InteractiveSalsa.com

Early this week Google announced third-party display ad tags will now be possible for image ads running through AdSense/AdWords.  This should boost CPM rates for publishers as the “qualified” third-parties are likely to be more sophisticated advertisers with larger budgets; the extra volume will help put pressure on ad rates too.

Here’s the email they sent out…

 Subject: Third-party ads now available on the Google content network

Greetings from Google!

We’re happy to announce that the Google content network now accepts display ads served from qualified third-party vendors.
During this initial release, only ads in English are eligible, although we look forward to offering more options in the future.

By accepting third-party ads, we can attract a greater variety of advertising on the Google content network, which we believe will
result over time in increased revenue for publishers and more relevant advertising for end users.

If you’re currently opted in to image ads, you’re already able to  receive third-party ads. If not, you can enable image ads to start
receiving third-party ads immediately. (Learn how to enable image  ads at
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=9741.)

If you choose to allow third-party ads on your site, please update  your privacy policy to inform your visitors that third-party
vendors may serve ads on your site. Please also provide links to  these vendor websites and inform your users that they may opt out
of cookies (if the vendor offers this capability). For more  information about updating your policies, visit
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/answer.py?answer=94150.

You’ll continue to have full control over which ads appear on your site with tools like competitive ad filtering and the Ad Review
Center. Also, only advertisers with whom we have proven relationships and who’ve clearly demonstrated commitments to our
quality standards may participate in this program. Our policies governing ad content and formatting remain unchanged.

To learn more about third-party ads, please visit our blog post at
http://adsense.blogspot.com/2008/05/introducing-third-party-ads-on-google.html
and our FAQ at
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/bin/topic.py?topic=14535.
If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us at adsense-support@google.com.

Sincerely,

The Google AdSense Team