AdSense moving to a first-price auction : Evolving the AdSense ecosystem

Today you should have received the message like given below.

Dear Partner,

In our continued effort to simplify Google AdSense, we’re writing to inform you that we’ll be moving the AdSense* auction from second-price to first-price in the coming months. There is no action for you to take as an AdSense publisher and you will likely not see a change to your earnings. We’re making this announcement now to help our advertiser partners prepare before we change how the AdSense auction works.

We expect the transition to a first-price auction to be completed later this year. For more information and future updates, please check out our AdSense first-price auction help page.

Thank you for being on the journey with us – we’re excited to take these next steps together as we continue to grow and improve the AdSense ecosystem.

Why is AdSense moving to a first-price auction?

On display ad selling platforms, a first-price auction simplifies the buying experience for advertisers because the final price reflects the winner’s bid. Google Ad Manager and AdMob have already moved to a first price auction, and by streamlining the auction model across AdSense, Ad Manager, and AdMob, advertisers benefit from a consistent process across Google’s ad selling platforms. This helps to grow advertiser spending confidence across the display advertising ecosystem – and an increase in spending confidence over time will benefit publishers.

Why is AdSense making this change now?

In the early days of online display advertising, ad space was sold to advertisers in a second-price auction, where the final price paid by the winner was determined by the amount of the second-highest bid. Over time, many ad selling platforms in the display advertising ecosystem, including Google Ad Manager and Google AdMob, switched their auction to first-price. In a first-price auction, the final price reflects the winning bid. In the coming months, AdSense will move to a first-price auction. This will help advertisers by simplifying how they buy online ads and make it easier for them to buy your ad space sold on AdSense.

Benefits to publishers and advertisers:

By streamlining the auction model across AdSense, Ad Manager, and AdMob, we are aligning our process with other ad selling platforms in the display advertising ecosystem. We believe this will help grow advertiser spending confidence in digital advertising and an increase in spending confidence over time will benefit publishers (that’s you).

Which AdSense products are affected?

The move to a first-price auction only affects the following AdSense products:

• AdSense for Content
• AdSense for Video
• AdSense for Games

This move does not affect:

• AdSense for Search
• AdSense for Shopping

Do I need to take any action?

No. You do not need to do anything, these changes will update automatically.

Do I need to change my ad implementation?

No. The move to a first-price auction will not impact your ad implementation.

Will I still be able to leverage all ad formats in the new auction?

Yes. This change does not affect the ad formats that AdSense offers.