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Caution: Content Network Ahead

Aug 2, 2007 PPC Basics

For those of you that may not know, all of the major search engines have partner sites that offer paid advertising space as a means to monetize their pages.  These advertising campaigns aim to match keywords you specify in an ad group or campaign with content on the publisher’s site. If your keywords and ads are relevant to articles on big name sites such as CNN, it could mean a lot of high quality links. However, if you don’t target your content network ads carefully, you’ll fall prey to low quality placements, which can quickly amount to unwanted click fraud. So, how do you target your content network ads successfully?

Divide and Conquer!

First and foremost, you can’t expect to target content network placements with the same bunch of keywords you use for sponsored search.  So for Pete’s sake, divide your ad groups, or better yet your campaigns into search only and content only.  You’ll see why this becomes increasingly important later.

Dividing your search and content keywords serves two purposes:

1. It’s easier to track return on advertising spend (ROAS).
2. It allows for greater targeting specificity for both sponsored search and content network bids.

You may be saying, “…but Garry, I’ve got this badass analytics program that keeps track of content network and search keywords within the same campaign.”  That’s fantastic Billy, you’ve been reading my section on Analytics tools but your missing the point.  Your adgroup running both sponsored search and content network ads will not be nearly as successful as the same keywords running independently.  If you target search campaigns for maximum ROAS in the same ad group as content network keywords, your content network ad quality will suffer, and vise versa.

Content Network placements are determined by subject matter, so the better you shape your exact match and phrase match keywords, the higher your click quality will be.  And don’t forget to rewrite your ad text with targeted keywords to get the attention of content readers.

Close your eyes, if you could go anywhere, where would it be?

Mmmmm…. Hawaii…

The first trick to targeting content network ads is knowing where you want them to be placed.  If you think of your ideal placement, where customers are reading relevant stories or articles about topics near and dear to your business, what would they be reading about?

Breathe in, Breathe oooooooout… Wax on, wax offff….

Now that you’re thinking like a content reader, start thinking up specific keyword phrases that would appear in your dream ad placement.  It could be on CNN, it could be on the Globe, heck it could even be on your competitor’s site (if they’re not careful).

Sometimes two negatives make a positive

Now that you’ve gotten better at imagining locations for your ideal ad placement, think of a dark, ugly place.  A place so nasty and vile, not even cockroaches would dare tread into.  Picture your ad in the absolute worst place it could ever go, like a review site that rips your company a new hole.  That’s right, now we’re getting somewhere.  Now imagine actually paying that review site for running your ad!

“Why would anyone do that,” Billy asked.

Simple, son.  They don’t know any better.  You however, are an informed marketer reading a blog that’s sure to make the big leagues.  You know better.

And this is the moral of the first negative: You’re going to include campaign negative keywords into your lists, so that you don’t show up on a content network page called “Billy blows!”.

The second negative of the equation is excluding your ad from showing up on any pages that you specify.  It wouldn’t make much sense if M&M Meats were to advertise their “Devilishly Delicious Angus Burger” on Vegansociety.com, now would it?  Fore go the backlash of negative PR and add site exclusions, it’ll make for much better quality clicks, and should even reduce the amount of click fraud you receive.