What is Google Ad Manager? - GAM Tutorial

Unlock the Power of Google Ad Manager (GAM) for Your Website Monetization! 💰But what is GAM? Is it Google Ads? Is it AdSense? 🤔Join us as we explore what GAM is, its powerful features, and how it stands out from other Google products. Learn why many marketers consider GAM a must-have for maximizing your website's revenue. Discover the differences between GAM and Google AdSense, and why GAM is the cornerstone platform for publishers.Don't miss out on this opportunity to boost your monetization strategy—watch now and get the full scoop on Google Ad Manager!

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‍Key Takeaways

• Google Ad Manager (GAM) is the cornerstone publisher monetisation platform from Google — think of it as the older, more powerful sibling of Google AdSense, built for larger publishers managing significant ad inventory.
• GAM is not the same as Google Ads. Google Ads is a tool for advertisers to drive traffic to their own pages via pay-per-click. GAM is a tool for publishers to manage, sell, and report on their ad inventory across websites, apps, videos, and games.
• GAM generates an ad tag for each ad unit, which is placed on the publisher's site. When a user visits, that tag communicates with the ad server to request and serve the right ad — all in real time.
• On pricing, publishers on the Google Ad Exchange keep approximately 69% of every dollar of advertiser spend, with Google taking the rest. GAM charges publishers an average of 18% — slightly more than Google Ads at 14%, but in line with its broader capabilities.
• Setting up a GAM account is straightforward — visit the Google Ad Manager homepage, create a manager account with your chosen email, name the account, and configure your country, time zone, and currency.

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What is Google Ad Manager, and how does it differ from Google AdSense?

Naomi: Google Ad Manager — what is it and why should you care? Let's find out. Hi guys, it's Naomi back again with another episode of AdTeach, the series where we cover all things adtech. Today we'll be discussing Google Ad Manager, or GAM.

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Naomi: GAM is the cornerstone publisher monetisation platform from Google. And just to be clear — it is separate from Google AdSense. It's best to think of GAM as the older brother of the two, used by larger publishers. If you're after a little bit more information on Google AdSense, be sure to check out our video here.

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Naomi: GAM allows the management of all of a publisher's advertising. It's where ad campaigns are created, managed, and reviewed, with a suite of performance reporting. When launching a campaign, publishers can choose campaign goals and target their audience by geographic location, demographic, or interests — along with defining their ad inventory types by choosing where they want to place their ad units. The system contains ad server functions that can help you. Ad Manager generates a tag for each ad unit, and the tag is inserted onto the websites and apps of publisher partners. When a user visits that website or app, the ad tag communicates with the ad server to request an ad. The built-in customisable reports can be used to find out which units served to which inventory, how much ad revenue is projected, and many other learnings so that campaigns can be better optimised.

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Definition — GAM (Google Ad Manager): Google's primary ad server and publisher monetisation platform. It manages ad inventory, runs auctions, serves creatives, and provides detailed reporting — used by mid-to-large publishers to centralise their entire ad operation.

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Definition — Ad tag: a snippet of code placed on a publisher's website or app that communicates with the ad server to request and display an ad when a user loads the page.

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How does Google Ad Manager differ from Google Ads?

Naomi: GAM also tends to be confused with Google Ads — when they're in fact fairly different. Google Ads allows businesses to target and direct users to a desired web page using a pay-per-click system. Ad Manager, on the other hand, allows publishers to centralise all of their inventory types — such as mobile apps, websites, videos, or games — to manage a large portion of ad revenue. This can also be done via direct deals from buyers. With GAM, publishers can gain access to more complex reporting with detailed insights, and can even take advantage of third-party networks to compete for ad inventory. So in short: Google Ads is better suited for product marketers or service advertisers, while Ad Manager is better suited for publishers.

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Definition — Google Ads: Google's advertiser-facing platform, used by businesses to create and run paid search, display, and video campaigns. Distinct from GAM, which is publisher-facing.

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Definition — Direct deals: agreements between a publisher and an advertiser where inventory is bought and sold at a negotiated price, bypassing the open programmatic auction.

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What does Google Ad Manager cost?

Naomi: So what can you expect if you decide to go with GAM? In 2023, publishers would take 69% of every dollar of advertiser spend from start to finish on the Google Ad Exchange, and Google will take the rest. For comparison, Google's demand-side platform — DSP — and Display and Video 360, or DV360, takes an average of 13% for every dollar of advertiser spend. GAM on the other hand charges an average of 18% to the publisher, with Google Ads taking an average of 14% of every dollar of advertising spend. These are average numbers and not always fixed costs, but this offers a rough guideline of the Google Ads pricing model. GAM is a tad more expensive compared to Google's other adtech offerings — however, with all that it offers, it's to be expected.

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Definition — Google Ad Exchange (AdX): the programmatic marketplace within GAM where publishers make their inventory available to Google's pool of advertisers via real-time bidding.

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Definition — DV360 (Display and Video 360): Google's demand-side platform (DSP) used by advertisers and agencies to buy programmatic display, video, and connected TV inventory at scale.

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Summary

Naomi: And that's it — we've gone through what GAM is, its differences from Google Ads, the pricing model, and how to set up an account for yourself. If you're interested in learning more, check out the blog post below or book a chat with us via the link in the description box. If you enjoy these sorts of explainer videos, consider liking and subscribing — it helps our channel immensely. Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one.

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This is an edited transcript of AdTeach, produced by Publift. The words are Naomi's own — lightly edited for readability (filler words, false starts, typos, punctuation). No claims have been rewritten or generated by AI.

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