By now, Google’s content network is old news. We all know the advantages of running ads on a network with thousands of sites. Advertisers can reach a greater audience, create brand awareness and even hand pick which sites on which they want their ads to be displayed. The content network also offers the flexibility of testing different ad formats including text, images, rich media and gadget ads. Even though we might have all tried our hand at advertising on a content network, most of us have not seen the success we would like. Why are the results not as strong as other online advertising efforts, such as sponsored search many people wonder? The answer is quite simple; people are looking directly for you or your products and services on search. With the content network, your ads can appear if there is relevant information on the page.

There are a few simple tips that can help your content campaigns become a success. First, choosing the right ad format is critical. Since people are not actively seeking you, your ads must be enticing enough to get them to turn their attention away from their task and click on your ad. There are many ad formats that can be used on the content network. Image or video ads tend to get higher click-through-rates. Make sure the ad has a strong call to action. Another benefit of using images or videos is the ability to include a logo of your company. Since the content network allows advertisers to pay per click, it doesn’t matter how many impressions your ad gets, as a matter of fact it is a means of branding your company.

Not all sites are created equal. That is why it is essential to run placement reports on a regular basis. Review your data and it will be clear that many sites are poor performers. Next, exclude these sites from your campaigns so that your ads will not appear on them any longer. This should help your click-through-rate as well as help to spend your budget on sites that are actually working well.

Lastly, placement reports also help to show which sites are performing. If there are sites that are converting or getting a good click-through-rate, then they are more valuable than others. That is why advertisers should bid higher for those placements that are working well. This will ensure that your ads are showing up more often. If there is one site that is performing dramatically better, you can also break it into its own managed placement campaign and allocate a unique budget.

Advertising on the content network can yield great results as long as the campaigns are clearly monitored and adjustments are constantly being made.

With thousands of sites on Google’s content network, your campaigns have the potential to reach millions of viewers. However are you reaching the audience you are looking for?

Enhanced Online Campaigns combine keyword-targeted along with placement-targeted campaigns. This type of campaign allows you to get more control over who sees your ads; you decide which sites your ads will be seen on and what keywords are relevant to your site. Your ads will only show when both the keyword and placement match. Target demographically, by industry or choose specific relevant sites.

By creating different ad groups, you can choose to target different sites or demographics and create specific ad copy for that ad group. For example, if you sell flowers, you might have an ad group focusing on Father’s Day and another ad group focusing on wholesale. The ad copy, keywords and placements will all be different, but all relevant to your business.

You can set custom bids for specific placements. After choosing your sites, test your campaigns then run a paid placement report. The paid placement report lets you review what sites are getting the best results. You can eliminate under performing sites and bid more for higher performing sites to maximize your ROI.

By leveraging Google’s enhanced online campaigns, you can deliver your message to a more precise audience than with a content campaign.

We have all heard this saying or perhaps have said it ourselves in the past couple of months, in this economy. Advertisers are looking for ways to keep their name out there without the expense of advertising.

One such option for advertisers to take advantage of is the Google content network from Google Adwords. Google’s content network is a large network of Google properties, including gmail, websites, news pages, and blogs. Sites such as About.com, TheNewYorkTimes.com, Lycos.com, FoodNetwork.com, just to name a very few, are all part of the network.

Google’s content network reaches 642 million or 75% of worldwide Internet users per month; more than any other property or network. The content network is a great way to expand the reach of your message or brand.

Unlike the search network, where specific keywords and search terms are designated to ads, content network ads are targeted based on user themes.  Getting started is easy. New campaigns are automatically opted into the content network so when creating campaigns, you do not need to do anything to begin advertising there. You can even target your potential customers by actually selecting websites with the most relevant content to your products or services. By running a placement report you can determine which websites are getting the best results and then optimize your campaigns by removing underperforming sites. Google also has the option to bid more for specific sites that perform better by using the placements feature. Other ad formats are accepted, such as image and video ads. The content network also allows for more creativity when it comes to ad copy. Remember that your audience is not actively seeking you, so you need to grab their attention and generate interest and excitement about your products or services.

If branding or attaining maximum traffic is one of your advertising goals, create a content campaign and test it.  With over 700 billion impressions every month, you will see that your reach is dramatically increased. Most advertisers would agree that while Google’s content network has its benefits, it is best to compliment content campaigns with search campaigns.