Look For Clicks in All the Right Places

Ryan Faria - October 12, 2009

Any advertiser who has experimented with image ads within Google AdWords has probably asked themselves ‘how do I know my ads are being seen by the right audience?’  Recently, I had the opportunity to answer this question for a client.

Image ads are also often referred to as display ads.  Image ads are a vital component for any cost per click (cpc) campaign since these types of advertisements rely on a visual aspect, versus text ads.  Implementing image ads can attract visitors to your site who may not have visited through traditional text ads.  Since image ads are only available through the Google content network, many advertisers become concerned whether or not their ads will appear on relevant websites for their brand, brand or service.

Google’s placement targeting feature gives marketers the opportunity to pick and choose which sites they wish their ads to be featured on.  Although each site is different, each site only allows image ads of specific dimensions.  It is best to use the Google placement tool to see which image sizes are most common and create image ads based on these specifications.  By selecting the sites or genre of sites you want your ads to appear within, advertisers can rest assured knowing that the image ads are being seen by the ideal demographic.

Once your image ad campaigns build momentum and begin to generate impressions, advertisers can run paid placement reports.  Paid placement reports are helpful when optimizing the image ad campaigns as they allow advertisers to see which sites are generating impressions, what cpcs should be increased, which sites are leading to conversions and much more.  When selecting a placement site genre, advertisers can transparently see which sites are producing, or not producing traffic within the new Google AdWords interface.  Placement targeting also allows the opportunity to remove or block certain cites from receiving clicks and impressions.

Google’s placement targeting feature can not only ensure that your ads are featured on relevant pages, but can also help you improve brand recognition and most importantly, conversions.