3 years, 5 months ago
OpenX or Google Ad Manager?
Pros/Cons. Please support your answer with experience and facts.
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M$2 Answers
It's definitely a matter of preference. The OpenX (formerly phpAds, phpAdsNew, Open Ads) service certainly has been out on the market longer than Google, yet that does not mean it's any better than what Google has to offer. In the end, they are similar services in that they both allow publishers to maximize and manage inventory on their sites, yet Google's Ad Manager is operated by the company serving the Ads by Google and runs on Google's servers. However, they are different in that OpenX seems to allow more advertising options, yet I would not be surprised if Google adds more to its service. Since those with Ad Sense accounts are already plugged into the system, with Google Ad Manager you can simply add the tool within a few clicks without anything to download, whereas with OpenX you are required to download and install to your web server to to add a complete ad management service for your website.
It's definitely a matter of preference. The OpenX service certainly has been out on the market longer than Google, yet that does not mean it's any better than what Google has to offer. In the end, they are similar services in that they both allow publishers to maximize and manage inventory on their sites, yet Google's Ad Manager is operated by the company serving the Ads by Google and runs on Google's servers. However, they are different in that OpenX seems to allow more advertising options, yet I would not be surprised if Google adds more to its service. Since those with Ad Sense accounts are already plugged into the system, with Google Ad Manager you can simply add the tool within a few clicks without anything to download, whereas with OpenX you are required to download and install to your web server to to add a complete ad management service for your website.
Both services are free to use, yet OpenX charges advertisers who use its system, whereas Google does not. So, you've got to ask yourself, would you want advertisers to pay to use its system? Will this cause advertisers to move to Google's Ad Manager? If you answered you wanted a free service, for advertisers, the Google's Ad Manager is for you.
Do you like Google's brand and like to stick to using the many Google products and services, just because they are "powered by Google" and you know you can trust and depend on the Google brand? If you answered yes, then Google's Ad Manager is for you!
Also, do you want the same company who holds your ad stats information to be managing your advertising as well? I you do not want Google doing both, then OpenX could be the choice for you.
Do you want 3rd Party Ad Networks supported? If yes, then OpenX could be the choice for you. This basically means more options for ad network support.
Do you want a huge download that is more complex to install or something relatively easier to install that is basically plug and play? If you want something easy to install that is plug and play, then you would go with Google Ads Manager, because basically it's the simple solution to install and does not have the more intuitive and more advanced from an integration standpoint.
Both Google Ads Manager and OpenX have the following:
Geographic Targeting
Contextual Targeting
Single Site Targeting
Channel/Network Targeting
Revenue Reporting for Publishers
Return On Investment/eCPM Reports
Performance Reporting per Ad
Supports Rich Media / Video Ads
Allows Direct Sale Bookings
What does Google Ads Manager have that OpenX does not have?
Demographic Targeting
What does OpenX has that Google Ads Manager does not have?
Behavioral Targeting
Supports 3rd Party Ad Networks
Google Boasts:
1. Simple, intuitive user interface: Decrease training time and trafficking steps with simplified tagging and inventory management.
2. Google serving speed and reliability
3. Ensure quicker ad delivery and fewer reporting discrepancies.
Significant cost savings!
4. Pay no I.T. infrastructure, maintenance, or bandwidth costs.
OpenX Boasts:
1. Build on your AdSense ad revenue by rotating different ads and tracking their performance.
2. Professional ad trafficking tools to package your inventory effectively and manage ad sales.
3. Scalable, customizable ad platform to build your online advertising business.
If you cannot figure out which one to choose, you may want to look at this comparison chart put out by Traffic Spaces http://www.trafficspaces.com/product/comparison/
In the following article OpenX's CEO pointed out the differences:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/openx_feeling_bullish.php
OpenX's CEO explained the 3 main differences between Google Ads Manager and OpenX.
1) OpenX is an independent, neutral provider - a point which Bernard Lunn expanded on here in a March 08 post entitled Manifesto to Avoid a Google Media Monoculture.
Tim Cadogan claimed in the call that OpenX complements what Google does - by which he meant that it can arbitrate between ad networks, including Adsense. Although Tim Cadogan didn't say it directly, the inference is that Google's Ad Manager can't do this arbitration as fairly.
In his March post Bernard made clear what the dangers of using Ad Manager are: "It is the integration Ad Manager with Adsense that is a worry. ... Take the link to Publisher tools and you get to an Adsense page with all the tools available for Publishers. Yes, all these free tools are designed to sell more AdSense. Letting Ad Manager and other Google tools automatically make these decisions on behalf of AdSense while you fly blind is not smart".
2) The second difference between OpenX and Ad Manager, according to Tim Cadogan, is that OpenX is open source and "infinitiely customizable".
Examples of companies using OpenX Ad Server are FM Publishing (another disclosure: they are our ad network), AOL's Userplane (for Enterprise), Dragon Media Online (Enterprise), and AneXusIT (Video).
3) The third difference is that OpenX is "very very feature rich" compared to other ad servers - and not just Google's, noted Cadogan.
These are all good points, although of course none of it may be relevant if Google gains dominance in the ad server market. However there's no indication that is happening and OpenX may well be carving itself a great niche as the 'Red Hat of ad servers'.
On December 18th, 2008 Google Ad Manager added 7 new features which seem pretty interesting:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ad-manager-rolls-out-new-features/8168/
Traffic Spaces is yet another option to look into, if you're still undecided.
It's definitely a matter of preference. The OpenX service certainly has been out on the market longer than Google, yet that does not mean it's any better than what Google has to offer. In the end, they are similar services in that they both allow publishers to maximize and manage inventory on their sites, yet Google's Ad Manager is operated by the company serving the Ads by Google and runs on Google's servers. However, they are different in that OpenX seems to allow more advertising options, yet I would not be surprised if Google adds more to its service. Since those with Ad Sense accounts are already plugged into the system, with Google Ad Manager you can simply add the tool within a few clicks without anything to download, whereas with OpenX you are required to download and install to your web server to to add a complete ad management service for your website.
Both services are free to use, yet OpenX charges advertisers who use its system, whereas Google does not. So, you've got to ask yourself, would you want advertisers to pay to use its system? Will this cause advertisers to move to Google's Ad Manager? If you answered you wanted a free service, for advertisers, the Google's Ad Manager is for you.
Do you like Google's brand and like to stick to using the many Google products and services, just because they are "powered by Google" and you know you can trust and depend on the Google brand? If you answered yes, then Google's Ad Manager is for you!
Also, do you want the same company who holds your ad stats information to be managing your advertising as well? I you do not want Google doing both, then OpenX could be the choice for you.
Do you want 3rd Party Ad Networks supported? If yes, then OpenX could be the choice for you. This basically means more options for ad network support.
Do you want a huge download that is more complex to install or something relatively easier to install that is basically plug and play? If you want something easy to install that is plug and play, then you would go with Google Ads Manager, because basically it's the simple solution to install and does not have the more intuitive and more advanced from an integration standpoint.
Both Google Ads Manager and OpenX have the following:
Geographic Targeting
Contextual Targeting
Single Site Targeting
Channel/Network Targeting
Revenue Reporting for Publishers
Return On Investment/eCPM Reports
Performance Reporting per Ad
Supports Rich Media / Video Ads
Allows Direct Sale Bookings
What does Google Ads Manager have that OpenX does not have?
Demographic Targeting
What does OpenX has that Google Ads Manager does not have?
Behavioral Targeting
Supports 3rd Party Ad Networks
Google Boasts:
1. Simple, intuitive user interface: Decrease training time and trafficking steps with simplified tagging and inventory management.
2. Google serving speed and reliability
3. Ensure quicker ad delivery and fewer reporting discrepancies.
Significant cost savings!
4. Pay no I.T. infrastructure, maintenance, or bandwidth costs.
OpenX Boasts:
1. Build on your AdSense ad revenue by rotating different ads and tracking their performance.
2. Professional ad trafficking tools to package your inventory effectively and manage ad sales.
3. Scalable, customizable ad platform to build your online advertising business.
If you cannot figure out which one to choose, you may want to look at this comparison chart put out by Traffic Spaces http://www.trafficspaces.com/product/comparison/
In the following article OpenX's CEO pointed out the differences:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/openx_feeling_bullish.php
OpenX's CEO explained the 3 main differences between Google Ads Manager and OpenX.
1) OpenX is an independent, neutral provider - a point which Bernard Lunn expanded on here in a March 08 post entitled Manifesto to Avoid a Google Media Monoculture.
Tim Cadogan claimed in the call that OpenX complements what Google does - by which he meant that it can arbitrate between ad networks, including Adsense. Although Tim Cadogan didn't say it directly, the inference is that Google's Ad Manager can't do this arbitration as fairly.
In his March post Bernard made clear what the dangers of using Ad Manager are: "It is the integration Ad Manager with Adsense that is a worry. ... Take the link to Publisher tools and you get to an Adsense page with all the tools available for Publishers. Yes, all these free tools are designed to sell more AdSense. Letting Ad Manager and other Google tools automatically make these decisions on behalf of AdSense while you fly blind is not smart".
2) The second difference between OpenX and Ad Manager, according to Tim Cadogan, is that OpenX is open source and "infinitiely customizable".
Examples of companies using OpenX Ad Server are FM Publishing (another disclosure: they are our ad network), AOL's Userplane (for Enterprise), Dragon Media Online (Enterprise), and AneXusIT (Video).
3) The third difference is that OpenX is "very very feature rich" compared to other ad servers - and not just Google's, noted Cadogan.
These are all good points, although of course none of it may be relevant if Google gains dominance in the ad server market. However there's no indication that is happening and OpenX may well be carving itself a great niche as the 'Red Hat of ad servers'.
On December 18th, 2008 Google Ad Manager added 7 new features which seem pretty interesting:
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ad-manager-rolls-out-new-features/8168/
Traffic Spaces is yet another option to look into, if you're still undecided.
source(s):
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/openx_feeling_bullish.php http://www.trafficspaces.com/product/comparison/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdWords
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ad-manager-rolls-out-new-features...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhpAdsNew
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/openx_feeling_bullish.php http://www.trafficspaces.com/product/comparison/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdWords
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-ad-manager-rolls-out-new-features...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhpAdsNew
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You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Technically speaking, both systems are pretty elaborate and cover most advertising needs. The main advantage of Google is the large scale of the system and the metrics, but that's the main downturn at the same time: I would never solely rely on Google.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Thanks! I realized that after the fact, and although my answer was the best, I should have proofread it better. Believe it or not, my browser crashed in Safari as I was answering this question and I was lucky I saved it, so I came back and edited it a little. If the answer could only tell some people the challenges they go through to answer questions... It's kind of embarrassing having the best answer with a typo or two.
Thanks! These are the kind of answers I expect to get when using a paid Q and A service and what gives Mahalo Answers potential.
Note: I've just found that Google Ad Manager does in fact support third party ad networks.