[MKat]

Hi
I've recently set up an adwords campaign - thanks to great advice on the forum and link to £30 voucher.

After researching a lot of people are advising turning off the content network section - would anybody be able to explain more?

Has anybody had good results from leaving content network switched on?

Your information/opinion would be most appreciated

Lynn

[Dotwhack]

I'd also recommend turning it off - tried running a couple of campaigns using it & never got any good results from it.

Basically the content network are sites that Google's sponsored search results appear on (i.e. not actually on a search engine but on someone elses site)

You can actually select in google now which types of sites you want to appear on and which you don't want to appear on - if you don't want to completely turn it off - try selecting where you want your ads to appear. i.e. I doubt you'd benefit from being on car related websites but might for present related websites.

You can also set different bids for ads on content sites to the bids you have on your normal campaigns - again this is recommended if you don't want to switch it off. Where I'm willing to spend 25p on a normal bid for example, I'd shoose to maybe only pay 5p on the content network.

The great thing about adwords is the flexibility to turn on & off - set up a content network campaign and let it run for a couple of days - the results of that will tell you whether to leave it on or turn it off. I'm betting you'll turn it off

[MKat]

Many thanks for the info.

That is what I thought I might do - leave on but monitor closely -

[Dotwhack]

I think you'll find you'll get very very few clicks from the content network so I doubt you'll end up 'losing' loads of money by keeping it on. Just get yourself a realistic budget for the couple of days it's on & see what happens.

Let me know how it goes - always interested in other peoples experiments!

[SteveGibson]

I think the key to making money from the content network is understanding that it's a different sales process.

Unlike the google search, people aren't actively looking to buy, so it tends to make sense to use content for things like list building or impulse purchases.

Steve

[admagic]

Originally Posted by MKat

Hi
I've recently set up an adwords campaign - thanks to great advice on the forum and link to £30 voucher.

After researching a lot of people are advising turning off the content network section - would anybody be able to explain more?

Has anybody had good results from leaving content network switched on?

Your information/opinion would be most appreciated

Lynn

The content network is a valuable thing, but as steve says it is a different sales process.

People havent asked for your exact keywords to get to what they are reading -

So use the content network....but PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT CAMPAIGN!

And make your ads work a lot harder..

So if your ad in the search network for say USED FORD FIESTA
would be explaining your benefits which might be...
"All models upgraded to top spec & we wont be beaten on price."
ie why you

Your ad in the content network needs to convince the user not just about you but of the need to act in the first place....so you might use...

"Why now is the best time ever
in history to buy a used ford fiesta"

For that reason you must use a separate campaign with separate ad groups.

The benefits are...
(a) In some markets you can get DIRT cheap clicks
(b) You can hide from your competition in really savvy markets.

Ive noticed though one problem is, idiots in large companies are biding the same on content and search networks, which has driven content prices up
But there are still some great deals out there


I still say the hidden gem of adwords, is SITE TARGETTED campaigns, where you get the best of both worlds.

If you find the pages that rank high up in google for your search terms,
then many people get to those sites, using the keywords, so they are targetted

Yet site targetted clicks are cheaper -

Check out the sites to make sure they are targetted, and only pick sites where the ads are in the first fold....and you can get some great conversions.

[Mike Seddon]

Originally Posted by admagic

The content network is a valuable thing, but as steve says it is a different sales process.

People havent asked for your exact keywords to get to what they are reading -

So use the content network....but PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT CAMPAIGN!

And make your ads work a lot harder..

So if your ad in the search network for say USED FORD FIESTA
would be explaining your benefits which might be...
"All models upgraded to top spec & we wont be beaten on price."
ie why you

Your ad in the content network needs to convince the user not just about you but of the need to act in the first place....so you might use...

"Why now is the best time ever
in history to buy a used ford fiesta"

For that reason you must use a separate campaign with separate ad groups.

The benefits are...
(a) In some markets you can get DIRT cheap clicks
(b) You can hide from your competition in really savvy markets.

Ive noticed though one problem is, idiots in large companies are biding the same on content and search networks, which has driven content prices up
But there are still some great deals out there


I still say the hidden gem of adwords, is SITE TARGETTED campaigns, where you get the best of both worlds.

If you find the pages that rank high up in google for your search terms,
then many people get to those sites, using the keywords, so they are targetted

Yet site targetted clicks are cheaper -

Check out the sites to make sure they are targetted, and only pick sites where the ads are in the first fold....and you can get some great conversions.

Great post again Mr Magic (or can I call you Ad? )

I generally advice people just starting out with Adwords to avoid the content network because it's so easy to burn money if you don't know what you are doing.

The plus with search network is that you are targeting people who are looking for exactly what you are offering because your ad has been triggered by their search phrase. Also, the quality score against your keywords can get progressively better as you improve your ads etc for your keywords.

However I agree completely with admagic that is you can find the right site (by this I mean one that is attracting your type of people) and you can create the right type of ad then Site targetted can be extremely rewarding.

Cheers
Mike