When it comes to Google Adwords, a lot of people think of the content network as a dangerous, and relatively unproductive environment to spend your click budget.
If you build a campaign in the content network that is not loosely constructed and with no constraints, then I’d have to agree with that statement.
One thing people fail to realize with the Google Adwords content network is that keyword lists still play a big role in determining the targeted placement of your ads.
And there is a new tool out – actually its been out for a few months now – that helps you build keyword lists for your campaign running on the content network.
It’s called the Contextual Targeting Tool, and it allows you to enter keyword phrases that are relevant to your product or service, and then it will automatically generate a list of keywords that are relevant to what you typed and you can then ad those new keywords to your ad groups.
How do I use the contextual targeting tool (from Adwords help):
- Go to the Opportunities tab.
- In the “Tools” section, click the Contextual Targeting Tool link.
- Type in words or a phrase that describes your product (for example, “yoga mats”). The tool shows a list of keywords grouped into thematically relevant ad groups. The keywords in each of these ad groups are the ideal set of keywords to describe the theme you’re trying to target.
- Click the Expand button to see more related groups of keywords.
Why is this tool important?
The Contextual Targeting Tool is important because it will help you build a more targeted content network campaign.
The content network gets a bad rap because of the massive, un-targeted exposure that it can potentially generate for advertisers.
But with tools like this, and other refinement methods, the content network will help your ads get the absolute best exposure on other sites.
With a properly constructed Adwords campaign, your ads will be showing up on content that is directly related to your products and services.
This means, people are interested in the content they are reading will then see your relevant ads. And this makes for a much higher quality connection to customers.