While starting a pay per click (PPC) campaign can be as easy as logging in to AdWords (or similar services from Yahoo! or Microsoft), doing it right and maximizing your ROI requires you to pay more careful attention to the choices you make when launching a PPC campaign. This article will take a look at several settings you’ll want to carefully choose when setting up your PPC campaigns.
Advertising Networks – Google Search, Search Partners, and Content
Performance across Google’s various advertiser networks can vary dramatically. Currently, you can choose to have your ads shown on Google’s search network, Google’s search partners (3rd party sites that use Google to power their results), content pages across Google’s entire AdSense network, or content pages that you specifically choose. (Note: Google is in the process of rebranding its Content network as Google Display Network).
Choosing your networks
Ad Performance Can Vary by Network
Costs and performance can vary widely across the different networks (example below). Bids and thus cost per click (CPC) tend to be lower on the content network, as that network generates a far higher number of impressions and lower click through rates than the search networks. However, looking at the example below, you can see that rates can vary dramatically even within the search networks (Google vs. search partners) and within the content network (if you’re choosing your own placements).
Example of Campaign Performance by Network
Choosing Advertising Networks
So how do you choose which networks to run your ads on? There isn’t a simple answer – it depends on your goals, spend available, and the topic or keywords of the campaign you’re running. If you’re unsure of how your campaign will perform, a possible strategy is to setup two campaigns with the same keywords and ads, with one running on the search networks and one on content. Separating them this way will make it easier to compare data using AdWord’s reporting tools. Once the campaigns have been running for a while, you can tweak them, adjust the networks they’re running on, or cancel them if need be.
