Google Ad Exchange (AdX): What It Is and How to Join

To join Google Ad Exchange (Google AdX), you can either set up and manage an account yourself or work with a Google AdX partner who will manage the account for you. Most companies choose to work with an AdX partner because they don’t meet the minimum requirements to join or because they don’t have the resources to optimize their ad setup for maximum ad revenue in-house.

In this guide, we cover how to qualify for and set up a Google AdX account, what it takes to manage your ad setup in house, and what to look for in a Google AdX partner. But first, we take a closer look at what AdX is and the pros and cons of joining.

Snigel is a Google Certified Publishing Partner with advanced AI-powered ad tech and dedicated ad ops specialists. To see how we can help you take full advantage of Google Ad Exchange and get the most out of your ad revenue, get in touch.

Google Ad Exchange, or Google AdX, (previously called DoubleClick Ad Exchange) is a programmatic advertising platform where publishers can sell ad inventory directly to advertisers. This is different from an ad network, like AdSense, that aggregates the ad inventory of many publishers before selling it on to advertisers in bulk.

With Google Ad Exchange (AdX), there are three ways to sell ad inventory:

With Google AdX, publishers get more control over which ads are displayed on their websites, how much their ad inventory sells for, and more. There are many ad exchanges that work in the same way, however, AdX is one of the most well known.

Google AdX also benefits advertisers because they have access to more ad space, control over how much they pay, and details about who their ads will reach.

The main benefits of joining Google Ad Exchange (AdX) for publishers include:

Note: When considering the benefits of Google AdX, it’s often compared to AdSense. In general, AdX can help publishers boost ad revenue by 20-50% for Tier 1 GEOs. On the other hand, AdSense usually outperforms AdX for Tier 3 GEOs. For more details, read our comparison guide on Google AdX vs. Google AdSense.

Google Ad Exchange (AdX) can be accessed through your Google Ad Manager account, however, it’s an ‘invite-only’ ad platform. If you haven’t received an invitation, you can reach out to your Google account manager and ask them to review your site.

In general, the minimum eligibility criteria to join AdX are:

However, these requirements are just a starting point — an invitation is never guaranteed. There are often further requirements regarding content type, ad viewability, and more.

If you’d like a free assessment of your website to see if it meets the minimum requirements, get in touch.

Receiving an invitation and setting up the account are only the first steps. You’ll also need a development team and an ad operations expert to manage your ad setup and strategy.

In the next sections, we cover what it takes to manage your account and ad setup in house.

For example, Google Ad Exchange (AdX) lets you set floor prices. However, you have to manually change the floor prices from your account dashboard. In our experience, the floor price for each ad unit, user GEO, and device needs to be updated every hour in order to effectively combat bid shading (i.e., technology that advertisers use to predict the lowest bid needed to win an auction, which then causes publishers to lose out on revenue).

If you don’t switch up the floor price every hour, you could lose up to 20% in ad revenue. But, that becomes a tedious (and almost impossible) task when you have to manually set the floor price each time. Instead, many publishers use third-party software (such as Snigel’s AI Price Floors) that automatically adjust the floor price at regular intervals.

And that’s just one piece of the puzzle. There are many different types of third-party software that can help you significantly increase your ad revenue from automatic ad placement to audience creation and contextual ad targeting.

For each solution, you’ll need to set up and manage separate accounts, integrate and maintain new software, and much more. All of this ends up being a huge task. (You can also try to create these solutions yourself, but that’s an even bigger task that requires years of development.)

Even with access to the right technology, there are many more considerations that will make or break your ad strategy. For example:

It takes years of experience testing different setups in different situations to be able to effectively answer these questions. That’s why every publisher needs a dedicated ad expert to manage their strategy — otherwise you’re leaving money on the table.

You can either add a full-time ad ops specialist to your team, or you can work with an ad monetization partner.

Publishers that work with a Google AdX partner or reseller don’t have to qualify for or set up their own AdX account. Instead, the AdX reseller creates an account with AdX and, using Google’s Multiple Customer Management (MCM) program, is able to buy and sell ad inventory on behalf of the publisher.

However, not all AdX partners are the same. Not only will the quality of support differ between providers, but they’ll also offer a variety of additional ad tech.

Below, we cover eight ways that AdX partners differ from each other to help you choose the best solution for your website. You can also read our detailed guide on how to choose a Google AdX partner or watch this short video.

By connecting to Google Ad Exchange (AdX), you’ll automatically have access to features that let you control ad inventory prices, utilize different types of ad formats, show targeted ads, control ad quality, and more. Plus, most AdX partners have built additional ad tech to improve the functionality of these features and optimize your ad setup for higher revenue.

For example, Google Ad Exchange (AdX) lets you display banner ads of various sizes throughout your content. To increase your ad revenue from these banner ads, Snigel has a feature called super adhesive which lets you display larger ads in a smaller space (the ad moves down as the user scrolls). Since larger ads typically give higher CPMs, this is a great way to boost ad revenue.

Each AdX partner offers different features, so you’ll want to compare the ad stacks carefully.

Some AdX partners simply connect you to Google Ad Exchange (AdX) and provide you with a self-serve platform where you can turn various features on or off. While self-serve platforms are often less expensive than full-service solutions and they let you directly control your ad setup, there are a few downsides.

If you need any customizations, you’ll have to figure out how to change the underlying code of the ad tech on your own because most self-serve platforms come with limited technical support. They may help you implement existing functionalities or fix a bug, for example, but few of them will make modifications or write new code for you. Regardless of the ad stack you’re using, most publishers need some customizations because the ad tech platform is built for a general audience rather than your specific website.

However, few have the necessary technical expertise to make those customizations. That’s why publishers using a self-serve platform are likely earning less ad revenue than they could with another solution.

Plus, most self-serve platforms have limited technology and don’t provide solutions such as dynamic floor pricing, next gen ad formats, and preferential rates from demand partners like SSPs, DSPs and ad exchanges.

Snigel provides a full-service solution which means you’ll have a designated ad management expert who creates, implements, and manages your entire ad stack and ad strategy for you using advanced algorithms. You can be as involved or uninvolved with the process as you want. Either way, our team will handle the heavy lifting of customizing your ad stack, running A/B tests, and more so that you don’t have to.

Most AdX partners will also help you connect to additional supply-side platforms (SSPs) and ad exchanges besides Google Ad Exchange (AdX). By connecting to multiple demand sources, you’re able to take advantage of header bidding, which creates more competition for your ad inventory resulting in higher CPMs.

Additionally, some SSPs cater to specific verticals, which lets you display more targeted, relevant ads. This, again, results in higher CPMs and a better user experience.

In addition to Google Ad Exchange (AdX), Snigel’s data-driven header bidding solution, AdEngine, connects you to top SSPs including:

Publishers who are serious about ad monetization typically take advantage of Google Ad Exchange. Joining Google Ad Exchange (AdX) on your own will give you the most control over your ad setup; however, there are steep requirements to join, and it takes a full-time developer and ad ops specialist (at minimum) to get the most out of your ad setup.

Most publishers partner with an AdX reseller like Snigel to take advantage of Google AdX sooner and to get the most out of their ad inventory.

Snigel provides a full-service approach to ad monetization that includes access to AdX, (plus many more SSPs), an advanced AI-powered ad tech, and a dedicated ad management expert. To see how we can help you increase your revenue potential while maintaining fast page load speeds and a great user experience, get in touch.