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If you’ve been using DoubleClick AdPlanner to research anything other than sites on the Google Display Network, you’re about to be out of luck. Google this week has been sending out notices to AdPlanner users telling them of dramatic changes due to take effect September 5.

Folks in the digital marketing space have grown accustomed to using DoubleClick AdPlanner to research sites across the web (including their own), gathering information on everything from traffic, to household income, to demographics, to other sites frequented by the site’s visitors. The data may not have been exceptionally accurate, but the tool provided useful information, especially for sites too small to be measured by comScore.

Now, the tool will be renamed Google Display Network Ad Planner, and it will only provide information about sites (albeit 2 million of them) within the GDN. Surprisingly, one of the stats that will be eliminated entirely is Page Views, and there will be unspecified adjustments to Unique Users and Reach.

Additionally, even if a site is part of the GDN, users will no longer be able to retrieve some demographic information, such as household income and education, and they’ll no longer be able to see keywords searched for by the site’s audience, or videos also watched. Similar keyword data will still be available via Google Trends for Websites but not the demographic info.

A Google spokesperson said the company had previously contracted with a third party for its data, but now it will be using data it collects itself from the GDN — so some of the old information will no longer be available.

Google told users in an email: “We are constantly evaluating our products to make sure we are focusing our efforts on tools that create the most value for our customers.”

On the Publisher side, the Publisher Center will be eliminated. It had allowed Publishers to claim their own sites and list relevant ad placement availability. In an email to publishers, Google said, “we have found that the current beta does not fit existing market needs of our partners.” The company recommends publishers create ad units within AdSense, and allow advertisers to buy their placements on a site-specific basis.

Related Topics: Analytics | Google: AdSense | Google: Display Advertising | Search Marketing | Top News

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About The Author: Pamela Parker is executive features editor of Marketing Land and a contributing editor for Search Engine Land. She’s a well-respected authority on digital marketing, having reported and written on the subject since 1998, including a stint as managing editor of ClickZ. She’s also worked to help monetize independent publishers’ sites at Federated Media Publishing. She blogs about media and marketing at The River and about cooking, gardening and parenthood at Free Range. See more articles by Pamela Parker

Connect with the author via: Email | Twitter | Google+ | LinkedIn

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