AdWords Remarketing For Content Network

[engine]

AdWords Remarketing For Content Network [adwords.blogspot.com]

We opened a trial of remarketing last March as part of our interest-based advertising beta. We’ve received a tremendous response from the hundreds of advertisers who’ve been using it in recent months, across all industries - including automotive, retail, local and finance. We’ve seen that remarketing has worked well for many different kinds of advertisers - whether they’re looking to boost brand awareness, or drive clicks and sales, and whether they use display or text ads. For example, if you’re a search advertiser, you can use remarketing to create an integrated campaign strategy. After driving traffic to your site with search ads, you can then remarket to those users who reach your site by showing them tailored ads on sites throughout the Google Content Network.

You can easily set up and create a remarketing campaign through the new “Audiences” tab in AdWords. A remarketing campaign allows you to take advantage of the same features and reports you can use today in AdWords - it’s just a new way to reach the best audience for your ad.

Here’s an example of how it works. Let’s say you’re a basketball team with tickets that you want to sell. You can put a piece of code on the tickets page of your website, which will let you later show relevant ticket ads (such as last minute discounts) to everyone who has visited that page, as they subsequently browse sites in the Google Content Network. In addition to your own site, you can also remarket to users who visited your YouTube brand channel or clicked your YouTube homepage ad.

[wheel]

I'm confused. Isn't this just arbitrage?

[piatkow]

"Its arbitrage Jim but not as we know it"

to everyone who has visited that page, as they subsequently browse sites in the Google Content Network

What I am reading here is that if somebody clicks on a "remarketer's" ad then visits my site, then Google will display ads on the remarketer's Adsense account not on mine. Either somebody at G needs to take lessons in writing English or there is something seriously wrong here. I really do hope that it is the former.

[jonathanleger]

It sounds to me like this: Somebody clicks-through an AdWords ad and lands on an advertisers page where the advertiser has put the remarketers code.

The users decides they don't like it for whatever reason and they click BACK to go back to Google's search results and click on an organic listing (not an AdWords ad). If the organic result is displaying AdSense on their page, the visitor may be shown the same ad in the AdSense block that they originally clicked on.

Sounds like a good idea based on the theory that it takes 7 times of seeing an offer before most people will buy.

[vik_c]

This is almost like stalking users. A user who's been searching for a niche product is going to find it rather odd when ads for 'Green round widgets' show up everywhere s/he goes.

[Zamboni]

I think that's pretty much it Jonathan, I can't find any information on how long the remarketer code/cookie lasts, it could be quite awhile.

[jecasc]

Looks just like the kind of stuff EU privacy advocates would be going after.

[Alcoholico]

It seems to me that finally google has found a way which advertisers can't complain about to profit themselves (even more) from arbitrage. Website visitors privacy? Who cares about them?, they don't pay google's bills.

[blend27]

Looks just like the kind of when it was your content and it was KING back in the day.

signed: GORG(hi all)

[buckworks]

information on how long the remarketer code/cookie lasts

The length of the cookie is under the control of the advertiser.

What I am reading here is that if somebody clicks on a "remarketer's" ad then visits my site, then Google will display ads on the remarketer's Adsense account not on mine.

This is not accurate.

AdSense publishers get paid the same as always when a user clicks an ad on one of their pages.

The new thing here is that the advertiser has a new tool for targeting the user. As always, the more skillfully the advertiser uses their tools, the more productive the ads will be, which is win-win for both advertiser and publisher.

[freejung]

Would the publisher site need to have "interest-based ads" turned on in order for this to work?

[poster_boy]

Before giving Google too much credit (or blame)...

"As Google has been beefing up its display offering, this step seems kind of like catch-up — Yahoo!, Advertising.com and numerous other networks have offered retargeting for years."

Adotas [adotas.com]

[Hugene]

Shouldn't this be a default, because it seems like just another wording for "interest-based ads". I don't see why advertisers need an extra piece of code on their site; G could already know if someone visited their site (if it came through the G network).

[robdwoods]

Hi all,

This sounds like pretty standard retargeting. If I have the retargeting code on my site it drops a cookie on the user which, when they visit other related sites ensures that my ad shows to those users. My ad might show anyway but it sounds as though this ensures that it shows for those users who have been on my site previously. I use a similar service for display ads. If a user visits my site, then visits another site showing ads from that network, they see my display ad. My ad doesn't show for all users on that other site, only ones who have been on my site previously.

[buckworks]

I don't see why advertisers need an extra piece of code on their site; G could already know if someone visited their site

There's more to it than that.

The tracking codes can be a lot more specific than just the fact that a user visited your site. You can create different tracking codes for different sections of your site or even individual pages, then set up remarketing lists to show different ads to different users.

For example, you could put separate tracking code on your blue widgets page and your purple widgets page, then show the blue widgets visitors followup ads about blue widgets, and the purple widgets visitors ads about purple widgets.

Or you might prefer do it the other way around, and show the blue widgets visitors ads about your purple widgets, because you know they already know about your blue widgets.

----------------

One very productive group to target is users who abandoned their shopping carts. Here's how:

Create separate tracking codes for your shopping cart page and your thank you page. Then set up a combination list that INcludes users who put something in their carts but EXcludes all those who actually completed a purchase. The resulting list will consist of users who have a stronger than average interest in your products but left without buying something.

Keep in mind that your remarketing ads will have to compete in the auction along with everyone else's regular ads for whatever impressions they get. It takes good ads and careful targeting to make this productive.

Keep a light hand about it all. It could backfire in more than one way if you overdo things and show too many ads to the same user. Your CTR will to go down, which would make your ads less competitive, and you also risk annoying the user.

Set your frequency caps to aim for "gentle reminders", not "stalk the user".

[ddogg]

This is an extremely cool feature. If you are confused read up on Google's help page.

[rustyzipper]

Does anyone understand how audiences interact with content network?

According to the help, it takes the bids from Placements first, then from audiences.

In campaign settings, you can choose:
1. Relevant pages across the entire network
2. Relevant pages only on the placements and audiences I manage

If you choose #2 this implies that it is limiting your ads to Managed Placements only.

When I have select #1 my impressions were WAY too high for my placements and very low for my remarketing audiences. My impression in reviewing my data is that with this setting, my ads are being shown outside my target audience.

Has anyone figured this out? I called support twice with questions related to these settings and how placements interact with audiences and am waiting for an email back with an explanation.

The help files are confusing & from my experience calling support it sounds like their front line support people are not trained on remarketing.

If anyone here can provide a good run down for everyone, that would be great!

Thanks!

[cline]

Warning Adwords Editor Users:

I've tried the Audiences feature. If it is enabled in a campaign, Adwords Editor no longer works for that campaign. I've contacted Adwords Support and they've confirmed the bug (Adwords insiders can look up [#634231634] ).

[netmeg]

Thanks for the heads up; I was getting ready to give that a try, but I will hold off till they fix the bug. I'd be lost without AdWords Editor access.