Managing a publisher's ad inventory is an often cumbersome process that involves integrating several ad networks and the work of a human sales force. But Google says it's looking to simplify that process through its new Google Ad Manager program.

Google announced the product on its AdSense blog. The search giant had previously offered the program to a select group of publishers through a beta testing program.

Ad Manager is expected to help publishers make the most of their inventory by automatically selecting among third-party ad networks. AdSense will be used to fill unsold inventory or compete on price with other ad networks, and given AdSense's huge repository of advertisers, it's a good bet that publishers will be able to reach higher CPMs with the new tool.

The release of Ad Manager also coincides with a decision by Google to integrate AdSense with its Analytics program. That tool is designed to help AdSense publishers better track the effectiveness of the ads on their site.