PubMatic -- every aspect of their company needs to improve and be tested on a higher scale for companies and organizations to be happy with their work. They need to listen to what clients are telling them to be able to improve their day to day functions.
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Pros
  • Hyper targeting - I love how we can target, analyze, and then hyper target [advertisements] to our audiences to be able to hyper target the audiences that convert best. [Audiences besides] Google understands them, but also demographics, locations, search terms, and more.
  • Advanced reporting - Without Google's seemingly endless ways to read and break down reports, we would not be able to best make decisions to maximize ROI.
  • Strong conversion algorithm updates - The algorithm has become impressively strong for 'maximized conversions' and 'smart' campaigns. [That's] coming from someone who hated these portions of the algorithm until about 2019 where the updates (and continued updates) have worked incredibly well for these algorithms' purpose.
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No answers on this topic
Cons
  • Sometimes it can bog down and crash. This is rare, but it is processing a lot of steps/changes all at once and it's not expected to be perfect.
  • Being able to quickly filter by campaign types would be nice (PPC/Display/Video Pre-roll). Our fix is to run these campaigns in totally separate accounts, so there is no overlapping in reporting/etc. This helps with seeing stats clearly without having to filter constantly.
  • It could be visually prettier.
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  • Communication is key and PubMatic really needs to improve the way they speak to clients and their response time on emails and the time lapse between communication. Turn around time needs to improve. Simple requests like forecasting should not take weeks to turn around.
  • Understanding their product before making it available to a huge organization. Don't use companies as guinea pigs when the product isn't even working. Understand what your client expects from you from the very beginning.
  • Don't place blame where blame isn't warranted.
  • Knowing the terminology you're speaking about well before you have a conference call.
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Likelihood to Renew
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
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We have already cancelled.
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Usability
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.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
As I alluded to earlier, you kind of have to be on Google if you want to search marketing. I've tried Bing Ads and I just don't see the same volume or quality. With dwindling targeting abilities on social media sites like Facebook, Google is still tall and mighty and helps us with intent-based targeting rather than just interest-based targeting.
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We regret using PubMatic and are happy with our choice to move forward onto a better company.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • We have increased our conversions by 600%, and we weren't starting from a small number.
  • It has helped us grow in the digital space, which is vital in this climate.
  • Because of the ability to edit ads as we do, we are able to customize and carefully plan ads. We have over 1,500, uniquely specified towards certain situations. We can make sure that we start the relationship off right!
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  • Increased problem areas
  • Decreased productivity.
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ScreenShots