To improve your ad performance with contextual targeting on the Content Network:
- Optimize your campaigns with a focus on themes and call to action phrases.
With contextual targeting, we analyze your entire keyword list and ad text in an ad group, then match the ad to sites in our network. Because all keywords in your ad group are considered, it is especially important to create ad groups around common themes. For instance, if you sell sports equipment, you may want to create a separate ad group for each sport, or for the different audiences you want to reach. In addition, you should ensure that your ad text closely matches the theme that you have outlined in your keyword list.
Because you will reach users in different parts of the buying cycle, call to action phrases are especially important. Phrases that highlight special deals or sales can be especially helpful in capturing user attention. - Implement Google conversion tracking.
Conversion tracking helps you track the number of sales you receive from your advertising campaign, both from search and from Content Network sites and products. Reviewing your total number of conversions and the value of these conversions can help you decide if you should increase your budget or further optimize your ad groups to receive more targeted visitors. Learn more about Google conversion tracking. - Implement Analytics.
Google Analytics shows you how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their experience. You can improve your return on investment, increase conversions, and make more money on the web based on this data. To get started with Google Analytics, visit www.google.com/analytics or click the Analytics tab in your AdWords account. You'll be guided through a simple sign-up process, which will ask you to add a code snippet to your site. You'll start gathering data immediately and be on track for improved ROI. - Adjust your content bids.
Content bids let you set one price when your ads run on Google and its search partner sites, and a different price when your ads run on the Google Content Network via contextual targeting. You can enable content bids from the Campaign settings page after you've enabled your campaign for distribution on the Content Network. If you don't set a specific bid, your bid is set to Auto by default. Auto content bids are based on an average of all keyword CPCs for the ad group (including the default ad group CPC and individual keyword CPCs). You can change this automatic bid at any time to a price appropriate for your advertising needs. Learn more about content bids. - Review your ad ranking.
Most content sites and products display only two, three, or four contextual ads per page. You can maximize your chances of appearing on these sites by selecting a maximum cost-per-click that allows your ad to rank in these top positions. If you improve your keyword's Quality Score by increasing the relevance of the ad and keywords to a content site, you'll also improve your ad position on network pages. (Learn more about ranking)
Here's a key point: The performance of your ads on content pages does not affect their performance on Google or on the Search Network. You'll probably find that you get a lower clickthrough rate on the Content Network, but this will not affect the Quality Score of your ads for search advertising.
Review our optimization tips to learn more about how to improve your position and your ROI. You can also watch these tips in video format (also English only).
