Knowledge is the Foundation To Success  

Looking for some additional PPC traffic, but not sure where to go to get it?  It really is time to try a Google Content campaign if you haven’t done so yet.  Even if you’ve tried it historically and it didn’t work, it really is worth taking another look.  I’ve started several new Google Content campaigns for my clients over the last few months and each one has delivered solid conversions.

We had really stayed away from Google Content for quite some time due to lack of performance, lack of control over which sites your ads show on, which sites you could block, etc.  But now with all the new controls in place, with Google seeming to have placed a greater emphasis on bringing in some quality sites to the Google Content Network,  it’s time for you to give it a good go.

Here’s a method I’ve used that has worked surprisingly well for me.  I look historically across all my current Google ad groups for a client, copy only those ad groups and keywords that prove to be solid performers, then put them in their own separate Google Content campaign.  I usually cut the bids approximately in half, put a tight cap on the budget to start off with, then let it fly.

May sound simplistic, but I know it works because I’ve seen the results with my clients time and time again.  Give it try in your Google AdWords accounts.  You may be pleasantly surprised at the new customer base you find.

Content match provides an excellent opportunity for corporate branding, or the creation and dissemination of a corporate identity. Content match enables advertisers to realize tremendous exposure at an affordable cost, but also presents potential hazards if not properly setup, monitored & modified.

Today, I reviewed one account that I am familiar with to provide a specific example of Content Match’s potential reach; I’ll refer to this as Client X. I am going to refer specifically to Google AdWords results for this example.

In the past 2 weeks, Client X received a total of more than 2 million impressions via Content Match compared to just over 100,000 search impressions. The 2 million content generated impressions resulted in 529 clicks, costing about $300 or $0.17 CPM (cost per thousand impressions). Of those 2 million+ impressions, 1.5 million were contextual and 500,000 were image ads. Client X does have conversion tracking in place and Content Match provided conversions at a cost in line or lower than the cost-per-conversion associated with search.

Though content match exposure is less targeted than search generated traffic, it certainly represents a great way to reach out to an enormous audience that can increasingly be better targeted. Google is improving this all the time. Client X will receive over 4 million page impressions this month thanks to Content Match. Numbers like that represent a substantial base of potential customers for any business. However, Content match success does not come without challenges.

Content Match requires a unique setup, lower bids to start and ongoing monitoring to check the websites carrying your ads. At this stage in the game, reviewing the content providers is still incredibly important. I was able to use Client X’s analytics data to identify a handful of websites where this client’s ads should not have been running, and then used Google’s Site Exclusion Tools to block those websites. This step is critical. There are still some questionable content partners who need to be monitored. In the end, Content Match can be quite powerful, but use caution or consider professional PPC Management.

We’ve given you some really good information on how to structure campaigns for content matching within your PPC Advertising accounts.

I’d like to expand on some of the differences between search advertising and content advertising so that you can maximize your results.

Your Visitor’s Intent
In all of your search marketing efforts, you need to understand your visitor’s intent. What is the current purpose or goal, in their mind, at the time and place where they are viewing your ad?

Once of the biggest differences in search vs. content advertising is the user’s intent at the time the ad is presented. In the case of search, the user is looking for something specific – information, a solution to a problem or a particular product or service. The key to understand here is that they are searching for something and when you place your ad in front of them, you want them to say to themselves: “Yes; this is exactly what I am looking for . . . Click!”

Traditional Advertising
With Content Advertising, you are embarking on the more traditional advertising method which is “Interruption Advertising”. This is what traditional media channels, such as magazines, newspapers and TV, are focused on. The concept is that if I can get in front of someone that matches the demographics of my target market, I can make them aware of what I am offering.

Content Advertising takes this concept a step further and provides you with the ability to show your ad within a context that is relevant to your product or service. For example, let’s say you sell child-proofing products for the home. If you show your ad to parents that are reading an article about how to child proof their home, you are going to be in exactly the right place at the right time when that parent is thinking about where they might find these products.

There are broader examples and applications, but the point is that you are interrupting the reader and asking them to consider your offer when their intent is to read an article and gather information. But the magic is: you are interrupting them in a context where they are more likely to consider your offer.

Understanding The Intent

As Brad mentions in his Content Matching article on May 12th, you can expect a much lower click through rate and conversion rate for content campaigns. Now that you understand your visitor’s intent, you can see why – they weren’t looking for you at the time – you are in the process of interrupting their current thought process and therefore, less people are going to allow themselves to be sidetracked and follow the new path you are offering. However, the closer you can match your offer to the intent your customer had when they started reading the article or viewing the site, you are more likely to be successful in interrupting their thought process.

Next week, we will discuss techniques for maximizing your content advertising results based on this new understanding. And we will explore some of the more advanced options Google AdWords offers in their content campaign options.