- Request exists?
- Line item eligible?
- Creative selected?
- Ad rendered?
Use this sequence to organize the investigation. Confirm the details in the affected platform and campaign.
Zero delivery and slow delivery are different symptoms. For zero delivery, find the first blocked stage. For slow delivery, also compare the available eligible opportunities with the remaining campaign requirement.
Use Google Ad Manager's delivery diagnostics alongside a representative request from the affected inventory. The exact controls and available evidence depend on the line-item type and account. AdOps Core offers vendor-neutral practice for this reasoning and does not reproduce the Google Ad Manager interface.
Define the affected scope
Record the line-item identifier, expected inventory, dates, timezone, creative sizes, and the time the problem began. Determine whether all inventory is affected or only a device, placement, or creative.
Check reporting freshness before interpreting a short interval of zero impressions. A recent launch may not yet have complete reporting, but this does not remove the need to test a request.
Confirm that the intended requests exist
Inspect an actual request from the expected page or app. If it is absent, investigate the tag or integration before altering line-item competition.
- Confirm the intended ad unit and requested sizes.
- Compare key-values, device, geography, and other relevant targeting.
- Check whether page or app changes affected request generation.
- Use the request's evidence rather than relying only on the line-item name.
Check eligibility and creative associations
Review the line item's status, schedule, targeting, limits, and associated creatives. Use the diagnostic exclusion reason to narrow the investigation.
- Confirm the flight has started and the order and line item are able to serve.
- Compare required targeting and exclusions with the sampled request.
- Check frequency and delivery limits at the relevant scope.
- Confirm an active, supported creative matches the requested size and format.
Inspect selection and delivery behavior
If the line item is eligible, examine why another candidate is selected or why delivery is being held back. Interpret priority, pacing, and competition in the context of the line-item type.
Do not raise priority as a universal fix. That change can affect other commitments while leaving the original request or creative problem unresolved.
Follow selected ads through rendering
Selection is not the final outcome. If the creative is chosen but impressions remain low, inspect asset loads, browser or player errors, and the required impression event.
For video inventory, follow the VAST and media path. For third-party creatives, inspect redirects and failed tracking requests in the affected environment.
Verify the fix and remaining delivery
Repeat the request check, confirm the previous exclusion is resolved, and review delivery after the reporting delay. For a campaign already behind, calculate the required remaining rate and reforecast.
Close the incident with the cause, correction, verification, and any remaining goal risk. Link the evidence to the campaign change record so the next reviewer can understand the decision.
Test your reasoning: Check creative fit
Original simulated exercise. This is not a real client case.
A line item is active with matching inventory targeting.
Evidence available
- Requested size: 300x250.
- Only associated creative: 728x90.
- The diagnostic result identifies no matching creative.
What correction is supported by this evidence?
Read the answer and next check
Associate an approved creative matching the intended request, then retest. Raising priority will not resolve this size mismatch.
Next check: Confirm the original exclusion disappears and impressions arrive after the reporting delay.