Google Ruled an Illegal Ad-tech Monopoly, Again: What it Means for Multi-Location Marketers

On April 17, 2025, a federal court ruled that Google holds an illegal monopoly in two online advertising technology markets:

1. For publisher ad servers
2. The market for ad exchanges which sit between buyers and sellers of digital ads 

The ruling is another piece of the massive disruption sweeping across digital marketing right now, as Artificial Intelligence, or AI, alongside Large Language Models (LLMs) continue to change the landscape of search, web content and Internet discovery.

This adds to Google’s ongoing challenges around its dominance, including a separate 2024 ruling where Google was found, under the Sherman Antitrust Act, to have illegally used its dominance in search to inhibit competition. That case is in the remedy phase and the Justice department is proposing to the court this week, a set of penalties including that Google be made to sell its Chrome browser business and that it begin to syndicate its search results. 

At Netsertive, we believe these decisions, while potentially leading to significant changes, underscore the immediate importance for multi-location and franchise brands marketers to maintain a diversified and adaptable local marketing strategy. Below we break down what the ruling means and what multi-location marketers need to do to stay on top of this tsunami of change. 

Understanding the Ruling and Its Nuances

This latest ruling targets Google’s dominance in the ad tech stack, particularly the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, which are essential for publishers to sell – and marketers to buy – digital advertising. The court ruled that Google’s practices—such as tying its ad server (Google Ads Manager aka GAM) to its ad exchange (AdX) and making it hard for publishers to switch—harmed publishers, reduced competition, and ultimately hurt marketers and consumers by limiting choice. Importantly, the ruling did not find Google to be a monopoly in the advertiser ad network market, a nuance that will likely complicate the easy understanding of this ruling.

There are many potential outcomes that the Department of Justice may seek in a case like this.  This could include a larger splitting up of Google’s related business units, like YouTube (the world’s second largest search engine), Gmail, Google Maps, AdX, Google Ads. Ironically, at the dawn of the consumer Internet, Microsoft had the dominant web browser, Internet Explorer, before it was found to have acted illegally by bundling it with other products. It was then forced to reverse its monopolistic practices and that opened the door to browser competition, which eventually came to be dominated by none other than…Google’s Chrome.

• For multi-location marketers, this means that while the ruling will likely lead to a more open and competitive ad tech ecosystem, the immediate impact on how businesses buy and manage their online advertising, including Google Ads, may be less drastic than some headlines suggest. 
• For publishers, this means a potential for greater competition and leveling of the playing field, which could lead to enhancing revenue, gaining better services, lower fees, and more innovation in the tools used to manage and sell ad inventory.

“One of the reasons Netsertive invested so much in its tech platform is so that we can abstract the complexity and constant change in the digital marketing ecosystem from our customers,” said Brendan Morrissey, CEO & Co-founder of Netsertive. “Multi-location marketers rely on us to keep from having to rework all their processes, learn new systems or rebuild their analytics every time a major digital media platform decides to modify its methods, product or system.  As with all other changes, if Google is split up or has other changes, we ensure that those changes are seamless to our customers’ programs.”  

Netsertive’s POV: Agility and Diversification are Key

For multi-location businesses, relying solely on any single media source, even one as powerful as Google, always carries risk. This ruling reinforces our long-standing belief that a diversified marketing strategy is the most resilient and effective approach. Here’s what this news means for multi-location marketers:

• No Immediate Panic, but Prepare for Change: The ruling will no doubt face appeals, and any remedies will take time. However, this is a clear signal that digital marketing keeps evolving and multi-location marketers should use this as an opportunity to review their current strategies and identify areas to drive further efficiencies. For example, most marketers are seeing increased CPLs and competition for local advertising, but can shift focus to data, automation or customer experience initiatives during the turbulence to make an impact. 
• The Importance of a Diversified Marketing Mix: Many multi-location brands rely solely on Meta or Google for paid digital advertising, lack a structured national and local SEO strategy, and do not have accurate digital business listings across all their locations. Addressing these foundational items and seeking digital media diversity are key  to an efficient digital marketing program and are often the low-hanging fruit of improving marketing performance. 
• Local SEO Remains Crucial: Regardless of potential shifts in the paid advertising landscape, organic visibility in local search results will remain critical as we see shifts in search behavior alongside the rise of LLMs and AI. LLMs,  AI-powered search tools using text, image or even voice, need high-quality, well-structured, and location-specific content to generate accurate responses. Only those businesses with strong localized SEO will be cited and referenced by these AI summaries and chatbots. Optimizing local listings and reviews,developing quality local web content, and building local citations are essential for continuing to capture local leads.
• First-Party Data is More Valuable Than Ever: With ecosystem fragmentation, owning and leveraging your first-party customer data is even more critical for targeted and effective marketing. Every marketer we meet is trying to better harness data in some way, and those who tackle this problem fast will have a head start and come out marketing winners in their market. 
• Focus on Performance and ROI: Ultimately, the goal is to drive leads and sales for each of your local market areas. Multi-location marketers today still struggle to tie activity to measurable results, which hinders the ability to effectively optimize campaigns and make better decisions. Tracking and learning from performance and understanding its relationship to business outcomes will never go out of style. 

“The recommendations here are simple, but not necessarily easy. There are no silver bullets – success comes from your team’s ability to build a strong, connected digital marketing capability, supported with the right technology and partners, ensuring that you consistently nail the basics across your entire network of locations.” Erin Martin, VP of Marketing, Netsertive

Looking Ahead: A More Competitive Landscape?

Looking ahead, this ruling could very well create a more competitive digital ad media  landscape, opening the door to greater innovation, more choices for publishers, and potentially lower costs for digital media. For multi-location marketers, it highlights the importance of staying agile, including diversity and being ready to explore new platforms and technologies as the market evolves. 

At Netsertive, we’re committed to helping our clients succeed by focusing on diversification, local relevance, and data-driven strategies. If you’re interested in learning more about our products and services, reach out!