How MCM (Multiple Customer Management) works

Multiple Customer Management, usually shortened to MCM, is the Google Ad Manager program that lets one company — the parent — work with and represent another company's inventory — the child publisher. For most independent publishers, it's the practical route to Ad Exchange demand.

If you only use AdSense, first create an Ad Manager network with a Google account you control. The MCM invitation arrives in Ad Manager, not in AdSense, and only after eligibility checks.

The two roles

The parent is an Ad Manager partner that has been approved by Google to manage inventory on behalf of other publishers. It brings its Ad Exchange access, operational experience and, typically, responsibility for ongoing policy compliance across the publishers it represents.

The child is the publisher who owns the site and its audience. The child keeps its own Ad Manager network and accepts an invitation from the parent to link the two.

Two kinds of delegation

When a parent invites a child, the invitation specifies how much the parent is allowed to do:

• Manage Account. The parent operates the child's Ad Manager network directly — setting up ad units, rules and demand on the child's behalf.
• Manage Inventory. The parent manages and sells the child's inventory from within its own network, while the child's own network remains separate.

Which one makes sense depends on how hands-on you want to be and how the specific partner works. Both are legitimate; neither is inherently better.

How the link is made

1. The parent sends an MCM invitation to the child's Ad Manager network, identified by its network code.
2. The child reviews the delegation terms in Ad Manager and accepts if they agree.
3. Google reviews the relationship. Once approved, the parent can begin serving demand to the child's inventory.
4. The child updates its ads.txt so buyers can verify the parent is authorized to sell its inventory.

What a parent expects from you

Because the parent is accountable for the publishers it represents, it will look at much the same things Google would: account standing, policy compliance, traffic quality, correct ads.txt and genuine, original content. A child account with problems in any of these areas puts the parent at risk, which is why parents are selective.

Ending the relationship

Either side can end an MCM link. When it ends, the parent's demand stops serving to your inventory, and you should remove the parent's lines from your ads.txt. How the relationship ended can be visible to future partners, so it's worth leaving on good terms.