Create or configure an ad unit

Ad units are the spaces on your website or app where you want to show ads. Ad units can be arranged hierarchically, with child ad units under parent ad units. For example, you can create a top-level parent ad unit, and then create child ad units under it. 

Child ad units automatically inherit many settings from their parent ad units or network defaults. For details, visit How overrides work.

This article describes the steps involved in creating and configuring ad units in Google Ad Manager.

You can pre-tag your site before launching campaigns to see forecasting data as soon as a campaign starts.

Create and edit ad units

Create a parent ad unit

To create a parent ad unit:

  1.  Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
  2. Click Inventory, then Ad units.
  3. Click New ad unit.
    Under "Parent ad unit," "Top-level" is selected by default.
  4. Enter a meaningful name for the ad unit.
    For example, it can be helpful to include information about the ad unit's location in the name.
  5. Enter a code to identify the ad unit in the associated ad tag.
    Codes can be up to 100 characters and are not case-sensitive. If you don't enter a code, the field defaults to the name set in the ad unit. Learn more about ad unit names and codes.
  6.  (Optional) Enter a description of the ad unit.
  7. Make your selections to configure the ad unit. 
  8. Click Save

Create a child ad unit

To create a child ad unit: 

  1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
  2. Click Inventory, then Ad units.
  3. On the table, locate the parent ad unit you want to create the child ad unit under. 
  4. Choose an option:
    • To add a child ad unit under the parent, under "Action," click + Add child ad unit.
    • To add a child ad unit under one of the parent's child ad units, under "Child ad units," click View child ad units, then + Add child ad unit for the appropriate child.  
  5. Next to "Settings":
    1. Review the parent ad unit path.
      Under "Parent ad unit," other available paths can be selected from the menu.
    2. Enter a meaningful name for the ad unit. 
      For example, it can be helpful to include information about the ad unit's location in the name.
    3. Enter a code to identify the ad unit in the associated ad tag.
      Learn more about ad unit names and codes.
  6. (Optional) Enter a description of the ad unit.
  7. Make your selections to configure the new child ad unit
  8. Click Save.  
Tip: To learn about how child ad units inherit settings, and how you can override them, visit How overrides work. Inherited settings are indicated by the Inherited icon.

Edit an ad unit

To edit an existing ad unit: 

  1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
  2. Click Inventory, then Ad units.
  3. Under "Ad units," click the name of the ad unit you want to edit. 
  4. Click Settings.
  5. Make your edits, then click Save.  

Learn more about ad unit configuration.

Configure your ad unit

Review the following details to understand ad unit configuration.  

Sizes

Next to "Sizes," you can configure the size of the ad unit. You can associate multiple sizes with an ad unit. Adding sizes helps traffickers filter by size when adding ad units to targeting in a line item. Sizes specified don't affect ad serving.

  1. Under "Size mode," click the menu Expand.
  2. Make a selection:
    • Fixed size: Select this option to define a list of sizes for creatives you expect this ad unit to serve. To add sizes, in the "Sizes" field, check the box next to each size you want to include.
      Tips:
      • Out of page and fluid sizes: Include the Out-of-page size for creatives that don’t fit in a traditional banner space or browser window (such as pop-ups, floating line items, and interstitials). Include the Fluid size if the ad unit is to be used for native ads.
      • VAST sizes: (Applicable to video and audio only): Next to Video or audio (VAST) sizes, enter the default "Master" video and "Companion sizes." Select Audio as the "Master" size for ad units that will serve audio ads. You can have both audio and video sizes on the same ad unit.
      • Custom sizes: To add a new size to your network, in the "Size" field, enter a size such as 160x600, and then check the box next to the custom size. As long as a size is defined in at least one ad unit or line item, it can be used elsewhere in your network.
    • Smart Banner: Select this option if the ad unit is for a mobile app and you want the ad unit to have a fixed height but fill the width of the screen.

Target window

This setting is not applicable to Ad Exchange tags. This setting applies to directly sold line items, and it doesn't affect programmatic demand. Contact your account manager for additional options.
You can define a "Target window." Your selection sets the target attribute of the ad's click-through link, which tells the browser where to open the ad's landing page, such as in a new window.
  1. Next to "Target window," click the menu Expand.
  2. Select an option: 
    • _top: The landing page will load in the full body of the window, breaking out of any frame sets.
    •  _blank: The landing page will open in a new, unnamed window.
Tip: This selection follows the default target window set in the network-level inventory settings. If the ad unit is in a mobile app, the target window is ignored. For Android and iOS apps, ads load in a new, unnamed browser window.

Additional settings

Note that these settings are not applicable to Ad Exchange tags.

Special ad unit 

Only available in Google Ad Manager 360.

Special ad units require traffickers to explicitly target the ad unit for line items to serve. You may want to designate an ad unit as special if it's expensive, sensitive, or strategic. 

  • To designate the ad unit as a special ad unit, next to "Enable explicit targeting," check the box.

Reward

You can enter the details of the reward the user receives for watching a video ad. For example, if the reward for watching a video ad is to get 10 more lives in a game, enter the amount "10" and the type "Lives."

To configure the reward setting:

  1. Next to "Reward," enter the amount and type. 
  2. To add a server-side verification postback URL, in the field, enter the URL.
  3. To apply server-side verification when using Ad Manager mediation, check the box.

Nielsen site URL

The Nielsen site URL allows you to associate this ad unit to one of the custom Nielsen site URLs configured for your network. Any ad requests for this ad unit will be associated with that URL. Contact your account manager to configure a site URL.

TV app name

The TV app name allows you to associate this ad unit with one of the TV applications claimed for this network. This association is used to identify ad requests from TV inventory, which includes video inventory streamed on connected TV devices, smart TVs, gaming consoles and set-top boxes.

  • To associate the ad unit, next to "This is TV inventory," check the box, and then select the CTV app from the list. If you don't see the correct app, make sure you've claimed the app.
This mapping automatically applies to all child ad units, with the exception of special ad units. You should only apply the association to the highest ad unit mapped to a CTV app.

Placements (Optional)

You can associate the ad unit with a placement. 

  • To select a placement, under "Inventory," check the box next to one or more placement names to associate with your new ad unit.

Ad Sense

To give AdSense buyers access to the ad unit's inventory, next to "Maximize revenue of unsold inventory with AdSense," check the box.

Frequency caps (Optional)

You can set "label" and "format" frequency caps. To configure a frequency cap, next to "Set label frequency caps" or "Set format frequency caps," check the box and then make your selections.

  • Label frequency caps (previously, "Ad unit frequency caps"): These frequency caps limit the number of impressions displayed to users for creatives that share the defined labels.
  • Format frequency caps: These frequency caps limit the number of creatives that serve in this ad unit within a given time period. These are useful when you want to set limits across a format (such as rewarded ads), and those formats are organized by ad unit.
When you use frequency caps, all creatives in an ad unit are frequency capped. To avoid inadvertently blocking ads, please use frequency caps carefully.

Refresh rate (Optional)

For mobile app inventory, you can set a refresh rate to determine how often a new ad impression is generated. Google Ad Manager auto-populates a value of 60, which you can change to any value between 30 and 120 seconds. Refresh rates can be useful for apps where users stay on one screen for long periods of time (such as in games) to maximize ad revenue.

  • To set a refresh rate, select Refresh rate (30-120 seconds), and then enter a time value in the box, such as 60.

Labels (Optional)

You can add labels to the ad unit, so that creative wrappers can be applied when creatives are served to the ad unit.

  • To add a label, in the menu next to "Labels," check the box for the label you want to include. 
    Tip: To create a new label, scroll to the bottom of the label menu, then check the box for "New label," enter a name, and click Create. 

Teams (Optional)

If your network uses Teams, you can associate the ad unit with one or more teams to restrict access. 

  • To include a team, in the search box next to "Teams," locate the team name and check the box next to it. 
    You can include multiple teams. 
Tip: When creating or editing an ad unit, be sure to click Save after selecting your configuration settings. 

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