Google is introducing a tool throughout its ad-tech products today that is designed to help publishers and buyers track ad-tech fees, a contentious area of programmatic where Google has not always been seen as an honest broker.
While the tool thus far has not revealed any hidden fees, programmatic execs would like to see more features that incentivize positive change.
The tool, called Confirming Gross Revenue, lets publishers see the gross revenue from a particular buyer. If that matches the media cost on the buyer’s end, both sides of the market should be more confident there are no hidden ad-tech fees.
“It offers checks and balances to ensure reported working media on the buy side aligns with the revenue actually received by the publisher,” said Mediavine VP of ad operations Brad Hagmann who has been using the tool. “For those snapshots of campaigns in progress, decisions could be made based on the findings.”
Confirming Gross Revenue was first launched to select firms in July 2022 and will now be available to all publishers using Google’s SSP Ad Manager 360 and all advertisers using Google’s DSP Display & Video 360.
The company said the tool is designed as an industry solution to be implemented by other ad-tech firms, and it is working with the industry trade group the IAB, of which Google is a paying member, to help with standardization.
Ad-tech fees have come under increased scrutiny after research has shown how they have swallowed publishers’ revenue. A report in January from PriceWaterhouseCoopers and The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers found that 65% of advertiser spend reached publishers, and 3% could not be accounted for. Other research from independent ad-tech research firm Adalytics found instances where middlemen pocket the majority of media revenue.
Google has, at times, come up unfavorably in conversations about the fairness of ad auctions. A 2020 lawsuit from a group of attorneys general against the company alleged that it rigged auctions in such a way that buyers were systematically overcharged and publishers underpaid. Publishers have also been frustrated that Google won’t give access to log-level data, which would help shed light on potential auction irregularities.
With the Confirming Gross Revenue tool, Google said it is not offering log-level data and instead providing aggregated gross revenue amounts, citing user privacy concerns.