by Brad Cohen (@supnah) and Luke Menasco, (@lukebend)
The other day I was working in my Gmail account when the feed above the inbox displayed an advertisement for Sarah Palin’s PAC. I wasn’t interesting in donating, but even more than that, was astounded that the ad even showed up on my account to begin with… That is, until I noticed that my first email in my inbox was from a friend named Sarah.
What was the goal that Gov. Palin’s marketing team had in placing this ad on Google’s Content Network? If it was to raise money, this is not a very effective tool for targeting the demographics that are most likely to give. If it was to keep the Palin brand visible in the post-election news cycles, these ads may have worked to some extent. But it brings up a point that many campaign managers overlook:
Take the time to think critically about whether the Google Content Network is appropriate for the goals of your campaign.
Let’s take a step back and look at some basic info about the Content Network…
Content Network Basics:
Everyone seems to grasp the value of traffic from the Search Network (ads on Google.com), but what is the value of traffic coming from Google’s Content Network? The idea behind contextual targeting is that Google places your ads on the most relevant sites and page placements – relevant meaning that Google finds similarity between your keyword and the content of the web page. Your text, image, and video ads will show on popular news sites, blogs, entertainment pages, industry publications and social networking sites where your keywords are matched with user interests.
The Good:
Your message can reach staggering numbers of people by using the Content Network. The Google Content Network reaches 80% of global internet users — making it the world’s largest ad network. Thousands of advertisers use Google to reach users on hundreds of thousands of web sites of all sizes and across all industries.
Another appealing aspect of the Content Network is the options in its pricing structure. You can pay on the basis of cost-per-click, cost-per-thousand impressions, or cost-per-acquisition. The cost-per-click option is often preferred because you only have to pay for the clicks you get, not the number of times your ad is displayed.
The Bad:
The Content Network is notorious for producing a very low click-thru-rate – a high number of impressions with a low conversion rate. In so far as you’re not paying for those impressions, that’s great, but there are other factors to consider. Content Network advertising puts ads in front of less engaged users who were likely not searching for your information, product, or service to begin with. Google.com ads on the other hand are putting ads in place for people that are actively SEEKING information. That difference is key to understanding the value of the Content Network.
Another factor to consider is that you have very little control over where your message is being placed or the content it is being placed next to. There is some risk here. Your message and brand name can easily end up next to content that is not relevant to your intent, or worse, may be completely antithetical.
Just like in the first example where an ad was matched to my inbox simply because of the word ‘Sarah’, here is what happened when I sent myself an email containing the word ‘coffee’, and then replied to it (to myself again) using the word ‘coffee’ again.
Notice the content of the emails. Both messages are about coffee, but they’re about how much the people hate coffee (not exactly true – I need my coffee, but this makes for a good example).
And there is the potential for even worse cases, such as this ad that pops up on a YouTube video. The video is titled “Deputy Shown Kicking Teen Girl,” and yet the screenshot shows that the ad being served is for a government site for promoting police careers.
Not only does this send the wrong message about this government program, but do they really want conversions from the kinds of people who are interested in a police career because of this footage?
This is an extreme case, but it brings up a valid point that is worth considering: Are clicks from the Content Network worth the same as clicks from more targeted campaigns?
CTR, Conversions, and the Content Network:
Clicks from the Content Network are coming from an inherently different untargeted pool of less engaged users who may not even be anywhere near a buy cycle compared to the users who click on ads from the Search Network. It is important to think about the value of your traffic beyond the click. By tracking post-click activities within your site, like bounce rates, purchases, or other conversions, you will able to determine the relative value of traffic coming from the Content Network. With this information, you can reexamine the math of lead acquisition and decide whether that money for the Content Network campaign would be better spent in PPC instead.
That said, the content network does have some cases where it is extremely effective.
The Ugly - Content Network in Response to a PR Nightmare:
One of our clients had a major PR fiasco due to negative side effects caused by their product. Consumers posted harshly negative reviews of this product on Amazon.com and other boards claiming the product was causing these specific side effects. The number of complaints prompted blog chatter, which was picked up by mainstream media and a series of “consumer exposé” reports on TV. Searches for this product skyrocketed because of this negative attention. Needless to say, this is not the way we had hoped to see a client’s traffic increase.
Our strategy was to respond with a targeted search strategy that drove searchers clearly looking for information about the product/issue to the area of the brand site where this issue was addressed. Part of that search strategy included strategic ad placement within the Content Network targeted towards the blogs containing chatter about the issue. Our creative in these ads was very neutral, with “Learn More” type messaging. The success of this approach is that we were able to put our message in places where this conversation was happening; something that traditional paid search on Google.com does not have the capacity to do. By placing our messaging in this content, we were giving the consumer an option to click through and learn more about the issue straight from the source.
Conclusion:
In no way is this post trying to claim that the Content Network does not have value, but it shouldn’t be a default choice to opt in. You may find that the content network works for you because you’re running an awareness campaign, or because you are trying to put your message out in a way that is aligned with how the Content Network functions. However, every campaign manager should think critically about the decision and determine whether it makes sense in that instance.
If you do opt in, don’t assume that clicks from the Content Network are as valuable as other clicks. Pay attention to your metrics, and try to find some deeper conversions to track so that you have more to work with than just the click through rate. You may find that the true cost per conversion for leads generated by the Content Network are more expensive than those from the Search Network, or they may be cheaper. But if you are informed and think critically about the value of Content Network traffic as it relates to your goals and objectives, you will have greater success at managing the cost and efficiency of your campaigns.
Last 5 posts by BradCohen
- Open Graph and SEO - April 27th, 2010
- Streisand Effect - A Lesson for Enterprise - August 5th, 2009
- Best Buy Twitter Commercial - TwelpForce - July 23rd, 2009
- Twitter URL Expansion Arrives at Last - July 18th, 2009
- Twitter Messaging - May 21st, 2009
