Here are some answers to questions you may have about AdSense moving to a first-price auction:
Timeline
We will update this page as we announce further updates.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| October 7, 2021 | AdSense announces it will move to a first-price auction by the end of the year. |
| November 17, 2021 | AdSense completes its transition to a first-price auction. |
FAQs
Why is AdSense making this change?
In the early days of online display advertising, ad space was typically 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 Ad Manager, AdMob, and many third-party ad exchanges, switched their auctions to first-price. In a first-price auction, the final price reflects the winning bid. AdSense is moving 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.
Which AdSense products are affected?
The move to a first-price auction 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.
Will my AdSense earnings be impacted?
Due to the dynamic auction environment, we cannot predict how specific AdSense publishers will be impacted. But, on average we expect the impact to AdSense publishers' earnings overall from the move to a first-price auction to be neutral. When Ad Manager moved to a first-price auction, there was a neutral to slightly positive impact to publisher earnings on average.
