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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

    WordStream

    Score6.9 out of 10
    N/AWordstream, the eponymous offering from the company in Boston, MA, provides a free tool for analyzing performance "grading" an Adwords campaign, beyond which, Wordstream Advisor provides (for a fee, though a free trial is available) recommendations to optimize a paid advertising campaign on Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search engines, and place ads. Beyond the platform, Wordstream also offers full account management services, for outsourcing one's campaign, and white labeling for…N/A
    Pricing
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    No answer on this topic
    Gannett
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    93%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    14 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    93%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    10 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    75%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Ad Network Integration
    Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Google Ad Manager and WordStream
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    7.8
    28 Ratings
    6% above category average
    WordStream
    -
    Ratings
    Data Transfer7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
    DSP integration8.122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad Campaigns
    Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Google Ad Manager and WordStream
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    7.4
    40 Ratings
    6% below category average
    WordStream
    -
    Ratings
    Ad campaign creation7.640 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad deployment7.040 Ratings00 Ratings
    Display advertising7.639 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad display and retargeting segmentation7.238 Ratings00 Ratings
    Sequence targeting7.528 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad Reporting & Analytics
    Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Google Ad Manager and WordStream
    Feature
    Google Ad Manager
    6.7
    39 Ratings
    15% below category average
    WordStream
    -
    Ratings
    Ad dashboards6.537 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad performance reports7.439 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad conversion tracking6.738 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad attribution reporting6.834 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cross-channel ad management7.029 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad forecasting and optimization5.734 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Small Businesses
    AdRoll
    Score3.7 out of 10
    Google Ads
    Score8.4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Criteo Commerce Growth
    Score8 out of 10
    Acquisio
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Criteo Commerce Growth
    Score8 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.2
    (40 ratings)
    9.1
    (23 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    6.8
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.6
    (5 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Google Ad ManagerWordStream
    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
    Gannett
    Do you currently use Google AdWords to drive new business for your website? Then you need WordStream. The best scenario where it has helped me is time. I used to spend easily 20 hours a week analyzing data, making minor changes, adjusting budgets, trying to just master Google AdWords! But now I'm able to spend maybe 2-3 hours a week on Google AdWords and put the rest of my attention on other responsibilities. WordStream has mastered making my time more efficient.
    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
    Gannett
    • Definitely go with a consultant. It amazed me how quickly our consultant was able to understand our business and what we sell. He was the best resource for our newly-digitized marketing team.
    • The negative keywords section was a hugely helpful tool. It saved us from so much unnecessary spend while making it easy to add negatives.
    • How quickly changes implemented were updated on AdWords was amazing. It's live, so no lag and unnecessary spend.
    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
    Gannett
    • While the basic tools are pretty simple to use, the platform is actually pretty expansive and I don't feel like I've taken advantage of it (yet) as much as I could. It does require some training to get up to speed.
    • Support for Display ad campaigns is limited - this is mainly used as a way to optimize Search campaigns.
    • Reporting. I find the reporting setup to be a bit confusing and still rely on other sources for building out reports on our Adwords performance (Adwords itself and Google Analytics).
    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
    Gannett
    Affordable, useful, informative, easy to use, continually updating and staying current
    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
    Gannett
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Gannett
    I have not had any experience with the customer support team for platform issues, but the account representative checks in with us often and is always available to answer questions. We will usually get on quarterly review calls so that she can share any new updates to the platform and answer questions.
    Incentivized
    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
    Gannett
    WordStream is a little different from the competition. There are much more expensive solutions that manage the account for you with more features (Kenshoo, Marin, etc) and there are cheaper solutions out there that offer some of the features that WordStream provides; however, if a marketer wants to personally manage an account with some aided help than WordStream provides a great, cost-effective solution
    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
    Gannett
    • I've already noted the time savings that WordStream has provided - at leats 5 hours a week (and I like to think that my time is pretty expensive/worth it).
    • Wordstream has paid for itself already, simply in removing junk from our AdWords account - junk keywords, junk AdWords groups, junk matching.
    • I think we'll find, over more time, that Wordstream will continue to provide outstanding value in dropping our CPA - once Google register sthe lack of junk, our CPC will continue to go down.
    Read full review
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