Using Placement-Targeted Campaigns
No Comments
Written by Atila on September 2, 2008 – 5:37 pm
Placement-targeted campaigns are similar to content-targeted campaigns in that they allow you to show your ads on any Web site that is a part of the Google Content Network. The difference is that a placement-targeted campaign lets you choose a specific site on which to advertise.
You can choose which sites you want your ads to appear on in two ways. The first way is to name the specific site you want to advertise on. If you are browsing the Web and come across a site that you think your target customers might be viewing, check to see whether the phrase “Ads by Google” appears anywhere on the site. If it does, you can choose this site for your placementtargeted campaign.
The second way you can target your campaign is to give Google a list of keywords or phrases that describe your site. Google then searches through its content network to find the sites that best match the words you have entered. The platform then returns a list of sites that are related, and you may choose which sites you want to advertise on. As with all advertising, you are competing with other advertisers for a space on the site. The more popular a site is, the more expensive it can be to show your ad.
You are charged on a CPM or a CPC basis. Paying on a CPM basis means a certain amount is charged every time your ad is displayed one thousand times. Paying on a CPC basis means you pay a certain amount every time your ad is clicked. Each pricing method has its benefits and drawbacks. If your ad has a very high click-through rate, you may pay less per click by choosing CPM pricing. Test the different pricing models with different ad variations to determine which is the most cost-effective method for your campaign.
Placement-targeted campaigns offer you an option that keyword-targeted campaigns do not: the ability to reach out to a new demographic that you are otherwise unable to target by bidding on keywords. Because of the way the Google Quality Score algorithm works, if you try to bid on a keyword that does not directly relate to the content of your site, you are slapped with a high cost-per-click and risk the chance of your ad not appearing at all. This makes thinking outside the box difficult. Placement-targeting allows you to choose any site that you think might be a worthy platform for your product. This makes placement-targeting an excellent tool for branding campaigns.
For example, perhaps you are marketing a new product for infants. You may have tried bidding on the term “baby shower gifts” on the Google Search Network with limited or no success because your Web site is not focused specifically on baby shower gifts. Using the placement-targeting option you can find sites that offer insight into the baby shower process and choose to display your ad there to successfully target that particular demographic. Keep in mind that your ad has a better chance of showing on Web sites that closely relate to the content of your own Web site.
