Search Engine Journal

Google is launching a new service that aims to help web publishers, specifically those with small-to-medium size sales force, manage their direct ads serving. Ad manager, which Google will offer as a free service will also help publishers in serving relevant ads on their web sites.

Looking at the simple illustration of how Ad Manager works as posted in the Ad Manager site, it would seem that the Ad Manager will integrate all the online ad programs that web sites implement, be it direct ads, AdSense units or Ads from other network. You may look at it as the Adsense account manager for publishers direct ads units.

But as a publisher, why would you want to use Google’s ad manager? Why would you entrust your ad serving activities for direct/independent ads to Google? Frankly, I don’t see any reason behind the Ad Manager other than it being a useful tool for monitoring ad performance.

And what does Google aims to get out of this service? The WSJ says :

“Google is hoping that users will agree to carry some ads Google sells in ad spots on their Web sites they haven’t filled themselves. Google would take a commission on revenue from any ads it sells.”

Those ad spots pertain to spaces on web publishers’ sites that don’t display Google Adsense units yet. Probably in the long run, you might want to sell out currently occupied ad spots to Google as well. In that case, the Adsense Manager is a clever tool, for Google.