AdX-DFP Unification, What Should Publishers Do

This post was most recently updated on August 7th, 2020

Have you noticed your Ad Exchange line items stopped working recently? Chances are, Google has deprecated your Ad Exchange tags. As of October 15th, Ad Exchange UI tags are no longer included in your DFP ad requests. This is part of Google’s AdX-DFP Unification which brings both platforms together to allow seamless transaction in any sales channel with full transparency and control.

Note that this change only applies to AdX tags uploaded behind an “Ad Exchange” line item type and does not impact tags uploaded as 3rd party creatives or hardcoded on the site.

Google believes that with a single efficient UI, publishers can focus more on things that matter most. They see this as a powerful product that provides sales, targeting and reporting capabilities cross-channel and cross-platform.

Changes may sound overwhelming but don’t fret. There are only three basic things you should do to keep your ad operations running:

#1: Deactivate old AdX creatives, replace with an auto-generated one

How to do it?

• Log into your DFP account.
• Open your AdX order and open one line item at a time.
• Inside the line item settings, click on the creatives tab.

• Deactivate the pre-existing AdX tags (which you manually uploaded last time).

• Click “Automatically Generate Creative”.

• Move on to the next AdX line item, and repeat the same steps.

#2: Update targeting in AdX rules.

How to do it?

• Log into DFP > Reports > System Queries.
• Run the report called “DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Pricing rules.” This generates a list of AdX Rules you should update.
• Log into Ad Exchange.
• Go to Rules.
• Look for the rule using AdX tags, one at a time and edit.
• Remove “Tags” from targeting and replace them with the relevant DFP inventory. You have the option to target DFP ad units, DFP placements, or DFP Key-values.

• Save and do the same for the rest of the rules.
• Also, update targeting for Channels and Ad Styles.

#3: Update targeting in AdX Deals

How to do it?

• Log into DFP > Reports > System Queries.
• Run the report called “DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Deals.” This generates a list of AdX Deals you’ll need to update.
• Log into Ad Exchange.
• Go to Deals.
• Update deals that you can – remove ‘Tags’ from targeting and replace with the relevant DFP inventory. You have the option to target DFP ad units, DFP placements, or DFP Key-values.

• For active deals you are unable to edit, you will have to replace it with a new one using the right targeting and let the old one get less and less traffic.

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Kean Graham

Kean Graham is the CEO and founder of MonetizeMore & a pioneer in the Adtech Industry. He is the resident expert in Ad Optimization, covering areas like Adsense Optimization,GAM Management, and third-party ad network partnerships. Kean believes in the supremacy of direct publisher deals and holistic optimization as keys to effective and consistent ad revenue increases.