Google Ads vs. Smart AdServer

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Google Ads
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Google 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.N/A
Smart AdServer
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Smart AdServer is a French ad server provider with a large international presence. Customers tend to be European media outlets. Smart AdServer It has been a subsidiary of the Axel Springer Group since 2007.N/A
Pricing
Google AdsSmart AdServer
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Google AdsSmart AdServer
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 AdsSmart AdServer
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Google AdsSmart AdServer
Ad Network Integration
Comparison of Ad Network Integration features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Smart AdServer
8.0
1 Ratings
8% above category average
Data Transfer00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
DSP integration00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Ad Campaigns
Comparison of Ad Campaigns features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Smart AdServer
8.0
1 Ratings
2% above category average
Ad campaign creation00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Ad deployment00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Display advertising00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Ad display and retargeting segmentation00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Sequence targeting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Ad Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Ad Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Google Ads
-
Ratings
Smart AdServer
7.5
1 Ratings
3% below category average
Ad dashboards00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Ad performance reports00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Ad conversion tracking00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Ad attribution reporting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Cross-channel ad management00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Ad forecasting and optimization00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Google AdsSmart AdServer
Small Businesses
WordStream Advisor
WordStream Advisor
Score 7.0 out of 10
Google Ad Manager
Google Ad Manager
Score 8.6 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
WordStream Advisor
WordStream Advisor
Score 7.0 out of 10
The Trade Desk
The Trade Desk
Score 8.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Adobe Advertising Cloud
Score 8.9 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Google AdsSmart AdServer
Likelihood to Recommend
7.2
(115 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(21 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.4
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(8 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
1.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Google AdsSmart AdServer
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
Clients who are selling products such as dresses, clothes, jewelry, beauty products, etc., generally work well. Also, in some cases, it doesn't fetch a good ROAS for very small business owners. If a client is already doing well in SEO, the probability for it to perform well over Google Ads is always enhanced, and if it doesn't have a good organic reach, Google Ads also suffers.
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Smart AdServer
Smart AdServer is great for a marketing department, to track stats and clicks of their audience. It's a great way to engage the client without actually engaging them. We use it all the time to monitor where they're going, what they're interested in, and how engaging our posts are. I would say it's probably not a good idea for a smaller organization, as one social media manager could work it all out
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Pros
Google
  • Keyword Research - Google Ads has a handy built in tool that helps determine important keywords to target both for Ads & SEO
  • Intuitive Analytics Dashboad - Google Ads makes it fairly simple to see and analyze important metrics on how your ads are running week after week
  • Intuitive Setup - Google Ads makes it easy to figure out how to run ads with little to no training (although training is highly recommended to run effective ads), as their interface is clean and easy to figure out (unlike competing products).
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Smart AdServer
  • It is easy to use, with functionality covering mobile, desktop and even tablet. I'm always on the go, so it's nice to be able to access my server from pretty much anywhere.
  • It has a wonderful intuitive user interface, every facet of this is designed and thought over, so it's easy to navigate around the program.
  • It offers a free trial so there's no real commitment if you just want to try it out, which is nice.
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Cons
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.
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Smart AdServer
  • I would like a more in-depth look at my traffic stats. I can see clicks, where my audience is going, but I'd like maybe some kind of perspective into who my audience is (18-24, adult, etc).
  • Constant updates. It's nice that they're always looking to update program, but the update can kinda get in the way of my work sometimes.
  • I'd prefer it if were a little cheaper – the free trial is nice, but getting my superiors to sign off on the cost (they're a bit old school) is a bit tough sometimes.
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Likelihood to Renew
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.
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Smart AdServer
No answers on this topic
Usability
Google
I suspect that Google Ads is not for the novice user. I told my 'Ad Specialist' that I was not the best on computers and apprehensive about my ability to maneuver the website. He told me on more than one occasion that "I work for you...I'm your sherpa...call me any time or send me an email"!
The sales and service representatives for Google Ads are very well trained, though not much integrity. Despite that I told my Google Ad Specialist that my website was incomplete the ad was published live anyway! Beware that the 'talk' is good, but it ain't cheap!
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Smart AdServer
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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
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Smart AdServer
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Google
Daily use with advanced account structures. Familiarity with reporting/api and complex setups.
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Smart AdServer
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
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Smart AdServer
Honestly, you can use either/or. I'm all about AdServer right now because since Adobe has implemented their cloud service, they've gotten more expensive. Smart AdServer is just one cost, and it's cheaper than Adobe Cloud
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Return on Investment
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.
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Smart AdServer
  • It's helped my organization better manage our traffic flow.
  • It's reduced the amount of work on our social media manager.
  • It's helped my organization get a better perspective on our clientele - where they're going, what they're interested in, it's been a great asset to our business.
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ScreenShots