Google’s new Ads Transparency Center has been launched to provide users with clearer information about the ads they see across Google products such as Search, YouTube and Display. It also gives people the chance to dig a little deeper before making a purchase decision.

Alejandro Borgia, Director, Product Management, Ads Safety

“Imagine you see an ad for a skincare product you’re interested in, but you don’t recognise the brand, or you’re curious to understand if you recognise other ads from this brand. With the Ads Transparency Center, you can look up the advertiser and learn more about them before purchasing or visiting their site.”

Designed for consumers but useful for marketers

The platform lets users search for ads via advertiser, website or topic and can be filtered by region so marketers can see where ads are being run.

Alejandro Borgia, Director, Product Management, Ads Safety

“The Ads Transparency Center is a searchable hub of all ads served from verified advertisers. This one-stop shop was designed with you in mind by ensuring you have easy access to information about the ads you see from Google.”

So, while initially designed for consumers, there are benefits available to advertisers. For example, marketers can now research competitors’ actions on Google ads to promote their business and earn new customers.

In combination with Facebook Ads Library, there are now a few powerful tools available to see how ads and campaigns are planned across the world.

By using the Ads Transparency Center, marketers can see:

• The ads an advertiser has run.
• Which ads were shown in a certain region.
• The last date an ad ran, and the format of the ad.

The Center isn’t hard to find. Simply click on the three-dot menu next to ads you see to find out more information from an ad you can see – or if you’d like to visit it directly then head to My Ad Center.

Building on Google’s ad verification program

The Ads Transparency Center builds on the work Google has done to provide users with more information about advertisers. In 2018 Google started requiring advertisers who run election ads to go through a verification process and in 2020 it introduced a global advertiser identity verification program.

The program required Google advertisers to verify information about the business, where they are based and what products they are buying or selling. Now, users can see that information in the Transparency Center.

The advertiser verification program asks advertisers to provide basic information about their business and identity. Advertisers have 30 days to initiate verification and another 30 days to complete it. Advertisers will need to verify their business operations, identity and answer questions about their business.

Businesses within industries such as gambling, healthcare and financial services may be required to complete the verification program.

Similar to Meta Ads Library

As mentioned before, the Ads Transparency Center is similar to Meta Ads Library – which is a place where marketers can search for ads running across Meta products.

You can search for advertisers in the Ad Library to view the active ads running from any of their pages, and ads can be filtered by country, impressions, platforms or keyword search. You can also run a blanket search for all ads that have been shown that match your search criteria. 

Meta Ads Library is a more in-depth resource for marketers who advertise across Meta products, and combined with Transparency Center, should combine to create a powerful knowledge base for you to plan your next campaign.