Google Ad Exchange, also known as Google AdX, is a compelling option for fast-growing companies that want to move beyond Google AdSense. Getting into Google Ad Exchange means accessing a premium ad network and letting publishers sell ads directly to advertisers. Through Google AdX, you can bypass traditional ad networks and associated fees, increasing your revenue. However, you must receive approval from Google before accessing Google AdX.

What is Google Ads Exchange (AdX)?

What are ad exchanges? Google AdX is an ad exchange platform that allows publishers to sell ad space to advertisers and agencies on their websites through real-time bidding. Publishers can set a minimum price for their ad space, and AdX will auction off the ad space to the highest bidder. The higher the bid, the more likely the advertiser’s ad will be displayed on the publisher’s website.

The history of GoogleAdX starts with Google’s acquisition of the DoubleClick Ad Exchange. DoubleClick was a highly popular real-time marketplace where buyers and sellers could transact display advertising space. Google retired the AdWords and DoubleClick brands in 2018. Instead, DoubleClick advertiser products and Google 360 are now under the Google Marketing Platform. DoubleClick for Publishers and DoubleClick Ad Exchange are integrated into the Google Ad Manager.

In an ad exchange, sellers can profit more than by selling advertising directly because the platform automatically selects the highest-paying bid. Buyers, on the other side, get access to a larger pool of websites and publishers.

Why Do You Need Google AdX?

Google AdX provides a cost-effective way for publishers to display ads and ad space more efficiently across the internet. As a result, it helps monetize their website traffic and lets advertisers reach their target audience.

Google AdX allows you to improve your website’s revenue. It also gives you more control over the ads displayed on your website, as you can hand-pick the advertisers. Additionally, Google AdX can help increase your website’s traffic as it will be more attractive to advertisers.

How to Login or Sign In Ads Exchange Account in 2023?

First, to activate your Ads Exchange login you need to provide your credentials — username and password — which you should’ve got when creating your account. How to create your account? We’ll discuss this in the sections below.

Then, the system will ask you a security question, mostly in the form of a simple math problem to solve.And that’s it, you’re in and can check your dashboard.

Is Google Ad Exchange (AdX) a Supply Side Platform?

Google Ad Exchange servers the supply side of the network, working as an SSP for the publisher’s side. It is the world’s largest global inventory exchange, giving publishers a higher yield. Large publishers with a traffic of over 5 million views per month, can have more control over their ad space monetization and get higher CPM.

How Does Google AdX Work?

When you log in to the AdX interface, you can see all the available ad space on your website and set up an auction for advertisers to bid for ad space. There are three types of auctions you can set up on Google AdX.

1. Open Auction

The open auction allows all publishers and advertisers to participate in the bidding. As a publisher, you can set inventory controls over which ads appear on your site and prevent competitors’ ads from appearing in the same ad spaces.

2. Private Auction

Publishers can invite a group of advertisers with offers of ad space on their websites in a private auction. To qualify for a private auction, the advertiser must exceed the publisher’s minimum cost per mille (CPM). A CPM allows advertisers to pay for every 1,000 impressions their ads receive.

Since the publishers are known, their reputation and profile influence the effectiveness of a private auction. For instance, if the CPM is set too high, advertisers may ignore your site in favor of more affordable advertising options, causing your revenue to drop.

3. Preferred Deal

Publishers can offer advertisers an exclusive preferred deal on ad space before an open or private auction. The advertiser can pay an increased price to buy preferred placement with publishers that have websites with high conversion rates.

Choosing one of these auctions in Google AdX can help you plan and negotiate for better deals from advertisers while retaining your brand and profile. Additionally, Google AdX’s auction options allow you to connect with the best brands and advertisers worldwide.

What is Google AdSense?

Google AdSense is a program by Google that enables publishers to monetize their websites or online property by displaying ads. The platform enables website owners to sell ad space easily. With this advertising program, you can earn money from your content, blog, website, or YouTube videos.

How Does Google AdSense Work?

Publishers make their ad spaces available by creating an AdSense account. Once approved, they’ll get a code to ad to their web pages. The spaces go on a programmatic auction where advertisers bid in real-time for the ad space. The highest-paying ad will appear on the page. The publisher gets a commission based on how many visitors view the ad.

Google AdSense vs. Google AdX: Which is Better for You?

Google AdSense and Google AdX are great options for selling ad space on your website. However, there are some critical differences between the two.

Benefits of Google AdSense

Google AdSense is an excellent option if you’re looking for an easy way to sell ad space on your website. It makes it easy to put an ad code in your content, and advertisers bid to show their ads in real-time. Ultimately, the highest-paid ads, videos, and interactive content are shown to your audience based on their preferences. To get Google AdSense, you must be 18 years old or older, create unique content, and comply with AdSense program policies.

Since advertisers pay different amounts for various ads, you might not make much money if you don’t have a lot of traffic. Google AdSense works best if you are an emerging small-to-medium-sized publisher with minimal resources for ad management and limited technical knowledge.

To summarize Google Adsense’s benefits:

  • Automatically place the ads on the website
  • It is free
  • You can place ads on multiple sites from a single account
  • It is simple to use
  • You can customize the ads formats, and choose how to display them, for example as images or text.

Benefits of Google AdX

Google AdX is a premium option for established publishers with large audiences. Using Google AdX requires skill and attention in setting up various types of auctions for advertisers and managing ad space. Since joining AdX requires meeting Google’s advertising policies, it might be difficult to sell ads immediately.

Ultimately, deciding which option is better depends on your specific needs and goals. Those interested in exploring ways to make more money by running advertisements may want to consider Google AdSense. If you’re a popular publisher looking for a premium option with access to advertisers and brands, consider Google AdX.

To summarize Google AdX benefits:

  • Higher ad revenue
  • Simplified reporting and payments
  • More control over the ads
  • Access to Premium Ad Campaigns
Google AdX
Sells Ads in real time
Higher ad revenue
Flexibility and control over ads
Single payment source
Google AdSense
Real-time bidding
Self service aimed for smaller websites
No flexibility or control over ads
Simple to use

The Benefits of Adding AdX to Google Ad Manager Account

Adding Google AdX to your Google Ad Manager enables you to market your website with ad placements from high-quality advertisers and brands. You also gain a lot of freedom in working with advertisers with the same goals of high conversions and increased revenue.

  • Sell Ads in Real Time

Google AdX allows you to sell ads in real-time through unique types of auctions. For instance, a private auction means you can set a higher price for your ad space if someone is willing to pay more. This can significantly increase your revenue, especially when you receive a lot of traffic.

  • More Ad Revenue

Without Google AdX, many publishers have ad inventory that goes unsold or is sold for less than what it’s worth. AdX gives publishers access to more premium advertisers, increasing the potential for better pricing for available ad space. 

  • Flexibility and Control Over Ads

AdX provides the inventory with various tools that increase its power and adaptability. You can control how the ad spaces are displayed to the appropriate advertisers during the auctions to avoid conflict between advertisers.

  • Single Payment Source

Google is responsible for obtaining payments from advertisers on behalf of the publisher. The ease of the payment process provides a streamlined process during which money moves directly from advertisers to publishers without any third parties involved.

How to Get Access to Google AdX Account?

If you’re ready to get started on Google AdX and access a network of brands and advertisers on your site, then you can use these steps to set it up.

Ask Your Google Account Manager

If you’re running Google AdSense on your website, you access Google AdX by asking your Google Account Manager. They can help you with the application process and evaluate that your website meets all of the requirements set by Google. If Google approves your website, then you can start selling ad space on your website through Google AdX.

Reach out to a Google Certified Publishing Partner for Publishers Access

If you don’t meet Google’s requirements because of the lack of website traffic and website reasons, you can partner with a Google AdX partner. Google offers programs called Multiple Customer Management and Google Publishing Partner for third-party companies to join as Google-approved partners. Third-party companies that help publishers access Google AdX are called Google AdX partners.

Google authorizes its Google AdX Partners to help publishers make the most money from their online ads. When you work with a Google AdX partner, they can help you target your ads, find the right advertisers, and set up your auctions and deals. They will usually charge a fee for their services, but they can be a great way to access Google AdX if you’re having trouble getting access on your own.

Use Header Bidding

Header bidding involves using Javascript code inserted into a website page’s header. As the page loads, the code connects to its supply-side platforms (SSPs) for bids from multiple advertisers before sending a request to an ad server such as Google Ad Manager. This method allows you to sell ad space to several advertisers simultaneously so that they can place bids.

To start header bidding, you need to set up a wrapper and SSPs to connect to advertisers and solicit bids. Your Google Ad manager must also have corresponding orders and line items to show the ads upon request. Also, when you implement header bidding, it may take longer for the page to load since the page has to wait for bids to come in from the advertisers. The slowdown in page load may create a bad user experience for your visitors.

Implement Open Bidding

Google’s Open Bidding is similar to header bidding and allows multiple advertisers to bid on your ad space. However, in contrast to header bidding, which requires an extensive setup, open bidding connects directly to Google Ad Exchange. Direct access to Google Ad Exchange can speed up the loading of pages and make for a better user experience.

However, Google oversees bidding from advertisers and the ad spaces on your behalf. So, you may see ads that may not fit in with your audience’s preferences and your company brand. Publishers who prefer direct control over their ad space and advertisements may not be satisfied with Google’s management level.

How to Link AdSense Products or Ad Exchange Properties?

If you have multiple AdSense products or Ad Exchange properties, you can link them together to create a single account. This allows you to manage all your AdSense products and Ad Exchange properties from one place.

To link your AdSense products or Ad Exchange properties, login to the AdX interface and click on the “Linked Accounts” tab. You can add your other AdSense products or Ad Exchange properties to your account. You can create line items within Google AdX for advertisers to bid for ad space. Syncing these services allows you to obtain detailed reporting and arrange multiple AdX auctions simultaneously.

What’s the main difference between accessing AdSense and AdX?

AdSense is stil a standalone product focused on small and medium publishers. The Ad Manager combines Google’s SSP with AdX. While a publisher needs to have an AdSense account in order to sign up for Google Ad Manager, joining AdX is by invitation only or through a third-party partner.

Eligibility Criteria for Google Ad Exchange (Google AdX)

A Google Ad Manager account is the first step to accessing Google AdX. You will then receive access to DoubleClick Ad Exchange and a Google Account Manager, who can tell if you are eligible for a Google AdX account.

There are a few requirements that you need to meet to access Google AdX:

Minimum of five million monthly views
Appropriate Google-friendly content
Updated Authorized Digital Sellers or ads.txt file
Getting this amount of views is essential for Google to ensure enough traffic on your website to make the ad space valuable for advertisers.
The content on your website must follow Google’s advertising policies. For instance, your content must not contain profanity and prohibited content, such as promoting counterfeit products.
Your ads.txt file should contain more information about the advertisers allowed to show ads on your site.

If you meet all the requirements above, you may be eligible for access to Google AdX. You can ask your Google Account Manager to review your website to ensure it meets its appropriate content and ad viewability standards.

Which One Generates a Greater Return: Google AdX or AdSense

Generally speaking, Google AdX yields higer revenue than Google AdSense, but there are exceptions. In some cases, Google AdSense placements earn higher CPMs than Google AdX. For instance, in gallery pages or websites focused on a niche, AdSense may generate higher revenue than AdX, because visitors of those sites tend to be more engaged.

How to Get Access to Other Premium Ad Networks

You can use other premium ad networks to sell ad space on your website besides Google AdX. Ad networks like Bing for Partners can help your site reach more people with targeted ads and news while providing a better user experience. The Bing for Partners program gives Windows users and publishers access to Bing ads.

If you want access to Bing’s premium ad network, you can do so through CodeFuel. CodeFuel displays relevant ads according to the user’s needs, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

To access Bing’s premium ad network through CodeFuel, you must create a CodeFuel account. Once you have created an account, you can add your website to the CodeFuel platform. Once your website is added, you will be able to start selling ad space on your website through the CodeFuel marketplace.

CodeFuel Can Help Make the Most of Google AdX

As a publisher, Google AdX is a great way to increase your ad revenue and get access to worldwide ad networks demand. You can further maximize your ad revenue when you combine Google AdX with other exchanges like Bing with platforms such as CodeFuel.

At CodeFuel, we help publishers monetize search, ads, and news without sacrificing user experience. Get in touch with CodeFuel to discover how we can help with your site today.