If you have used PPC advertising for a while, chances are you have dabbled with the “content network/placement” with little success. If so you are not alone.
In the past the Google content network provided limited campaign control, lack of advertising format options and a large but somewhat hit and miss mix of sites. This has therefore left marketers with another under performing Ad network.
Over the past few years however, Google has invested significant efforts into building the network. In particular Google has focussed on the acquisition of partner sites to now offer an array of ad formats and new advertising alternatives, giving other advertising networks a run for their money.
I have reviewed the Google content network to bring you the pros & cons of the new and improved platform.
Pros
Media Placement & Format Options
The Google network is not limited to text based advertising.
Google has been working extremely hard to convince advertisers to offer various advertising formats. Australian sites such as The Age, Sydney Morning Herald & The Brisbane Times are just some of the quality sites in the network offering image and video advertising opportunities.
With the rise of rich media, Google has been quick to ensure it has dynamic ad inventory to provide advertisers with the flexibility to choose the most appropriate format for their message. Google’s acquisition of video giant YouTube has also opened up a plethora of opportunities for video content sponsorship and in-video branding.
The growing popularity of other online media has also lead Google to innovate by offering;
- Feed Placements
- In Game Placements
- Mobile Placements
Small Fish in Big Pond
Never before could small businesses dream of advertising on some of the major newspaper sites and even if they did they would be facing high CPMs. Google’s network allows cost per click advertising in various formats and for all budgets making it accessible to advertisers of all sizes.
Cons
Positioning
Ad positioning may still be an issue on the network with websites continuing to sell prime inventory through other networks / internal media sales teams thus it is difficult to ensure effective positioning.
Big Budgets – Big Losers
For big advertisers who can command significant reductions in rate cards, the CPA/CPC may not be as favourable on the Google network and the reporting may not be to the depth required to effectively manage these campaigns.
Niche Advertising
For advertisers with specialty products and services the content network may not provide the depth of inventory needed by the advertiser – resulting in low impression rates/visitors and lack of sites to project the message.
What’s Next
With social networks providing competition for Google through behavioural advertising, Google has announced its new behavioural targeting product. In mid March the internet giant announced its beta testing of behavioural advertising. Google is able to offer behavioural advertising through utilising cookies to track web users across its content network.
For more details on Google’s behavioural targeting click here http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/making-ads-more-interesting.html
The verdict
Google is definitely shaping up to provide a strong advertising network, in its pursuit for internet domination. The content network is definitely worth further investigation by brands in Australia to determine its application as part of an advertising strategy. I would continue to watch this space as I am sure there is much more to come from Google.
