Update: After publication, a Google spokesperson clarified that the transparency is only for Pmax placement reports and not for search campaign reports. We regret the error (of assuming Google did the right thing and was going to be fully transparent with search ad placement). This story has been updated.
Big news, folks: Google is giving in.
Starting March 4, brands will be able to audit their ad placements on the Google Search Partner (GSP) network when using Performance Max, Google’s “AI-powered” ad product. They will also be able to apply account-level placement exclusions when using Pmax.
This transparency is only for Pmax for now, despite demonstrable evidence that GSP inventory contains thousands of policy-violating sites. A Google spokesperson said “We’ll evaluate whether to extend it to other campaign types in the future.“
First reported by AdAge, This product update comes after months of reporting from us and advertising research firm Adalytics that revealed that Google was systematically running search ads on brand unsafe — and sometimes illegal — inventory through GSP.
Why is this big news? Google urges advertisers to use GSP, a network of “vetted” non-Google websites and YouTube channels, to reach more customers across the web. But they have never allowed advertisers to find out which websites they were running on — or how much they were spending on each of them.
But last November, Adalytics reported that GSP was serving U.S. government agency ads on sanctioned Iranian sites. The company also found big brands like Procter & Gamble appearing alongside pornographic sites.
This turned GSP into an overnight national security risk for two reasons: Google sets up all paid search campaigns to run on GSP by default. Advertisers using Performance Max (Pmax) also had no way to opt out.
Google may have hoped that this big problem would die out by introducing tiny concessions. The company announced they would “temporarily” let advertisers opt out of GSP. You would have to reach out to your Google rep to do so. (Most Google Ads customers don’t have a Google rep.)
They also began allowing advertisers to access an extremely limited report that would show them if their ads ran on the handful of sites Adalytics reported on — up to the last six weeks.
But advertisers deserve more than that.
Two weeks after the Adalytics report, we began producing a weekly report of toxic and illegal websites that proved GSP was a systemic failure.
We found Google serving ads on:
- sanction-violating Iranian sites
- extremely questionable adult sites
- sites that traffic in disinformation and hate
This is big news. Google has been sending billions of dollars to websites like this for years — with zero accountability to advertisers. Now, we finally have the power to see for ourselves.
Next steps
If you’re a brand, here’s what you should do next:
- Head to your Google dashboard and review your Pmax placement report starting March 4. See anything interesting? Let us know.
- Update your exclusion list, which now applies across your account, including Pmax.
There’s still much more to do to bring accountability to the billion-dollar corporations that control where ads go. Our work is funded by our community, not Google. Support us through a donation here.