Google Ad Manager - available to everyone now

[zuko105]

I had a couple of webmasters friends participate in the invitation only beta. They seemed to like it, but are still weary of google owning essentially everything. Now it's open up to a public beta:

[adsense.blogspot.com ]

[jojy]

is it similar to openads?

[rustybrick]

Yes it is similar to openads. I actually replaced openads with it when it first came out.

[ronin]

I'm divided about this. On the one hand, I'm really excited that this is now universally available and I'm itching to get my teeth into it.

On the other hand...

weary of google owning essentially everything

Yeah, I hear you. I'm uncomfortable with the idea that in 2008, having finally swapped over to Urchin, Google now 'ownz' me.

And now this.

Is Google the Death by Chocolate of the Internet - not good for your overall fitness, but essentially irresistable?

[ecmedia]

Loved it and used it effectively to run ads from a company that only serves ads in the United States. Was able to run AdSense ads outside the US.

[Edge]

weary of google owning essentially everything

I with you, I don't care how good it is, I'll not build my business foundation on Google or anybody else. Openads (PHPAdsnew) works just fine, I have complete control and if GG decides to start charging or snooping, I won't be participating in the thread complaining about it.

[edited by: Edge at 1:53 pm (utc) on Aug. 27, 2008]

[Swanny007]

I've been using it for a few months now. I have the view that if it's one less script/database that I have to worry about then that's good. I can concentrate more on running my site than about scripts, versions, security, upgrades, etc.

Google already knows more about me and my sites than the govt does. They know my credit card info, I use Gmail so they can read all my e-mail, I use Google Analytics, etc. So what harm is it to give them a bit more data? They have a good track record.

I also like that I can easily use it to run my direct ad campaigns and it auto-fills the remaining inventory with AdSense ads.

[ken_b]

Anyone know how this compares to the ad server that Tribal Fusion provides when you run ads through them?

And someone mentioned OpenAds. Do they offer a hosted version?

[vordmeister]

I notice in their TOS they suggest they might charge for the ad manager in the future. Given their income is mostly through internet advertising it wouldn't be surprising if they end up wanting a percentage.

Does save all those security updates though - I'm planning to give it a try.

[netmeg]

I bet they don't ever charge for it. Just think of all the extremely valuable information they'll be getting not only about you but about the competition; that's worth far more to Google than the few bucks they might make on charging for the product.

[Juan_G]

An interesting related thread:

How to Set a Minimum eCPM for Adsense [webmasterworld.com]
Yes it is now possible ... with Google Admanager

Apart from using alternate ads, etc., maybe Ad Manager could be used to test the non-performing ads [webmasterworld.com] theory (that is, a good smartpricing effect, perhaps one or two weeks after removing ads from pages with very low eCPM; with Ad Manager, it would apply to low-performing ads on any page).

[edited by: Juan_G at 8:11 pm (utc) on Aug. 28, 2008]

[mayest]

Can somebody give me a clue on where to find a step-by-step tutorial on using Ad Manager? I've been using AdSense for a little over a year, and I have a couple of affiliate programs that I use, but I really don't understand how to get my affiliate ads to show up in the zone (ad slot, placement?) that I defined in Ad Manager. I've never used any product like this, so I just don't understand how it works.

I really need an Ad Manager for Dummies tutorial. I don't expect it in this thread, and I've gone through the Google tutorials already. I know that we can't post links (though a sticky would be great), but how about a hint?

[incrediBILL]

This is called BAD IDEA on many levels.

Leaving your own ads vulnerable to common ad blockers that target Google ads is silly.

Giving Google more information about your business is also silly.

Run your own ad system and embed the ads directly into the page so you don't get them blocked and keep your proprietary business operations to yourself.