There are many marketers that have always relied on DoubleClick AdPlanner to help them found out anything they need to know regarding analytics of websites from all over. The Google run software allowed for marketers to keep track of the on goings of websites of interest and even their own sites. This week, though, along with a name change to Google Display Network Ad Planner, the analytics network has been hit with some big changes, some of which involve getting rid of the features that many marketers use most of all. For anyone who uses DoubleClick AdPlanner for any reason other than to check out sites on the Google Display Network, there may be some imminent trouble in the near future.

In an announcement on their AdWords blog, Google writes,

Starting on September 5, 2012, DoubleClick Ad Planner will become a tool dedicated to researching placements across the 2 million sites comprising the Google Display Network. Our goal will be to make this a best-in-class planning product for the GDN. It will also get a new name: the Google Display Network Ad Planner.

One of the more commonly sought items that will be removed from the system is Page Views, where people can track just how much traffic and what kind of traffic their pages or other pages are getting.

In a separate, more descriptive post, it is explained just exactly what will be changed.

Information that will no longer be available

• Domain info
• Site info
• Non-GDN placement info
• Household Income
• Education
• Keywords Searched For
• Videos Also Watched
• Regional Page Views
• Worldwide Top Subdomains

Filters that will no longer be available

• YouTube Channels: Audience filters removed, Content filters will still be available.
• Household Income: will be removed from Demographics filters.
• Education: will be removed from Demographics filters.
• Keywords Your Audience Searches for Online: will be removed from Online Activity filters.
• Site Language: will be removed from Content filters.
• Domain research: will be removed.

Changes to how we compute data

• Age: will be computed using DoubleClick cookies, not third-party data.
• Gender: will be computed using DoubleClick cookies, not third-party data.
• Sites Also Visited: instead of sites also visited, GDN Ad Planner will display placements with ads that also received impressions.
• Unique Visitors (users): will be replaced with Unique Visitors (cookies), which will be computed using DoubleClick cookies, not third-party data. Instead of Unique Visitors (users), GDN Ad Planner will show Unique Visitors (cookies).

DoubleClick AdPlanner used to be helpful to publishers as well, letting them declare their own websites and find useful information in the line of ad placement. Now, it will be virtually useless in the way of publishing. The changes being made by Google are being made simply to benefit the GDN, which will of course benefit and improve Google itself. DoubleClick AdPlanner, now known as Google Display Network Ad Planner, will have almost completely different purposes now, and it brings to question whether or not it will be a good decision for Google. In the end, one has to consider that Google definitely knows what it is doing in advertising, so whatever it does in the marketing community, it is probably for the better.

Written by Michael Levanduski

Michael Levanduski is a news reporter at Performance Marketing Insider. He’s been a writer at one level or another for the past 15+ years. He has three kids and lives in Grand Rapids, MI.

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