Targetable vs. Non-Targetable Ads

Has anyone tracked results after making an ad targetable?

[farmboy]

Has anyone had an ad unit that was not targetable and later made it targetable and tracked the results? Did you notice any significant changes over time - increase in EPC, CTR, etc?


FarmBoy

[lammert]

I have some channels targetable but do not see any changes.

With the current AdWords interface there are much more ways an advertiser can target locations on your site than just by targeting channels. In my content-network AdWords campaigns I prefer to target on a URL base, because in that way I can also target locations on sites which have no targetable channels. With URL targeting there is also no problem if the publisher changes his targeting settings of the channel or changes the use of the channel on the site.

[maximillianos]

Last summer (or the summer before - I lose track), we started experiencing a heavy flow of unrelated ads on our pages. Mostly diet related.

We inquired with our Adsense rep, he told us our site was being targeted by the advertisers. I told him we had turned off targeting for the channels, and he essentially replied that there is a loophole where an advertiser can target their ad towards a "category" of sites, and you cannot block that as a publisher.

I told him we did not want these ads on our site, and he told me we could have it turned off but they had to do it within the plex, and it would affect all our sites/channels. I told him to do it.

A day later all our ads were targeting fine again, and no more diet ads. Earnings shot back up.

So from our experience, it was a negative impact on our clicks and earnings.