One of the most important things that you have to remember when you’re managing a Google Adwords Pay Per Click campaign is that the content network, and the search network, are two entirely different things.
In fact, splitting your content and search distribution into two separate campaigns is a tactic that can often boost your overall performance. The simple reason for this is that, since the intentions of users at the time of search or display are very different, so will the performance of different adds be. PPC ads designed for the content network might not perform well on the search network, and search adds might not perform well in the content network.
As well as the aforementioned reasons, splitting your campaigns will also allow for faster and more accurate reporting on your campaigns. However, if you do have the two campaigns combined and it’s performing well, there’s no need to throw away the work you’ve already done. You might want to try launching an additional PPC campaign instead to target one or the other of the networks.
Theme’s And The Content Network
When it comes to the content network, Adwords automatically determines an overall theme of your advertisements, based on the keywords that you use in your ad group. Based on this theme, Google Adwords will match your campaign to websites within the content network to which the theme is relevant.
So, when it comes to content or contextual ads, it is the theme that determines your placement, rather than simply the specific keywords.
Content Network Adwords Tips
Here are some suggestions to help you optimise your content network campaign:
* Keep your search campaign and your content campaign separate.
* Split content campaigns into smaller ad groups, preferably with only between 20 and 40 keywords per group.
* Don’t worry about using different match types. The content matching system disregards all match types.
* In a similar fashion, the content matching system ignores individual keyword bid prices, and operates only according to the ad groups default bid price.
* Use negative keywords to help refine your theme, and assist the system in choosing pages where your ad should not appear.
* Create ads and keyword lists that help your groups match the themes that determine where your ad will be displayed.
As we said above, if your campaigns are performing well, you don’t necessarily need to separate your campaigns. However, you can use these tips to help you create more focused pay per click campaigns. If you need to optimise your various campaigns though, splitting them may well help you make a difference in their performance.
