Alphabet’s Google Has a Big Problem With its Ad Manager

Many sites on the internet are not serving ads

It may be a blessing for readers, but Alphabet’s  (GOOGL) - Get Free Report Google is having a problem with its ad manager, which is a key part of the search giant’s business.

The company posted a message on its Google Ads Status Dashboard shortly after 8 p.m. Eastern Thursday, saying "we're investigating reports of an issue with Google Ad Manager... Ad Manager is not delivering ads for the affected users.”

The message added that affected users "are able to access Google Ad Manager, but are seeing error messages, high latency, and/or other unexpected behavior.”

The company promised to provide additional information shortly.

The ad manager is a "platform for large publishers who have significant direct sales, according to Google. It provides publishers "a central place to monetize all of your inventory types (websites, mobile apps, videos, or games.)"

In addition, "Ad Manager provides granular controls and supports multiple ad exchanges and networks, including AdSense, Ad Exchange, third-party networks, and third-party exchanges.”

The ad manager has been key to driving growth at Alphabet over the past year. 

The company noted in its latest quarterly results that "Impressions increased from the three months ended September 30, 2021 to the three months ended September 30, 2022 primarily driven by growth in Google Ad Manager and AdSense."

Impressions rose 3% for the three months ended Sept. 30 versus the same period a year earlier.  For the first nine months of the year, impressions rose 5% versus the same time span a year earlier. 

Shares of Alphabet have fallen more than 30% over the past year amid a broad selloff in the markets and in big-cap tech names in particular.

The stock ended the latest trading session off 1.3% at $93.71.