AdX and MCM Glossary: Terms Every AdSense Publisher Meets

The move from AdSense to AdX comes with a lot of new words. Some are Google's own terms, like Manage Account and dynamic allocation. Others are shorthand from forums and seller marketplaces, like "MA approval" and "MI approval", which Google never uses. This glossary gives plain definitions for both, groups them by topic, and points you to the guide or Google help page that covers each one in depth. Bookmark it and come back whenever a term stops you.

Account and access terms

Google Ad Manager. Google's ad server and management platform for publishers. It supports multiple ad exchanges and networks, including AdSense, Ad Exchange and third parties. See Google's ad products explained.

Ad Manager 360. The paid tier of Ad Manager, with direct Google support and extra features such as Audience solutions, Data Transfer reporting and header bidding trafficking. Google says to contact your account manager if you are interested in it. Compare the two in Ad Manager vs Ad Manager 360.

Network code. The unique numeric ID of an Ad Manager network. Find it under Admin > Global settings > Network settings.

MCM (Multiple Customer Management). Google's framework that lets a parent publisher manage inventory or accounts for child publishers. Explained in full in how MCM works.

Parent. The company that manages a child's account or inventory under MCM. Parent and child must have a direct contract with each other.

Child. The publisher who owns the sites or apps. Under Google's MCM policies, the child must own all child inventory, including root domains, the inventory must not have been previously disapproved by Google, and a child must not also be a parent.

Manage Account (MA). A delegation type where the parent works inside the child's Ad Manager account, excluding billing. The child uses its own tags. A child can have only one Manage Account parent. Google can route an agreed share of earnings (0 to 100%) to the parent automatically.

Manage Inventory (MI). A delegation type where the parent monetizes the child's delegated inventory from the parent's own network, and the child uses the parent's tags. A child can have up to 15 Manage Inventory parents, but any given piece of child inventory can only be managed or sold by one parent. The same parent cannot use both delegation types for one child.

GCPP (Google Certified Publishing Partner). Companies that Google has reviewed and certified, and that appear in Google's partner directory. Certification is something Google grants; a company cannot certify itself. Our guide to Google Certified Publishing Partners explains how to check a listing.

Marketplace slang decoded

These terms show up in forum posts, social media groups and seller listings. None of them is a Google term, and the same words can mean different things from one seller to the next. Here is what they usually refer to, and what is really happening underneath.

"MA approval" / "AdX MA account". Usually means an Ad Manager account linked to an MCM parent through Manage Account delegation. In Google's process there is no separate "MA approval". There is an MCM invitation from a parent, which expires after 90 days, identity verification with your own documents, and a site review that runs separately.

"MI approval" / "AdX MI account". Usually means getting your sites monetized through a parent's network under Manage Inventory. Again, Google's actual steps are an invitation, verification (identity and address checks for Manage Inventory children onboarded after April 3, 2024) and site review, and the site still has to belong to you.

"HB/DR approval" or "HBDR". Sellers use these letters loosely, often for packages that bundle header bidding demand with Ad Exchange access. Google does not define the term, so if you see it, ask exactly which accounts, which delegation type and which demand sources are involved.

"AdX test ID". Some listings offer ad code or IDs to "try AdX". Google's help pages describe no such program for publishers. Ad code that carries someone else's network code sells your inventory through their account, not yours.

"Account buy" or "rented AdX account". Buying, renting or sharing an Ad Manager or AdX account to skip the process conflicts with how MCM is built: the parent and child need a direct contract, the child must own its inventory, and Google may verify the relationship. Publishers who take this route risk losing the account and the revenue in it. Our guide on MCM policies for child publishers goes into the rules.

Auction and demand terms

Open Auction. Real-time bidding where any eligible buyer can bid on your impressions.

Private Auction. An auction where you invite specific buyers to bid on selected inventory, with minimum floor prices.

Preferred Deal. A buyer gets a first look at your inventory at a fixed price, without being obliged to buy.

Programmatic Guaranteed (PG). Inventory reserved for one buyer at a negotiated price.

Dynamic allocation. The Ad Manager feature that lets Ad Exchange and other non-guaranteed demand compete in real time with your guaranteed campaigns, impression by impression. Guaranteed line items compete using a temporary "opportunity cost" CPM.

Open Bidding. Server-to-server bidding where yield partners' bids compete with Ad Exchange and line items in a unified auction, on a net basis.

Header bidding. Collecting bids from several demand partners in the page before the request goes to Ad Manager. In Ad Manager 360, header bidding trafficking with Prebid can use true bid values instead of many price priority line items.

Pricing terms

Floor price. The minimum price you will accept for an impression.

UPR (unified pricing rules). Ad Manager's central place for setting floors on non-guaranteed demand, including Open Auction, Private Auctions, Open Bidding, remnant line items, AdSense backfill and header bidding. They do not apply to Programmatic Direct deals. When rules overlap, the higher price wins, and a network can have up to 200 rules.

eCPM. Effective earnings per thousand impressions, calculated as revenue divided by impressions, multiplied by 1,000. It lets you compare sources that are paid in different ways.

RPM. In AdSense, estimated earnings divided by the number of page views, impressions or queries, multiplied by 1,000. Google notes that RPM does not represent actual earnings; it is a ratio for comparison.

Supply chain terms

ads.txt. An IAB Tech Lab standard: a file at the root of your domain that publicly lists the companies authorized to sell your inventory. For apps the equivalent file is app-ads.txt. Ad Manager describes the file as not mandatory but highly recommended.

DIRECT and RESELLER. The two relationship types in an ads.txt line. DIRECT means you control the seller account. RESELLER means another company is authorized to sell on your behalf.

OWNERDOMAIN and MANAGERDOMAIN. Fields added in ads.txt version 1.1 (August 2022) to identify the business that owns the site and, where relevant, the one that manages it.

sellers.json. An IAB Tech Lab standard where each exchange or SSP lists the sellers it pays, each marked PUBLISHER, INTERMEDIARY or BOTH. Google publishes one, and under MCM the parent is typically an intermediary.

schain (SupplyChain object). Part of the OpenRTB bid request that lists every seller involved in an impression. It works with ads.txt and sellers.json, and Google creates it automatically where applicable. See ads.txt and sellers.json.

Quality terms

IVT (invalid traffic). Clicks or impressions that artificially inflate advertiser costs or publisher earnings, whether intentional or accidental. The publisher is ultimately responsible, and consequences can include limited serving, deductions and suspension. More in our invalid traffic guide.

Policy center. The area in Ad Manager (and AdSense) that lists policy issues. A site or app can show "Needs attention" or a policy warning; you click Fix to see details and request a review after fixing.

Limited ad serving. In AdSense, Google may limit how many ads an account can show, either temporarily while it assesses traffic quality or because of invalid traffic concerns. Google says this usually lasts less than 30 days but can take longer. A limit like this is a sign to fix traffic quality before you think about AdX.

Next step

Knowing the vocabulary makes it much easier to spot the difference between Google's real process and a marketplace shortcut. Eligible publishers may receive an MCM invitation through our MCM partner network, subject to Google's policies, verification and site review. Check the requirements first, and if your account and site meet them, Get AdX access.