Tips for Success on the Google Content Network

Many people shy away from Google Adwords Content Network simply because they don't understand it or know how to effectively manage it. This article provides important tips and strategies to better equip you for success.

Campaign Organization

When setting up your campaigns there are a couple of ways to effectively organize them. One way is to have a single campaign that is enabled for both Google.com (and their search network if you so choose) and Google's Content Network. If you decide to go this route make sure you select the option that allows you to control bids separately across both networks. My preferred method is to set up separate campaigns: one is for Google's Search Network (AOL, Earthlink, Dogpile) and one is for Google's Content Network. This will allow you to better control the daily / monthly spend since you can only set budget caps at the Campaign Level.

Ad Groups Inside Your Content Network Campaigns

Duplicate keywords are not an issue inside your Content Network Ad Groups. Google decides where to show your ads across their Content Network based on the Ad Group relevancy as a whole. This includes both keywords and ad copy. So, remember it this way: Google's Content Network is NOT keyword driven - it's relevancy driven. After all, when you see ads on another site that are Sponsored Listings from Google Adsense, you didn't have to type in a keyword to display those ads.

Laser Target Your Content Network Ad Groups

When adding keywords in your Content Network ad groups, keep the list short and Laser Focused! Remember, Google decides where to show your ads based on the Ad Group relevancy ... not based on each keyword. For example, if your business is generating leads for colleges and schools providing nursing degrees, then it makes sense to have an Ad Group in your Search Network campaigns targeting keywords such as "nursing jobs" or "nurse salary". But, for the Content Network, those keywords should not be in your Ad Group because this give Google the option to show your ads on medical job boards, resume writing sites and other non relevant sites. For the Content Network Ad Groups it's best to keep your keywords laser focused - in Exact Match format - targeting your specific niche ... like [nursing degree] [nursing degrees] [nursing school] [nursing schools] [cna degree] etc.

Placement Reports

Monitor your Content Network performance by pulling Placement Reports inside Google's Reporting interface. When you receive enough data to start crunching useful stats, find the Domains that are driving quality/converting traffic to your site.

Site Match Campaigns

Set up Site Match campaigns targeting the Domains you identified in your Placement Reports and allocate your budgets accordingly. (Don't forget to add these domains to your Excluded Domain list for your Content Network Campaigns). Here's a tip - when crunching your data to determine which sites you want to add to your Site Match campaign, calculate your Avg. Cost p/ Impression for that site to start off your Site Match CPM Bid. After you start receiving conversion data from each site match site you can then dial in your CPM Bids to achieve your CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) target.