Sooner or later, every publisher who grows past AdSense hears the same advice: "You need AdX." Google Ad Exchange is where a large share of the world's display advertising is bought, and access to it is one of the clearest steps up from AdSense. But Google doesn't hand it out through a sign-up form, and the paths to it are often explained badly, sometimes by companies that benefit from the confusion.
This guide explains what Google AdX is, how it differs from AdSense, the ways publishers actually get access, and what to check before you sign with anyone who offers it.
Full disclosure: we run Dokira, and AdX access is part of what we offer. We've written this so it's useful whichever route you choose.
What Google AdX is
Google Ad Exchange (AdX) is Google's real-time marketplace for display, video and mobile ad inventory. When a page loads, AdX runs an auction for each ad slot. Advertisers buying through Google Ads and Display & Video 360 bid, and so do third-party demand-side platforms and ad networks. The highest qualifying bid wins and the ad is shown, all within a fraction of a second.
AdX isn't a separate product you log in to anymore. Google merged it with its ad server (formerly DoubleClick for Publishers) into Google Ad Manager, so in practice AdX is the exchange that sits inside an Ad Manager account. When people say a site "runs AdX", they mean its Ad Manager setup has AdX demand switched on.
AdX vs AdSense: what actually changes
AdSense and AdX share part of their demand. Many of the same Google Ads advertisers bid in both. The difference is how much control you get and who else can compete.
More buyers. AdX opens your inventory to third-party buyers and to deal types that AdSense doesn't support.
Private deals. With AdX you can sell through private auctions, preferred deals and programmatic guaranteed deals. Brands and agencies often pay more through these than in the open auction.
Pricing controls. Ad Manager lets you set price floors by ad unit, country, device and more. On a large site, floors are one of the biggest levers on revenue, and AdSense barely has them.
It works with header bidding. In Ad Manager, AdX competes with your header bidding partners on the same impression. If you're new to that idea, our header bidding explainer covers it.
More work. AdSense is designed to run itself. AdX in Ad Manager needs ad units, pricing rules, reporting and ongoing tuning. Someone has to do that work: you, your team, or a partner.
| AdSense | Google AdX (in Ad Manager) | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Sign up and get approved | Through Ad Manager 360 or a partner (see below) |
| Buyers | Mainly Google Ads | Google Ads, DV360, third-party DSPs and networks |
| Private deals | No | Private auctions, preferred deals, programmatic guaranteed |
| Price floors | Very limited | Detailed pricing rules |
| Header bidding | Not designed for it | Competes alongside your bidders |
| Setup and upkeep | Minimal | Ongoing ad operations work |
How much more does AdX pay?
There's no honest single number. Google doesn't publish one AdX revenue share that applies to every publisher, and the difference depends on your audience, your countries, your formats and how well the setup is tuned.
What Google has published is an overall figure: when advertisers bought display ads on Google Ad Manager through Google Ads or Display & Video 360, publishers kept over 69% of the revenue (Google's 2019 figure). If you work with a partner, their share comes on top of that.
The real gains usually don't come from the revenue split. They come from more buyers competing, better floors, deals and header bidding. Be wary of anyone who promises a fixed uplift before they've seen your site.
The ways publishers get AdX access
There are essentially two routes.
1. Directly from Google: Ad Manager 360
Large publishers can contract directly with Google for Google Ad Manager 360, the paid enterprise version of Ad Manager. Terms are negotiated with Google, and Google doesn't publish an open application process or a fixed traffic threshold for it. In practice this route is for big media companies with their own ad operations teams.
If that's you, you probably already know it. For most independent publishers, it isn't a realistic option.
2. Through a partner: Multiple Customer Management (MCM)
Most publishers reach AdX through a partner that already has AdX access, using Google's Multiple Customer Management (MCM) program. MCM replaced Google's older Scaled Partner Management program in 2022. The partner is the "parent" and the publisher is the "child".
MCM has two delegation types, and it matters which one a partner offers you:
Manage Inventory. The partner serves ads on your inventory from its own Ad Manager account. You put the partner's tags on your site and their line in your ads.txt. The setup lives on their side.
Manage Account. The partner works inside your own Ad Manager account, on your behalf. The account, its settings and its history stay yours. Google offers this delegation for Ad Manager 360 accounts.
Either way, Google is involved. You accept the partner's invitation in Google's system, your site has to meet Google's publisher policies, and Google reviews each site before AdX serves on it. A partner can't skip that review for you.
What Google expects from your site
Whichever route you take, the same basics apply:
- Policy compliance. Your site has to follow the Google Publisher Policies and Ad Manager program policies. Copyrighted material, adult content, misleading layouts and incentivised clicks are common reasons for rejection.
- Original content. Thin, scraped or made-for-advertising pages tend to be rejected, or approved and later restricted.
- Clean traffic. Bought traffic, bots and click schemes put the account at risk, not just the site. Google can and does deactivate partner links over policy problems.
- A correct ads.txt. The exchange checks that whoever sells your inventory is authorised to. Our ads.txt guide explains how the lines work.
- A consent setup. In the EU, UK and similar markets, you need a certified consent management platform so Google receives a valid consent signal. Without one, much of the demand won't bid.
Questions to ask an AdX partner
A good partner answers these plainly.
Which MCM delegation type do you use? Manage Inventory or Manage Account? Whose Ad Manager account does my site run in?
What goes in my ads.txt, and why? Ask which lines are DIRECT and which are RESELLER, and check that they match the partner's sellers.json.
What else competes besides AdX? AdX alone is only one source of demand. Which header bidding partners run on the same impression?
Who sets up and tunes my site? Price floors, ad units and bidders should be set for your site by a person, not copied from a template.
What happens when I leave? How much notice do you need, when is the final payment, and what do I need to remove? With Manage Account, your Ad Manager account stays yours. With Manage Inventory, you take out their tags and ads.txt lines.
How do you handle policy issues? If Google flags something on your site, how will you tell me, and how quickly?
How is revenue reported? You should see results per site and per day, and get an explanation when numbers are adjusted later.
Warning signs
- A guaranteed uplift before anyone has looked at your traffic.
- Vague answers about whose account your inventory runs in.
- Pressure to add ads.txt lines you don't understand, or lines from companies you've never heard of.
- Long lock-in contracts with unclear exit terms.
- No mention of Google's site review. Every route to AdX includes one, so anyone who skips it in their explanation is either careless or not being straight with you.
Where Dokira fits
Dokira gives established sites AdX and header bidding through one integration, with a person doing the setup.
No Ad Manager of your own needed. Without Ad Manager, your site goes onto Dokira's Google AdX network. There's nothing for you to open, apply for or be approved into on Google's side, apart from Google's own review of your site.
Already on Ad Manager? Keep it. If you run Google Ad Manager, you can link it instead and we work inside it. It stays in your name.
AdX plus header bidding. Your inventory gets Google AdX and 17 header bidding partners bidding on the same impression, through a single script and our lines in your ads.txt.
Tuned by a person. Placements, price floors and the bidder mix are set for your site specifically, based on your real pages and traffic.
We generally work with established sites that publish original content, get most of their traffic from tier-one markets and can edit their ads.txt. The details are on our publishers page. If you're still weighing up your options, our guide to AdSense alternatives for high-traffic sites compares the main kinds of setup.
FAQ
Can I apply for Google AdX directly?
Not through a public form. Direct access means a Google Ad Manager 360 contract, which Google negotiates with large publishers. Most publishers get AdX through an MCM partner instead.
Is AdX better than AdSense?
For a small site, AdSense is often enough and much simpler. For a site with significant traffic, AdX in Ad Manager usually earns more, because more buyers compete and you get floors, deals and header bidding. The gain depends on how well it's set up.
Do I need Google Ad Manager to use AdX?
AdX runs inside Ad Manager, but it doesn't have to be your own account. With the Manage Inventory route, ads are served from the partner's Ad Manager account. If you already have Ad Manager, a partner can work inside yours.
Can I keep AdSense while using AdX?
You can, but running two Google setups side by side on the same pages tends to compete with itself and complicate reporting. Most publishers who move to AdX replace AdSense on those pages.
How long does it take to get AdX running?
The technical setup can be done within days. Google's review of a new site, and the first weeks of tuning floors and bidders, usually take longer. Judge the results after a few weeks, not the first day.
Why would Google reject or restrict my site?
The most common reasons are policy problems: copied or thin content, adult or copyrighted material, misleading ad placements and invalid traffic. Fix those first. A partner can't get around them.
Next step
If you run an established site and you'd like AdX and header bidding without hiring an ad ops team, apply to Dokira. It takes one form and your domain, and a person reviews every application.