We honestly believe that the Google Ad Manager is the best tool to serve Ads on websites.

Why?

• The biggest advantage of the Google Ad Manager is that it can be used along with DoubleClick Ad Exchange where there’s a high advertising demand. If you would still prefer another ad server to manage your deals, no problem. You can implement Header Bidding and use Ad Manager only to connect the Ad Exchange demand.
• Thorough documentation - Even with no direct Google support, finding help is easy. Ad Manager has a large documentation online which will answer 99% of all your potential questions.
• Ad Manager for Small Business is free to use, up to some limits.

Having 100% coverage (fill rate) of ads is not the way…

Why?
We have seen publishers whose main goal was to sell every single impression. We believe that this is not the way… The idea is to sell the right impression to the right people. Sometimes the right impression is just not available.

What happens if I don't have a 100% fill rate?
The CTR of other units will ultimately increase! It’s important to know that one user only clicks on one ad. This will clean your website of surplus ads and bring more chances of the right ads to be clicked on. The overall CTR will increase and your inventory will be more attractive to advertisers.

Site performance will be better.
Displaying fewer ads reduces the resources to download and render which leads to improved core-web-vitals, better user experience and more returning visitors!

How to increase revenue on the publisher’s side?

Implement Lazy loading of ads. Ads will be displayed in lower amounts but those placements’ attractiveness will increase. Higher CTR and viewability = better CPM.

Reduce placements with low CPM and test various positions.

Increase CTR of placements. This is directly connected to the viewability. If the impression is not viewable, it cannot be clicked.

Cooperate with a partner with access to programmatic demand. They will connect you to more advertisers. More demand = better CPM.

Use pricing rules - read more about FatChilli automatic pricing rules.

Focus on quality traffic sources. Not every traffic source has the same quality. For example: If most of your traffic is from social media, cookie-matching and retargeting ads will not work for your advantage properly. Social media platforms usually have a custom browser which prevents users from leaving their platform. Organic and Direct traffic is most valued.

Implement video ads. This will increase your revenue as video formats have higher CPM. Sell these placements only at higher prices to reduce user’s distraction.

Connect with advertisers and agencies directly and ask them for a partnership. If you have any Google partner, you can use their AdX to run direct campaigns. You can make a direct deal with the advertiser and FatChilli will set it up for you.

Subscribe to a newsletter from websites that focus on this topic. Stay updated about the news. Consider “Fatchilli Content Monetization Blog” as one of the sources.

Respect the advertising ecosystem. Some “shadow” methods might increase revenue in the short-term period, but they won’t work to your advantage in the long run. You risk getting banned, wasting a lot of money and time.

Keep in touch with your Account Manager. They have access to plenty of helpful information that is not even public yet. Your Account manager is the first person that will help you. However, it is recommended to do at least some research yourself as well. Your Account Manager is not a search engine - try finding answers to your questions online first.