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Google Ad Manager

Google Ad Manager

Overview

What is Google Ad Manager?

Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.

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Recent Reviews

Google Ads is my personal fav!

7 out of 10
June 16, 2022
I use Google Ads Manager to advertise our products. We tried to use paid search campaigns with still images of the gas industry. It was …
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Google Ad MEHnager

5 out of 10
April 22, 2020
Incentivized
We use Google Ads Manager to manage ad campaigns on Google for the ad campaigns that our company runs on Google. Google Ads Manager is …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 13 features
  • Ad campaign creation (33)
    8.7
    87%
  • Display advertising (32)
    8.6
    86%
  • Ad performance reports (33)
    8.4
    84%
  • Ad deployment (33)
    8.4
    84%
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Pricing

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Google Ad Manager

Google Ad Manager

N/A
Unavailable

What is Google Ad Manager?

Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

31 people also want pricing

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Features

Ad Network Integration

Integration with main ad networks, and exchanges to make accurate media buys.

7.6
Avg 7.4

Ad Campaigns

Features related to creating and deploying ad campaigns.

8.7
Avg 7.8

Ad Reporting & Analytics

Features related to reporting on and analyzing advertisements.

8.3
Avg 7.8
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Product Details

What is Google Ad Manager?

Google Ad Manager is a platform for publishers that combines the former DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange products.

Google Ad Manager Technical Details

Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(369)

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
April 05, 2021

Google Ad Manager: The most powerful way to PPC!

Verified User
Manager in Marketing
Marketing and Advertising Company, 1-10 employees
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
One of the services we provide is PPC (pay per click). We utilize Google Ad Manager to run our clients' Google Ads (Search, Shopping, Display, [&] YouTube). I utilize the platform on a daily basis as well as keep up to date with the everlasting platform changes, upgrades, and betas. Google Ad Manager is our primary focus when it comes to PPC as a whole on search.
Pros and Cons
  • 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.
  • Bumper Machine - While this is still in beta, there is a lot of room for improvement for the machine to pick proper clips. I'm sure that will come in time though.
  • Inclusion of a Home Page Button - This is a simple request, truly, but one that bothers me everyday. I have a campaign home button, but it's not accessible unless you go back to the beginning of the platform. If the 'home' button was static, I'd be able to go to my preferred view with one click instead of having to loop around, as there isn't a trustworthy 'back button' option either.
  • Display - This is a big one. I have a love/hate relationship with display campaigns and algorithms. I have seen where they can perform [strongly] but also be massive budget bleeds with little ROI. It's not very industry specific either so I'm hoping to gain more consistency and trust with the future of the display algorithm.
Likelihood to Recommend
If you're looking to get into digital advertising, 99% of the time Google Ads is where you want to be. For the simple reason that you can target the search term (as compared to social [media] where you [can] target the type of person, behavior and interests). Google is [generally more] expensive, but if you do the proper research with the keyword planner, you can get a good idea of what your bids will cost; [you] should have a good view of [what] the campaign(s) will convert within the first month.
Google Ad Manager Feature Ratings
Ad Campaigns (5)
76%
7.6
Ad campaign creation
100%
10.0
Ad deployment
100%
10.0
Display advertising
50%
5.0
Ad display and retargeting segmentation
40%
4.0
Sequence targeting
90%
9.0
Ad Network Integration (2)
100%
10.0
Data Transfer
100%
10.0
DSP integration
100%
10.0
Ad Reporting & Analytics (6)
95%
9.5
Ad dashboards
100%
10.0
Ad performance reports
100%
10.0
Ad conversion tracking
90%
9.0
Ad attribution reporting
90%
9.0
Cross-channel ad management
100%
10.0
Ad forecasting and optimization
90%
9.0
Return on Investment
  • I have clients that attribute the majority of their revenue to paid advertisement (Google being the primary of the paid).
  • Because of the expense, it's important not to go into running ads with a budget that is too low. Otherwise you will not see the conversions you'd be hoping for and it would be a poorly made investment. It's vital to allocate a healthy budget from the beginning. Make sure to do proper analysis in order to forecast a healthy budget.
  • Along with budget, you need time. Don't expect overnight results from day 1. These campaigns work off of algorithms that need to learn. Be patient, and if managed properly, you should see the workable data that matters to you after the first month. If you get scared too soon and pull out of advertising in a couple weeks, then don't [start using it]. You really want to be ready to run ads with the same rules of investment of any platform; only invest what you're comfortable with losing. Too many times, people make this mistake and panic too soon before letting the campaigns do their work; [you need to learn how to use GoogleAds and see how the campaigns will] grow in order to increase ROI (coupled with daily maintenance for the proper changes to be made for targeting after analysis).
Alternatives Considered
  • Microsoft Advertising (formerly Bing Ads)
Google Ads is [completely different from] Bing. I mostly advertise on Google and prefer it over Bing tenfold.
Support Rating
7
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.
Usability
9
As a certified Google Ads expert, I can use the platform like Gordon Ramsay can use the kitchen. For those that are not experienced, it can be quite an overwhelming experience. Not that that's a bad thing. You want this to be a powerful platform. Google offers a beginner's platform/view but I don't recommend going that route as you have less control and therefore will have a lower ROI. You want to use the experience platform and if you're not comfortable with it, do yourself a favor and invest in a professional to do it for you. That investment should pay for itself every month if you hire right.
March 19, 2019

Can't go wrong with a well-established brand

KY
Kevin Yip
Online Business & Data Analyst
San Francisco Chronicle (Newspapers, 201-500 employees)
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We are serving our direct and programmatic ads using DoubleClick ad server and share the instance with other Hearst newspapers. Normally each newspaper can only access their own insertion order. We, like some of the Hearst newspapers, manage the ad ops of another newspaper. So we are able to manage the operations of two companies. We basically use it to manage ads like uploading creative and make changes as well as to pull reports.
Pros and Cons
  • It allows you to change a lot of attributes for the line items.
  • The report function is versatile, allowing different types of queries.
  • It does not allow different user permissions. We have to pay for an order entry app/platform for order entry people to enter orders so they won't mess up with the system.
  • The reports takes a long time to run.
  • The reports lack visualizations.
  • Some reports cannot be automated because some of the queries do not have enough dynamic dates options such as 'ends X days ago'.
Likelihood to Recommend
You can't go wrong with Google Ad Manager (GAM) if you are a large company because they are the king of ad servers. However, if you want to cope with the big data needs nowadays, you may need to pair it with some BI tools for visualizations. Also if you want better user control and order entry interface, you may need to consider an order entry platform to interface with it.
Google Ad Manager Feature Ratings
Ad Campaigns (5)
56%
5.6
Ad campaign creation
70%
7.0
Ad deployment
90%
9.0
Display advertising
90%
9.0
Ad display and retargeting segmentation
30%
3.0
Sequence targeting
N/A
N/A
Ad Network Integration (2)
N/A
N/A
Data Transfer
N/A
N/A
DSP integration
N/A
N/A
Ad Reporting & Analytics (4)
40%
4.0
Ad performance reports
50%
5.0
Ad conversion tracking
40%
4.0
Cross-channel ad management
N/A
N/A
Ad forecasting and optimization
70%
7.0
Return on Investment
  • It continues to be a solid performer to serve our direct an programmatic ads. We have no plans to replace it.
Alternatives Considered
We used to use Yahoo APT. It really sucks because of the poor reporting and forecasting capabilities. GAM's forecasting is pretty reliable and the reporting is easy to use.
Premium Support
No
Support Rating
8
They always respond in 24 hours and can get the answers most of the time. For questions which cannot be answered initially, I don't need to escalate. The rep will ask their 'colleague' if needed..
Bug Resolution
No
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