2025 GCPP Starlight Series: Part 1 - MCM Updates & Roadmap

Summary

The 2025 Starlight webinar series, led by Tiffany from the Google Certified Publishing Partners (GCP) program, introduces key updates, policy changes, and roadmap details for Google’s MCM platform. Highlights include real-time ownership checks, centralized child publisher site controls, and new reporting metrics. Upcoming features such as bulk site uploads and child dormancy checks aim to streamline processes. The webinar also explores ecosystem health, platform feature investments, and new use case support, including direct payment capabilities from Google to child publishers. Exciting updates to the PMP product, including flexible deal targeting and traffic forecasting, are also previewed.

Takeaways

• 😀 The 2025 Starlight webinar series is aimed at Google certified publishing partners, providing key insights on Google Channel Partners (GCP) and updates related to MCM products.
• 😀 Tiffany, the presenter, introduced the GCP mission of building a trusted community of partners to offer unique solutions and support publishers.
• 😀 The webinar will cover topics like MCM product updates, policy changes, and program updates from the GCP side to support business growth for publishers.
• 😀 A new feature in MCM allows real-time ownership checks, eliminating the need to submit sites for approval and enabling instant status updates on approval processes.
• 😀 Centralized control for child publisher sites now provides more detailed information about child sites, making it easier to understand their status in the approval process.
• 😀 Tracking site approvals in real-time is now possible with new columns providing better visibility into site updates and approval statuses.
• 😀 New detailed reporting metrics for child publishers allow partners to track discrepancies in revenue and payment, offering more clarity in the financial reporting process.
• 😀 An upcoming feature (Q2) will allow bulk site uploads via CSV to streamline the onboarding process, saving time compared to submitting sites individually.
• 😀 New ecosystem health improvements will track dormant child publishers and send warning emails if sites go without impressions for 90 days, with accounts deactivated after an additional 90 days of dormancy.
• 😀 MCM investments focus on three pillars: ecosystem health (site approval processes, child dormancy checks), platform features (APIs, UI improvements), and supporting new use cases like direct payments from Google to child publishers in the MI model.
• 😀 Exciting updates are coming to the PMP product (private auctions and preferred deals), including external APIs, flexible deal targeting, and forecasting tools. These updates will be rolled out in the upcoming months, benefiting private auction management.

Q & A

What is the primary mission of the Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCP) program?

The primary mission of the GCP program is to create a community of trusted Google channel partners offering unique solutions, thought leadership, and quality service to publishers, equipping them with the key knowledge to support their businesses and publishers.

What is the significance of real-time ownership checks in MCM?

Real-time ownership checks allow partners to instantly see where their websites are in the approval process, eliminating the need to submit sites and wait for feedback. This provides immediate visibility into site status.

How does centralized control for child publisher sites benefit partners?

Centralized control for child publisher sites allows partners to view detailed information about individual child sites and their approval status in one place, simplifying the management and tracking process.

What improvements were made in tracking site approvals in real time?

New columns have been added to provide better tracking of site approval statuses, offering more up-to-date information on each website and its current position in the approval process.

What is the benefit of detailed reporting metrics for child publishers?

The detailed reporting metrics enable child publishers to view their revenue and compare it with the payout they actually receive, helping to clarify any discrepancies between earnings and payouts due to revenue share agreements.

What upcoming feature aims to streamline onboarding processes?

The upcoming bulk site uploads feature, expected in Q2, will allow partners to upload multiple sites at once via CSV files, simplifying the onboarding process and reducing the time spent submitting individual sites.

How will child dormancy checks improve ecosystem health?

The child dormancy checks will monitor child publisher accounts that have been dormant for 90 days with zero impressions. After a warning email, if the site continues to be dormant for another 90 days, it will be deactivated, helping to clean up the ecosystem and make it safer for all users.

What are the three main pillars of MCM investment for the team?

The three main pillars of MCM investment are ecosystem health (ensuring quality inventory and preventing dormant sites), platform features (enhancing APIs and tools for partners), and supporting new use cases (such as improving payment flexibility for child publishers).

What potential update is being considered for improving the MI model?

There is a push to allow Google to pay child publishers directly in the MI model, rather than paying through the parent, providing more flexibility for both the parent and child publishers.

What exciting updates are expected for the PMP (Private Marketplace) product?

There will be several updates for PMP, including external APIs for private auctions, the ability to bulk edit and copy deals, more flexible deal targeting, traffic forecasting, and later in the year, flexible priority tiers for private auctions and preferred deals.