Choosing an ad server usually means sitting through demos before you get to see how anything works. We think you should be able to read it first. The full GoAdserver user documentation is now public at goadserver.com/docs: step-by-step guides, a reference page for every area of the panel, every ad format and the complete RTB integration spec, with no login needed.
October 2026
What is in it
The documentation is the same manual that is built into the GoAdserver panel, published as normal web pages. It is organised the way people actually look for things:
- Getting started: the dashboard, your account, two-factor security, team members, notifications, API keys and connected apps.
- How-to guides: short task guides in four groups (account and API, advertising, publishing, tracking and buying). Create your first campaign, put an ad zone on a site, set up a SmartZone, serve ads from your own domain, build a tracking link, receive conversions from an affiliate network, import ad spend for profit and ROI, and more.
- Reference: one page per area of the panel, from campaign types, targeting and bid rules to ad zones, earnings and payouts, offers, postbacks and tracker reports.
- Ad formats: a page for each zone type, including banner, native, text, video, in-page video, reels, pop, interstitial, skin, redirect and dynamic iframe.
- Ad Scanner: setting up scan tasks, reading scan reports, domain reputation and acting on findings.
- Glossary and FAQ, plus a page on API errors and the tracking decoder.
Who each page is for
GoAdserver runs very different businesses: multi-user ad networks, single-company ad manager setups, offer networks and trackers. Not every feature applies to every setup, so every documentation page starts with an Applies to line. It tells you who uses the page and on which setup, for example ad networks only, ad manager setups, or an optional feature. You can see straight away whether a page is relevant to the platform you have in mind.
Find things quickly
- Full-text search on every page, with the matching section and a short snippet in the results.
- Side navigation that shows where you are in the manual, and an On this page list for longer articles.
- Links between related guides, so a how-to leads to the reference page behind it.
It works on a phone as well. The side menu folds away and the text gets the full width of the screen.
The RTB integration reference
If you connect a DSP or SSP, the RTB integration reference is for you. It covers OpenRTB 2.6 per ad format (banner, video, native, push, pop and pop-under, full-page interstitial, mail clicks and redirects), the generic RTB JSON and XML protocols, and header bidding with Prebid. Every format comes with real request and response examples. Your technical partners can read the spec before the first call, so integration meetings can start from questions instead of basics.
The same manual inside every panel
The public pages are generated from the documentation that lives inside the GoAdserver panel, so the two stay in step. When a feature changes, the manual changes with it.
Inside the panel there is one difference: each user sees only the topics that apply to their own account. An advertiser on an ad network does not read about publisher payouts, and a feature that is switched off on a platform does not show up in its manual. Your advertisers and publishers get help that matches what they can actually do, on your own white-label domain.
As the operator you have your own manual in the admin panel too, with a Guide for this page button that opens the article for the screen you are on.
Make the manual your own
For a white-label network the manual should look like part of your platform, not ours. Two tools in the admin panel take care of that:
- Doc Translations translates the user guide into the languages your users speak. The translations are generated automatically and stay editable. You can also write any topic in your own words, and your users read your version instead of the one that ships with the panel.
- Doc Screenshots replaces the screenshots in the guide with captures from your own branded panel, for all languages or per language.
Your support team can then point users to a guide instead of answering the same question again.
Where to start
New to GoAdserver? Start with the welcome and getting started page, then pick the how-to for your business: your first campaign if you advertise, your first ad zone if you publish, or your first tracking link if you run affiliate traffic. The features overview shows the platform as a whole. Launching a new platform? The Setup Guide in the admin panel walks you through every setting in order.
About GoAdserver
GoAdserver is a hosted, white-label ad serving platform for ad networks, ad managers, offer networks, publishers, advertisers and affiliates. We run the servers, scaling and updates; you run your business on your own brand and domains. Questions about the documentation or the platform? Talk with our team.