DFP Small Business
These release notes are archives provided for your convenience only--they may not reflect current product functionality.
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Q3 2017
August 7 Change to impression counting for Ad Exchange mobile app, Native ads with Ad Exchange, AdMob line item type retired, Multi-size pricing in Ad Exchange mobile app, New geographical locations for targeting, Generate ad tags for AMP, Report on ad request type
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- Change to impression counting for Ad Exchange mobile app impressions
DoubleClick is changing the way impressions are counted for Ad Exchange mobile app ads to align with industry standards. After this change, DFP will count mobile app impressions from Ad Exchange ads when the ad content has begun to load and at least some part of it is displayed within the user's view. DFP Small Business publishers will begin noticing this change in July and finish in October. Learn more
DFP Small Business
- Native ads with Ad Exchange
You can now create and programmatically traffic beautiful and highly engaged native ads from Ad Exchange for both web and apps. DFP handles the rendering of your native ads based on the native styles you specify within the product. Learn more - Retiring the AdMob line item type
Starting in August 2017, DoubleClick for Publishers is stopping AdMob line item delivery. AdMob line items you’ve already created remain in DFP, but the ability to create new AdMob line items has been removed. Use the Ad Exchange line item type or AdMob campaigns instead. - Multi-size pricing in Ad Exchange for mobile app inventory
Multi-size pricing is available for mobile in-app inventory. If you already have multi-size pricing configured for your inventory, you should notice an uplift in revenue with this feature enable. Learn more - New geographical locations now available for targeting
We’ve added more locations around the world for targeting, including cities, neighborhoods, provinces, and more. - Generate ad tags for AMP
You’ll be able to easily customize and generate ad tags for Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) without having to manually edit code. Learn more - Report on ad request type
You can now run reports that break out performance by the technology used to request an ad. This allows for advanced troubleshooting, such as investigating discrepancies between served and downloaded impressions. When you create a report or a query, select the new "Request type" dimension. Learn more
July 24 New Query Tool, Line item non-delivery causes tool, VAST 4 (Beta)
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- The new Query Tool
Here's a summary of the exciting enhancements we've made to reporting functionality: Learn more- One location to build and edit reports
To simplify your workflow and focus on saving query parameters rather than report results, “Queries” and “Reports” tabs have been merged. You can "Run" your report from query builder, and "Edit" directly from the results page, both in one location. - New report type: Ad Exchange Historical
Create Ad Exchange reports in DFP by selecting the Ad Exchange Historical report type. Learn more - Enhanced Dimension picker
Use the new “Recently Used” category to view the most frequently selected dimensions, or switch to view specific categories. Mouse over any dimension to view its definition. - Enhanced Metric picker
To make it faster to create queries, your most "Recently Used" metrics are available by default. To minimize confusion and boost clarity, mouse over any metric to view its definition.
- One location to build and edit reports
DFP Small Business
- See delivered line items on the “Non-delivery causes” tool
When you use the “Non-delivery causes" tool to see information on the delivery patterns of your line items for the past 7 days, you can now see the line items that did deliver. Under the non-delivery reason, click See delivered line items. Learn more - DFP now supports VAST 4 (Beta)
You can now begin serving VAST 4 in DFP. This fourth version of the Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) is the latest IAB standard. While VAST 4 provides continued support for all features released in VAST 3, it also includes major updates for server-side ad insertion, including support for high-quality mezzanine files and support for universal ad ID programs. Learn more
July 10 New programmatic native templates, ads.txt initiative, DFP Flash deprecation, no more sync of Brightcove Media content sources
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- New templates for programmatic native Beta
New programmatic native templates provide even more presets based on common native layouts, which you can then customize. When adding a native style for Ad Exchange backfill, click Change template to see the available presets for the selected creative size.
DFP Small Business
- Declare authorized sellers with ads.txt
Authorized Digital Sellers, or ads.txt, is an IAB initiative to improve transparency in programmatic advertising. Publishers can create their own ads.txt files to identify who is authorized to sell their inventory. The files are publicly available and crawlable by buyers, third-party vendors, and exchanges. Use of ads.txt is not mandatory, but is highly recommended. Learn how to create an ads.txt file - DFP Flash deprecation is complete
The following are no longer available to serve in DoubleClick. Previously-created assets are also disallowed.
Video
- Flash VPAID
- Ad Exchange Flash VPAID snippets
- IMA Flash
- DFP-hosted "Flash" type creatives
- Flash-related system creative templates
- Uploading Flash file assets on "Custom" creatives or creative templates
- Publisher API returns errors for disallowed creative creation
The IMA Flash SDK and Flash IMA Adapter continue to function. However, they will be sunset at a later date and are no longer supported. The IMA HTML5 SDK no longer plays Flash VPAID ads. If a VAST ad with only a Flash VPAID media file is served to the IMA HTML5 SDK, an error is triggered and the ad is skipped. Developer documentation is no longer available and SDK SWC files can no longer be downloaded for development. Learn more
- DFP no longer syncs content sourced from Brightcove using the Media API (with API Token)
To migrate an existing Brightcove Media content source, you can open the source details page and click the "Migrate this source" option, below the Brightcove source type.
Q2 2017
June 12 Better Ads Standards, Personalized ads and improved DFP notifications
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- How Chrome plans to support the Better Ads Standards
The Coalition for Better Ads, of which Google is a member, has developed the Better Ads Standards. To understand how Chrome plans to support these standards, visit the DoubleClick publisher blog.
DFP Small Business
- Enable Google signed-in, cross-device personalized ads
The "Enable Google signed-in, cross-device personalized ads" control on the Admin tab will take effect starting in June 2017. Learn more - Improved DFP notifications
The notifications panel now provides fewer, more targeted notifications to help you keep track of changes in your network, take action to resolve issues with delivery or reporting, and find opportunities to optimize your network. Learn more
May 30 Add tracking URLs to Third Party, Custom, and DoubleClick tag creatives (open beta)
DFP Small Business
- Add tracking URLs to Third Party, Custom, and DoubleClick tag creatives (open beta)
You can now easily add third-party impression tracking URLs to Third Party, Custom, and DoubleClick tag creatives. You simply add the URLs to the new “Third-party impression tracking URLs” field. The URL is pinged when the creative appears and can contain DFP macros. Previously, you had to add tracking code to the creative code snippet, which often resulted in a disparity between how DFP and third parties counted impressions.
May 15 Simulate video ad requests, Styling updates for programmatic native, New targeting options for native
May 1 Opportunities and experiments, MRC accreditation labeling, Change history for custom fields and key-values, DFP and Ad Exchange reporting updates
April 17 Programmatic guaranteed, DFP reporting dimensions (Size, Demand Channel), new Ad Exchange Historical report type, filter by specific creative template
April 3 DFP Delivery Inspector, preview ads in-app, filter users by permission, Flash deprecation update, new Ad Exchange Historical report type in DFP, changes to Ad Exchange impression counting methodology
March 6 Share a troubleshooting session, Active View reports, Updates to UI design
February 21 Report on unclaimed apps
February 6 New "Downloaded impressions" metric, increased native style limit, two-level ad unit hierarchy, DFP Flash deprecation, Contributor First Look for DFP deprecation
January 23 Sort DFP table columns, DFP Query Tool changes
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- Simulate video ad requests
The Simulate request feature in Troubleshooting tools is now available for video ads. It shows you which line item or line items would win if you were to request the ad slot again. If an unexpected line item or line items win the simulation, you can see why and change targeting and tag information accordingly. Learn more
DFP Small Business
- Changes to Ad Exchange impression counting methodology in DFP reporting
DFP impressions that are filled by Ad Exchange, and where the buyer is Google AdWords, has completed adopting the downloaded impressions methodology as third-party bidder impressions do today. Learn more - Changes to DFP mediation for mobile apps
On Monday, May 8, we updated mediation for mobile apps to streamline the publisher experience. Review your configuration to ensure that your mediation group(s) will deliver as expected. Learn about the changes - Styling updates for programmatic native
This week, DFP will begin providing greater design flexibility in the programmatic native styles beta.- Square advertiser marketing images: You can now include square (1:1 aspect ratio) images in programmatic native ads. We also added templates such as the following to support square images.
- Image and attribution overlap: The “Ad Attribution” and “AdChoices” elements can now overlap the marketing image, allowing the image to take up more of the overall ad design, while eliminating a mostly empty row at the top of the ad.
- Realistic text previews: These improved native style previews give a better sense for how native ads will look in real-world environments by showing a variety of text lengths that may come through programmatic demand. Here are examples of “short content” and “long content” previews.
- New targeting options for direct and programmatic native
For both direct-sold and programmatic native styles, we have expanded targeting options to include:- Placements
- Inventory exclusions
- Geography
- Device category
- Operating system
- Negative targeting
- Complex key-value targeting (up to 20 total key-values)
- DFP system queries to identify instances of google_ad_slot
As part of Ad Exchange code snippet deprecation in DFP, Ad Exchange tags will soon stop being sent from DFP to Ad Exchange. To help identify instances of tags that use google_ad_slot, we've added the following system queries. Use them to determine whether to eliminate, update, or replace these tags.- DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Deals
- DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Pricing rules
- DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Sites
- DFP ad requests using Ad Exchange tags: Tags
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- Opportunities and experiments in DFP
You can now view the following opportunities for increasing your revenue from the DFP UI. Select the "Reporting" tab, then "Opportunities":- Lower open auction minimum CPMs to increase coverage and optimize yield.
- Unblock general categories from your existing blocking rules to increase coverage.
- Opt into high-performing ad technologies to run on your site to increase coverage.
- The following opportunities are available to all DFP publishers with a mapped Ad Exchange account:
- Lower First Look auction minimum CPMs to increase coverage and optimize yield. Learn more
- Allow Ad Exchange to compete for your impressions to increase yield (only available in the DFP UI). Learn more
DFP Small Business
- MRC Accreditation Labeling
DFP metrics accredited by the Media Rating Council (MRC) are now clearly labeled in the DFP reporting tool using the MRC logo. Additionally, exported reports include a line in their header indicating which metrics in the report are MRC accredited. - Change history for custom fields and key-values
You can now see a history of changes made to custom fields and key-values. Simply navigate to the settings page of a custom field or key-value and click History in the upper right corner. Note that you’ll see changes made from March 8, 2017, onward. Learn more - Native reporting: naming update
For the "Ad request size" and “Request ad sizes” dimensions, we've renamed the "Native" value to the more accurate "Custom rendering." - Improved "Video ad types" dimension in Ad Exchange reporting
You can now report on additional ad types for your Ad Exchange video inventory, including bumpers, video click-to-download, DBM video, native content, and native app installs.
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- Programmatic guaranteed
DFP programmatic automates the negotiation of campaigns for guaranteed inventory. You can initiate proposals with buyers, finalize terms, and send proposals for delivery, all within DFP. Learn moreEnabling programmatic guaranteed is quick and easy. Learn how in the help center and watch this short video:
Visit Publisher University for more videos on programmatic guaranteed.
DFP Small Business
- DFP Query Tool reporting
- New size dimensions
We've added two new reporting dimensions related to multi-size pricing. This feature is only available to Ad Exchange users. Both are in open beta. Learn more- Creative size (delivered): The actual size of the creative served from DFP or Ad Exchange, which also matches the creative size reported in Ad Exchange.
- Requested ad sizes: Includes all ad sizes in each ad request, accurately reflecting ad requests with multiple inventory sizes.
- New "Demand Channel" dimension
You can now report on the method buyers used to access your inventory. For example, "Mediation" or "Ad Exchange." - New Ad Exchange Historical report type
You can now create and run your Ad Exchange reports in the DFP reporting tool by using the new "Ad Exchange Historical" report type. The Ad Exchange Query Tool will continue to be available in the Ad Exchange Seller tool. Learn more
- New size dimensions
- Filter by specific creative template
From the Creatives page, you can now filter for creatives that are related to a specific creative template.
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- Learn why unexpected ads delivered (for apps, video, mobile web, and desktop)
The full launch of the Delivery Inspector and Simulator helps you troubleshoot ad delivery in the context of inventory. The details can answer which ads delivered on your app or page, why these ads delivered and not others, which line item would deliver if you were to request the ad slot again, and more.- For apps: Easily link your mobile device with DFP - no proxy or HTTP session recorder required. Learn more
- For video: Read this article and watch the following video:
- For mobile web and desktop: Read this article and watch the following video:
- Changes to Ad Exchange impression counting methodology
DFP impressions that are filled by Ad Exchange, and where the buyer is Google AdWords, have begun adopting the downloaded impressions methodology as third-party bidder impressions do today. This transition is expected to complete in April. Learn more
DFP Small Business
- Preview ads in-app
In-app preview lets you see your own creatives rendered within your mobile app. The preview is within the actual ad slot where a creative would normally appear within the normal flow of your app, rather than in DFP. This is especially useful for publishers who have creatives that interact with the app, have unique behavior, or require the app to render elements correctly (including native creatives and MRAID). You can even preview creatives from line items with a Draft status, to make sure they look good before starting to deliver. To learn more, read this article and watch the following video: - Query Tool: New Ad Exchange Historical report type in DFP reporting
You can create and run your Ad Exchange reports in the DFP reporting tool by using the new "Ad Exchange Historical" report type. The Ad Exchange Query Tool will continue to be available in the Ad Exchange Seller tool. - Filter users by permission
You can now filter your network’s list of users by user role permission. - DFP Flash deprecation timeline: no uploads
As we mentioned in the February 6 release notes, support for Flash is deprecated and will be phased out by the end of Q2 2017. We have reached the next phase of deprecation: you can no longer upload DFP-hosted Flash creatives. After July 3, these creatives won’t serve. Learn more
Q1 2017
March 20 Google signed-in, cross-device personalized ads; auto-archive ad units; deactivate unused roles and teamsDFP Small Business
- Enable Google signed-in, cross-device personalized ads
We’re enhancing our ads system to deliver better ad experiences for a world where people are using multiple devices. Beginning in 2016, Google users could choose to associate their cross-device web and app activity with their Google account to see more useful, personalized ads. And now, we are adding a new control for publishers in DoubleClick to help you earn more from these ads from Google demand sources (Google Display Network and DoubleClick Bid Manager) which are personalized based on users’ interests, demographics, and Google account information.
This publisher control will be activated no earlier than April 10th, 2017. Learn how to enable the new control from the DFP and Ad Exchange Admin tabs. - Archive unused ad units automatically
DFP now automatically archives any ad units that haven’t served any impressions in the last 12 months. These ad units can be unarchived for reuse at any time. - Deactivate unused user roles
You can now deactivate user roles you no longer need. Marking a user role as “inactive” doesn’t affect users already assigned to the user role. Learn more
DFP Small Business
- Share a troubleshooting session (open beta)
When you use the Delivery Inspector to see details on which ads delivered and why, you can now share this information with users who have access to your network. From the Troubleshoot page, click the new Share this session link, copy the URL that appears, and send it to the other user. They can paste it into their browser to see the same ad delivery details. Learn more - Active View reports
As of March 2nd, the "Ad server Active View eligible impressions" metric now uses downloaded impressions as the basis for counting, instead of served impressions. This change better aligns Active View with how third-party providers measure viewability. Learn moreThis methodology change is not retroactive and only affects reported data on and after March 2nd. - Minor updates to user interface design
We’ve updated how buttons, fonts and other user interface elements appear. Functionality remains exactly the same.
DFP Small Business
- Report on unclaimed apps
You can now use the "App names" dimension to report on all apps, not just those that have been claimed through the My apps page. Learn more
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- New “Downloaded impressions” metric in DFP Query Tool
To reduce discrepancies between DFP and third parties, improve viewability rates, and ensure DFP is compliant with the latest industry standards across formats and technology platforms, DFP is introducing a new metric called “Ad server downloaded impressions.” This metric counts an impression when an ad begins to load in the publisher’s content rather than when requested from the ad server. The new metric displays alongside the existing impression metric, which allows you to see the difference compared to the current served reporting metric. Learn more
Things to know:- “Ad server downloaded impressions” is a temporary metric and will fully replace “Total impressions” in DFP no sooner than Q3 of 2017. There are no billing changes at the moment.
- For ActiveView users: shortly after this release, viewability rates will be based off “Ad server downloaded impressions” instead of “Total impressions.” This should result in increased viewability rates.
DFP Small Business
- Increased native style limit
You can now add up to 500 native styles per native ad format (the previous limit was 50). This provides much more flexibility when customizing for native. Learn more - Two-level ad unit hierarchy
You can now organize your ad unit inventory in a hierarchical structure. Targeting a top-level ad units will automatically target any sub ad units. Learn more - DFP Flash deprecation timeline
Support for Flash is deprecated and will be phased out by the end of Q2 2017. Learn more- Starting February 13, we will show contextual warning messages in the DFP UI when you’re working with Flash creatives.
- On April 3, you’ll no longer be able to upload new DFP-hosted Flash creatives or save modifications to existing ones.
- After July 3, these creatives won’t serve.
- Deprecation of Contributor First Look for DFP
We’re launching a new and improved Contributor in early 2017. As part of the relaunch, we deprecated Contributor First Look for DFP.
DFP Small Business
- Sort DFP table columns
You can now show, hide, and rearrange the order of DFP trafficking, inventory, and admin table columns. Learn more
- DFP Query Tool
- Changes for mobile
To be consistent with the Query Tool's Device Category English language values, we’re updating the Query Tool Targeting dimension's "platform" values and the Data Transfer “DeviceCategory” values:- OLD: Mobile Highend, Mobile Midrange, Desktop, Tablet
- NEW: Smartphone, Feature Phone, Desktop, Tablet
- Report size column
The report size column in the DFP Queries and Report listing has been retired. We've replaced it with a column that shows the number of rows in each report, to give you a better idea of the size of your reports. - Simplified values for “Inventory types” dimension (beta)
To make the data easier to analyze and act on, we made some changes to the available values for the “Inventory types” reporting dimension (located under “Platform”). The new values are Web, App, AMP, and Other:- Web: The combined values of the previous “Desktop,” “Mobile web,” and “Mobile optimized web.”
- App: Previously “Mobile app”
- AMP: All Accelerated Mobile Pages stats are now in one row.
- Other: Previously “Unknown”
For more granular data, you can select both the “Inventory types” and “Device category” dimensions. For example, see web performance broken out by desktop, feature phone, smartphone, and tablet. Learn more
- Changes for mobile
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