thanks to the Content Network...
I just opted into this as of Jan 1 this year.
Without it, i was averaging 50-60k impressions per month....last 3 previous months...
Am i wasting my time with this?....Am i just killing my CTR thus going to hurt my CPC?
The content network certainly produces lower click through rate for your ads linking to your site, but I know of nothing that suggests this would affect EPC for Ads showing on your site. (I believe the click through rate FROM your site may affect this but surely not the clicks TO your site).
From Google Help:
Could a low clickthrough rate on content affect my ad position on search pages?On a busy content page, an ad has to compete more to get the attention of a reader than it would on a search page, so content CTR is typically lower than search CTR. It's nothing to worry about, because content CTR does not affect the ranking of your ad on search pages.
BUT...with the combination of both CTR's....
Content Network CTR 0.54
Search Network CTR 2.25
Total 0.80
now i have a total lower CTR...and doesnt a low CTR cause you to pay a higher CPC? just to keep above water...?
doesnt a low CTR cause you to pay a higher CPC? just to keep above water...?
What you pay is per click and is based on your default bid.
I don't set my content bids any different from my Search bids (I believe you can do this though). I find that what I am actually charged for content clicks can actually be very much lower than my default bid.
Content Impressions get me additional traffic - often at a lower cost per visit than Search Impressions.
What is the problem? Look at the bottom line. Are you getting more visitors? Are you making more profit?
[edited by: Pengi at 10:51 pm (utc) on Jan. 2, 2007]
BUT...with the combination of both CTR's....Content Network CTR 0.54
Search Network CTR 2.25
Total 0.80now i have a total lower CTR...and doesnt a low CTR cause you to pay a higher CPC? just to keep above water...?
Google does not consider your Content CTR (0.54%) nor the blended CTR (0.80%)... the only CTR figure that Google considers when calculating your search CPC is your CTR on Google.com... which is a subset of the Search CTR you see (2.25%).
Try this - go and find the best content partners, look at the sites and their audience exposure. Would you want to be listed on those sites?
i do not know who is on the "content network" list, and i didnt do my campaign as site targeted...so i cant see who is who on that list....
where can i find a list of content network advertisers...?
...oh, and the content network is the people who sign up for AdSense right? for the most part....and google partners..?
Like anything else in adwords, you have to play around with prices and creatives.
the content network is the people who sign up for AdSense right?
Yes and no. Content partners include some big sites such as AOL, Shopping.com AT&T nytimes.com, etc.
It will also include many specialist sites that are highly focused. And, it will include sites that are within the AdSense network.
Don't you also get a lot of click fraud on Content Network?
That's misleading as click fraud can happen anywhere.
That's misleading as click fraud can happen anywhere.
it's impossible to predict how your small slice of this humongous ad channel will perform, you're going to have to try it out.
stick to CPA basis (not CPM) and keep your bids low as you experiment and set your daily budget for safety and you may discover some great traffic sources.
is there fraud, sure. but i since you can use the things G provides to track your roi for content separately, savvy folks move into it and look for opportunities. they are there - and they are often huge.
since people searching are more inclined to buy than someone browsing a content site, start off with bids that are 1/3rd your search bids. you may end up bidding higher than that or lower - impossible to make an absolute thumbrule, but generally start lower than search because of the orientation of the visitor's mindset.
i have had times where i end up raising my content bids above my search bids because the roi was so good. and times when i shut off content completely because it failed to produce a decent return.
so you're going to have to go wading into the water to figure it out for your slice / niche.
#1 my average CPC on the Content Network is $1 less than the search network.
#2 my avg. pos. is about 3-4 positions higher...
#3 obviously my impressions are 10 fold.
#4 certain adgroups that would flourish on pure search network, are slower and slower ones on search network are flourishing on the content network.....
definetly some changes from my 2006 campaign which i stopped on this new year.
my negative keywords are starting to create a higher CTR on search network, becuase i think im not showing up in a bunch of non related searches.
my campaign is a little slow to start on teh search network, but i expected that since i dont have the history of an entire year...
so far, pretty good.
i also put in the conversion tracking into my "thankyou.asp" pages to see if anyone clicks my ads and then actually process a form on my site....only been up for 2 days, so far...nothing....
