Q4 2024
Report and Optimize
Simplified Data Transfer access management permission now available
Starting December 3, 2024, you can manage access to Data Transfer storage directly in Ad Manager with the new "View data transfer buckets" permission. This permission is automatically enabled for Administrator roles, and can be manually enabled by administrators for other roles. This update simplifies user management and provides greater control over your data.
To maintain access, users currently accessing Data Transfer storage through Google Groups must be migrated to the new Ad Manager permission by January 31, 2025. Learn more about migrating Data Transfer storage access.
Report and Optimize
In-app browser app targeting
Publishers now have the ability to:- View apps making in-app browser ad requests in the Apps page
- Mark apps with embedded browsers as targetable or finish setup to declare ownership
- Target apps with embedded browsers in the mobile application targeting type of the targeting picker
Learn more about In-app browser app traffic.
Traffic and Deliver ads
Bulk category mapping for publisher provided signals (PPS)
To help you identify unmapped key-value pairs and audience segments with the highest volume of 30 day ad opportunities, the PPS bulk category mapping tab helps streamline the mapping process for PPS content and audience taxonomies. Learn more about PPS.
Report and Optimize
Take control of your workflow with customizable workspaces
Customizable workspaces in Google Ad Manager let you create up to five personalized workspaces with the data and settings most important to you, streamlining your workflow and boosting efficiency. This will help organize information in ways that make sense for your workflow, like having separate workspaces for video inventory and app inventory. You can find the customizable workspace on your Ad Manager Home page. For details, visit Create and manage a customizable workspace.
Manage network settings
Simplified Data Transfer access management with new Ad Manager permission
Manage Data Transfer and Regional Data Access permissions more easily with the new "View data transfer buckets" permission in Ad Manager. This permission is automatically enabled for Administrator roles, but must be manually enabled by administrators for other roles. Migrate your Data Transfer users from Google Groups to Ad Manager roles by January 31, 2025. Learn more about the access migration.
Policies
US tax form resubmission for publishers who provided a W-8 tax form in 2021
Every few years, publishers that provided a W-8 tax form may need to resubmit their US tax forms in Ad Manager to make sure their tax information is correct. Refreshing your tax information will allow Google to apply the correct withholding rate to your earnings (where applicable) and ensure timely payments are made.
W-8 tax forms submitted in 2021 will expire on December 31, 2024 (note that W-9 tax forms do not expire).
To check if this applies to you, you can reference your current active tax form by following these steps:
- Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
- Click Payments, then Payments info.
- Click Manage settings.
- Scroll to "Payments profile" and click edit
next to "United States tax info."
- Click Manage tax info.
- Check the United States tax card.
- PDF versions will be listed under "Tax forms and withholding (WHT) rates."
Learn more about submitting your US tax info to Google.
Other product or Help Center updates
Video Ad Rules supports Audience segment targeting feature
Audience segment targeting is now supported in Video Ad Rules.
Report and Optimize
New video sell-through insights card
You can now view historic and forecast data for video sell-through on your Overview Home dashboard. The "Video sell-through" data card provides an overview of your reserved and available inventory, helping you track sell-through and discover additional ad opportunities. For details, explore the video sell-through data card.
Gain competitive insights with Peer Benchmarks (Beta)
Want to see how your network performance stacks up against similar publishers? Peer Benchmarks, now in Beta, lets you compare key metrics like revenue, CPM, and impressions with a relevant peer set. See if performance changes are unique to your inventory or part of a broader trend. Explore detailed breakdowns and expandable charts to gain deeper insights. To learn more, visit View and configure peer benchmarks (Beta).
Export your Interactive Reports (Beta)
In addition to CSV files, Ad Manager now lets you export your interactive reports directly to Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel formatted downloads for off-platform manipulation and sharing. Learn more about exporting reports.
Manage network settings
Newsletter Ads activation via the new Advanced Features tab
Ad Manager 360 publishers can opt in to activate Newsletter Ads and their associated serving fees directly in Ad Manager via the new Advanced Features tab, found under "Admin." This removes any need to sign additional contracts outside of the user interface, as the feature is completely self-activated with a couple of clicks.
Troubleshoot
Download the TCF error report to troubleshoot your certified CMP coverage
We’ve introduced two new error types to the TCF error report to help you troubleshoot your certified CMP coverage:
- Error 9.1: A TCF CMP is present on the request, but it is not certified by Google.
- Error 10.1: We received a request from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, but it lacks TCF signals.
To resolve either of these errors if they appear in your TCF error report, review the CMP with whom you're working to ensure it is certified by Google.
Q3 2024
Traffic and deliver ads
Build audience segments in Traffic Explorer (Beta)
Ad Manager 360 publishers enabled for Audience Solutions can now generate audience segments from insights surfaced in Traffic Explorer. Building on the functionality that traffic-based audience segments offer, the feature lets you understand what the audience segment looks like before its creation, and supports a wider range of dimensions beyond ad units, placements, and key-values.
Publisher first-party identifiers for non-Google programmatic demand in web environments
Ad Manager publishers can now send first-party identifiers to Authorized Buyers and Open Bidding demand in web environments. First-party identifiers will not be sent to non-Google demand on EEA, UK, Swiss, and Californian traffic. The “First-party identifiers for ads on web” control has been turned on by default for your account and can be found in Demand channel settings. To learn more, visit Access publisher first-party IDs and delete associated user data.
Traffic and deliver ads
SupplyChain update for publishers who use payment intermediaries
The SupplyChain object specifies all intermediaries, represented as nodes in the chain, that were involved in the selling and reselling of ad inventory. Publishers who use payment intermediaries prior to the request to Google Ad Manager can now send SupplyChain objects in ad requests using the schain parameter. These SupplyChain objects are then sent downstream to bidders with Google's node appended. This includes publishers that use third-party ad server technology.
Note: Any additional nodes appended to the SupplyChain object should also be represented on a publisher's ads.txt/app-ads.txt file, otherwise buyers might consider the traffic unauthorized.
Learn more about bid transparency with the SupplyChain object.
Report and Optimize
Report Scheduling and Alerts now available in Interactive Reports (beta)
Interactive Reports (beta) has launched Scheduling and Alerts, additions that empower publishers to proactively monitor their performance data. By scheduling reports and setting custom flag thresholds, publishers can now receive timely email notifications whenever key metrics hit predefined levels. Learn more about interactive reports.
Other product or Help Center updates
US state regulations messages update for Privacy & messaging
The US state regulations messages available in the Privacy & messaging tool are being updated this week to support publisher compliance with new state privacy regulations in Montana, Oregon, and Texas. Additionally, we are adding support for the GPP US National string. To use these new settings:
- Existing US state regulations messages: Edit the message in Privacy & messaging to adjust the Targeting settings in the message builder to include the newly added states.
- New US state regulations messages: All available US states will be selected by default in the Targeting settings in the message builder.
Learn more about US state regulations messages and how Ad Manager supports the IAB's Global Privacy Platform.
Update to Google’s approach to transatlantic data flows
As of 16 September 2024, when our clients and partners use Google’s Ads Services, Google, in certain circumstances, will rely on the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for the transfer of personal information from Switzerland and the UK, respectively, to the U.S. Google has relied, in certain circumstances, on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework for the transfer of personal information to the U.S since 1 September 2023. No action is required from you in order to rely on these new frameworks.
Report and Optimize
Interactive reports (Beta)
Interactive reports (beta) is now available to all Ad Manager publishers. Interactive reports is a new reporting tool that makes it easier for you to get the information you need. With Interactive reports you can:
- Generate and view reports on the same page in Ad Manager. Modify your selections and see the results update instantly.
- Select metrics and dimensions using a type-to-select search bar, or view all available in a dedicated window.
- Analyze data in Ad Manager using pagination, data comparisons (including percentage change), threshold flags, and filtering/sorting.
To get started, visit Create an interactive report.
Other product or Help Center updates
Changes to Privacy messaging user messages appear in Ad Manager change history
Beginning August 27, 2024, Ad Manager change history will include information about changes made to user messages created and managed in the Privacy messaging tool. Information logged in the change history will include who made trafficking changes to a user message and where and when the change occurred.
Manage Inventory
Collapsible anchor ads for mobile web (Beta)
Similar to collapsible banner ads for mobile apps, collapsible anchor ads appear at half of the screen height. Users can immediately collapse them to the standard anchor size. Learn how to enable collapsible anchor ads for your inventory.
Traffic and deliver ads
Private Auction upgrades
Google Ad Manager will migrate Private Auctions to a new user interface in Q1, 2025. New features will be added such as an external API for Private Auctions. Also, single Private Auctions will be able to serve across both web and app inventory.
Some Private Auction features will be phased out such as creative restrictions, inventory URL targeting, estimated impressions per day, and the "Games" inventory type. Learn more about Updates to Private Auctions in Ad Manager.
Report and Optimize
Measure the impact of identifiers on revenue
To understand how identifiers like First-party IDs and PPID for Programmatic perform, you can run an impact estimate that divides traffic into multiple arms with different identifiers enabled to understand the impact of each on revenue, eCPM, and impressions. Impact estimates can help with your analysis of revenue opportunities from first-party data with breakdowns across surfaces like operating system, browser, device category, and demand (sub)channel.
"Video optimization" report metrics deprecation
The "Video optimization" report metrics are deprecated. They were removed from the Ad Manager interface in July 2023, and will be removed from the external API in August 2024. See Video Solutions reports to learn about supported video reporting options.
New dimension for reporting on Protected Audience API impressions won by non-Google sellers
Starting in August 2024, publishers can report on Protected Audience API impressions won by non-Google sellers. For more details, review the Protected Audience seller (non-Google) dimension.
Codeless Ad support for manual experiments (Beta)
Automatically apply the results of your manual formats experiments with codeless ad units. Instead of manually retagging your site post-experiment, you can now deploy a codeless ad unit by selecting "apply" once your experiment concludes.
Other product and Help Center updates
At this time, we are deactivating all Russia-based Ad Manager accounts. This means you will not be able to monetize with any Ad Manager accounts based in Russia. This follows several measures we've taken since 2022, including the suspension of ad serving in Russia.
Your July earnings will be disbursed around 21–26 of August, assuming you have no active payment holds and meet the minimum payment thresholds.
- Learn more about payment thresholds for Ad Manager.
- Learn more about payment thresholds for YouTube.
Within 60 days, we will attempt to disburse any remaining balance in your account, if you have met the cancellation threshold and have no payment holds.
Please contact Ad Manager Support if you need further assistance.
Report and Optimize
Include ad server line items in experiment results
The option to include ad server line items in experiment results is now available to all Ad Manager publishers. This allows partners to understand the impact of experimental changes on their overall monetization and make more informed, data-driven optimization decisions for both programmatic and non-programmatic demand.
Agency reporting dimension
Publishers can now report on total spend from an agency using the Agency reporting dimension. The spend per agency only displays when it comes from a DSP that is making proper bid response declarations about the buyer for whom they're bidding and when the agency is integrated for sharing.
Policies
Reminder: Enforcement of new consent requirements for traffic in Switzerland begins July 31
From July 31, 2024, in order to comply with the EU User Consent Policy, partners using our publisher products (Google Ad Manager, AdSense, or AdMob) will be required to use a certified CMP that integrates with the TCF when serving ads to users in Switzerland, in addition to the EEA and the UK. For details, visit our EU User Consent Policy.
Traffic and deliver ads
Deals in Open Bidding
Deals in Open Bidding are now available to all publishers in Ad Manager. These deals integrate third-party private marketplace deals directly into Ad Manager, and compete alongside Private Auction and Preferred Deals. The following exchanges support Open Bidding deals: Index Exchange, OpenX, Magnite DV+, and PubMatic. To learn more, visit Deals in Open Bidding.
Traffic and deliver ads
Codeless ad units enter general availability
Codeless ad units let publishers implement web interstitials and anchor ads without having to retag their site. This feature is now available to all Ad Manager publishers.
Q2 2024
Other product or Help Center updates
CMP enforcement update for CTV
Earlier this year, we shared that a certified CMP would also be required for CTV inventory, with enforcement planned for July 2024. In light of publisher feedback we are granting an enforcement extension until July 2025. Please note that regulatory requirements around privacy and consent frequently develop, so we may need to revisit this extension prior to July 2025 if necessary. As such, we continue to encourage our CTV partners to adopt a certified CMP as soon as they’re able.
Traffic and deliver ads
Newsletter ads in open beta
You can use Google Ad Manager to serve reservation and Programmatic Guaranteed (publisher-managed) ads in email newsletter inventory. Use the tag generator to easily input the newsletter ad tag into your email service provider. Please reach out to your account manager to get started.
Traffic and deliver ads
Implement high-value ad units like web interstitials and anchors with codeless ad units
With codeless ad units you can implement formats like web interstitials and anchor ads, without re-tagging your site. To review our recommendations, visit Create a codeless add unit.
Report and Optimize
Deprecating report dimensions and metrics with low usage
Ad Manager will retire low-usage reporting dimensions and metrics for better usability and support. The impacted fields will be available for reporting through the remainder of the year. For details, visit Upcoming reporting retirements.
Policies
Render the AdChoices icon for custom native ad formats
When implementing custom native ads in-app, you are responsible for rendering the AdChoices icon. It is important you take steps to render and set the click listener for the AdChoices icon when rendering the main ad assets. Learn how to render the AdChoices icon for Android and iOS.
Other product or Help Center updates
Help improve the GPT experience
Share your thoughts in our annual Google Publisher Tag developer survey to better the GPT developer experience. The feedback you provide will directly impact what we work on over the next year. This includes writing new guides and building tools, like the Google Publisher Console and GPT sample builder.
Manage Inventory
Video and audio creative settings for Ad ID registries
Ad ID registries now supports ARPP Pub-ID in France and CUSV Auditel Spot ID in Italy for creative hosting.
Report and Optimize
Improvements to the Identity insights card
We’ve updated the Identity insights card on the Overview Home dashboard to provide more granularity on restricted values. The Identity insights card can help you understand how the loss of third-party identifiers and the introduction of first-party identifiers may impact your revenue and inventory. For more details, explore the Identity insights card.
Traffic and deliver ads
Open Bidding creatives in Ad Review Center
All publishers will now see creatives from both Ad Exchange and Open Bidding partners in the Ad Review Center. SDK Bidders and Header Bidding creatives are not yet supported for review or blocking via the Ad Review Center.
Other product or Help Center updates
Privacy & Messaging: Consent revocability
As a reminder, consent revocability is a requirement of the Privacy & Messaging user consent program. In the Privacy & Messaging user message, we removed reference to privacy policy as a place to withdraw consent and clarified that the revocation link at the bottom of the page should say “Privacy and cookie settings”. Please ensure your consent revocation link at the bottom of your site is titled “Privacy and cookie settings”. If you wish, you can also include a consent revocation link on your data, cookie, or privacy policy page. Also, when a user resurfaces the CMP, the message will always have 3 options presented to the user (“Consent”, “Do not consent”, and “Manage options”). For more details, please refer to the following help center articles:
Traffic and deliver ads
PPID for programmatic with RTB demand
In addition to Google demand, PPID for programmatic is now in open beta for Authorized Buyers, Open Bidding, and SDK Bidding demand partners. Ad Manager 360 publishers using PPID can share PPID with buyers by configuring their PPID settings on a per-bidder basis in Demand channel settings.
Policies
Audience segment batch upload limits
We’ve increased the default upload limits for batch uploads. We will begin providing warnings when these limits are reached, with enforcement starting May 15, 2024. Learn more about audience segment batch upload best practices.
New Sellside Video Publisher Policies
On April 1, our new video publisher policies went into effect. The goal of the policy change is to improve consistency and clarity for publishers, advertisers, and users, to align our policies with the latest industry standards, including IAB Reclassification via the new video.plcmt parameter that we introduced last year. These industry efforts to align the diverse types of video inventory have been a cross-industry global collaboration between SSPs, including Google Ad Manager, alongside multiple DSPs and publishers.
Other product or Help Center updates
Identity and address verification for MCM MI child publishers
New MCM Manage Inventory child publishers now need to verify their identity and address before ads can serve on their sites. Parents can review their child’s progress in completing these necessary steps under “MCM readiness.” Note that this process will only affect new MCM Manage Inventory child publishers. Learn more about MCM readiness.
Q1 2024
Manage Inventory
Codeless ad units for anchor and interstitial ads (Beta)
Codeless ad units let publishers implement interstitial and anchor ad units without tagging their pages, saving publisher time and resources. For more details, visit Create a codeless ad unit.
Traffic and deliver ads
Experiment with new monetization opportunities with Offerwall (Beta)
With Offerwall, you can let your users access content by choosing to view a rewarded ad, without making code changes to your site. You can customize Offerwall by defining which parts of your site you want Offerwall to show on, setting the number of pageviews you want visitors to see before showing Offerwall, and designing the look and feel of the Offerwall. For more details, visit About Offerwall messages.
Report and optimize
Updated bidder naming throughout Ad Manager
To help you communicate with buyers around bidder-specific settings, we’re updating references to buyers across Ad Manager to use the buyer’s name as they’ve declared it, rather than custom names you may have inputted in Companies. Note that the reporting metrics “Bidder” and “Yield Partner” will still show Company names.
Traffic and deliver ads
Automatically pass Prebid UserID to Authorized Buyers & Open Bidders
Publishers can already leverage their existing implementations with the Prebid.js User Identity Module to send secure signals to their third-party RTB bidders. To streamline the integration, publishers can now automatically pass all signals configured in Prebid (and registered in Ad Manager) to all bidders they allow to receive secure signals. To enable this feature in Ad Manager, go to “Secure signals” and check the box next to “Use your Prebid configuration to automatically configure your Secure signals settings.”
UserIDs collected via Prebid meet secure signals obfuscation requirements based on the Prebid UserID Module’s definition of pseudonymous IDs. The signal vendor must also be registered within Ad Manager.
Manage Inventory
Custom delivery curves
You can now use custom delivery curves to provide hints on how you want delivery to be skewed over a campaign, such as a boost in delivery amounts during certain time intervals. Ad Manager uses the custom delivery curves provided by you to calculate pacing goals corresponding to the actual traffic patterns and reduce subsequent underdelivery.
Publisher provided signals (PPS) in open beta with RTB demand
In addition to Google demand, PPS is now in open beta for Authorized Buyers, Open Bidding, and SDK Bidding demand partners. PPS is a privacy-forward product solution that enables publishers to activate their unique first-party audience and contextual data in a seamless and scalable way, directly in the programmatic auction. Publishers can configure their PPS settings on a per-bidder basis in Demand channel settings. If you're an Ad Manager 360 publisher, you can start using PPS today.
Traffic and deliver ads
Programmatic limited ads
Google has launched support for programmatic bidding on inventory eligible for limited ads. A publisher can utilize this new serving mode to make use of invalid traffic detection-only cookies and local storage on both consented and un-consented traffic to enable demand from Google demand, Authorized Buyers, Open Bidding, and SDK Bidding in limited ads. Learn more about programmatic limited ads
Deals Request-for-Proposal Improvements
Ad Manager has introduced enhanced RFP tools to help publishers take action on their deals revenue potential from buyer-initiated proposals. These new features exist in a new RFP tab in the "Proposals" section of Ad Manager.
Report and optimize
Activities and conversions (Spotlight) sunset
Ad Manager support for Spotlight activities and conversions ended on February 22, 2024, as part of the third-party cookies phased deprecation. Activity tags, activity groups, CPA line items, and the Data Transfer “NetworkActivities” file will no longer serve. Historical data will be available for several months after the deprecation. For details on Spotlight, visit Activities and conversions.
New "Ad server impressions (co-viewed)" metric
Co-viewed impressions give you insight into multiple people watching ads on a connected TV (CTV) device together.
Companion Ads in Data Transfer
As of January 24, 2024, we no longer include unfilled companion ads in Data Transfer files.
Other product or Help Center updates
New global search feature
We’re adding a new global search feature that will help you find more features in Ad Manager. You’ll be able to search for tools, features, and settings, making it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for. Learn more about the global search featureDisabling "Mute This Ad" no longer supported on EEA traffic
Google Ad Manager no longer supports the option to turn off "Mute This Ad" for reservation ads served to users in the EEA. Instead, reservation creatives for ads served to users in the EEA will display an ad badge and a link to Google’s ad reporting form. Learn more about muting ads on sites that partner with Google
Support features available for the Digital Services Act (DSA)
Ad transparency solutions for publishers with DSA-compliance obligations are now available. Learn more about our support for DSA
Report and optimize
In-app browser reporting & insights improvements
Ad Manager launched its next set of reporting and insights improvements. The changes focused on mobile app dimensions combined with in-app browser insights. This rollout introduced several enhancements to Ad Manager Reporting, Homepage cards, and Data Transfer. It expanded the coverage of existing App ID and App name dimensions, introduced an App ownership status, and added a new App version dimension. Read more on how to explore, report, and target in-app browsers.
Other product or Help Center updates
Global Privacy Platform (GPP) support launched
Ad Manager, AdSense and AdMob launched GPP support for California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut. As a reminder, the use of GPP is not a requirement for US states with applicable privacy laws. The Global Privacy Platform is one of multiple methods that publishers can use to support their compliance with US state privacy laws.
New Protected Audience control
We’ve introduced a new control in Ad Manager to allow publishers to enable Protected Audience API testing with non-Google sellers on up to 100% of their inventory.
Report and optimize
New joinable Bids Data Transfer file
We've added a new bids Data Transfer file type that is joinable to all other Data Transfer files. This file includes details about all bids (excluding bids to EEA users) for your inventory, whether the bid won the auction or not. Note that only one bid file (joinable or non-joinable) may be enabled at any given time. For more details, visit Bids (joinable) data in Data Transfer.
Manage Inventory
Additional web interstitial triggers launch (Beta)
In addition to the recently launched web interstitial trigger for unhiding a tab or window, we’re pleased to introduce our newest trigger for user navigation bar clicks. Navigation bar click trigger opt-in is for desktop only and will respect frequency cap settings. Previously, web interstitials could only be triggered by page navigation. To opt in, publishers can click Inventory, then Network settings in Ad Manager, and select the triggers they want to opt into. For more details, visit Traffic web interstitials.
Report and optimize
New Joinable Bids Data Transfer file (Beta)
We've added a new bids Data Transfer file type that is joinable to all other Data Transfer files. This file includes details about all bids (excluding bids to EEA users) for your inventory, whether the bid won the auction or not. Note that only one bid file (joinable or non-joinable) may be enabled at any given time. For more details, visit Bids (Joinable) Data in Data Transfer.
New video placement dimension
We now support a new video placement field as defined by the updated IAB definition. The IAB advises that the legacy "Video placement" dimension is to be deprecated in 2024 and will be marked as such in our reports.
Manage network settings
Changes to Mute This Ad functionality
Beginning February 2024, Google Ad Manager will no longer support the option to turn off "Mute This Ad" for reservation ads served to users in the EEA. Instead, reservation creatives for ads served to users in the EEA will display an ad badge and a link to Google’s ad reporting form.
Policies
New traffic protection feature
APAS has just launched a new traffic protection feature for the Ad Manager Android application. Publishers can now submit an APK form if they have issues serving Google ads in their Android app. Learn more about troubleshooting ad serving in an Android app.Audience segment batch upload limits
We’ve increased the default upload limits for batch uploads. We will begin providing warnings when these limits are reached, and enforcement will start in March. Learn more about audience segment batch upload best practices.Consent Management Platform requirements
In May 2023 we announced in the blogpost titled New Consent Management Platform requirements for serving ads in the EEA and UK that we will require partners who use our publisher products—Google AdSense, Ad Manager, or AdMob—to use a Google-certified CMP that integrates with IAB Europe’s Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) when serving ads to users in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the UK. This is a final reminder that enforcement of that requirement will start January 16, 2024. To learn more, review the Google consent management requirements for serving ads in the EEA and UK.
