Follow-up on the Content Network performance trends white paper

Last week, we released a study on performance trends on Google's Content Network. The study compared the cost per acquisition (CPA) on Google's Content and Search Networks and found that, for the median advertiser, the average CPAs were about the same on both channels. Since the release of the white paper, we've received some questions from our advertisers about why CPAs were similar and what actions you should take based on the findings in the white paper. We are addressing these questions in this post, and to better reflect the insights from the detailed analysis, we've made some clarifications to the executive summary and concluding paragraph of the white paper.

As the white paper indicates, the primary reason for similar cost-per-acquisition on the content and search networks is a result of our smart pricing system. Smart pricing is a feature that automatically reduces the price advertisers pay for clicks if our data shows that a click from a Content Network page is less likely to result in a conversion. This means that if our smart pricing system predicts a particular Content Network page is likely to have a low conversion rate, we will automatically reduce the price advertisers pay for that click. As the white paper indicates, the conversion rate on the Content Network sample was 27.9% lower than on the Search Network but this was offset by the fact that CPCs on content are 28.4% lower than search.

In terms of what actions you should take based on the findings in the white paper, we recommend you:
  • Consider complementing your search campaigns with campaigns on the Content Network, if you haven't done so already. Remember that success on the Content Network starts with good campaign structure, so please refer to our optimization tips when setting up your campaigns.
  • Use the new tools we offer for content optimization such as the Conversion Optimizer, Placement Performance Reports, and the Site and Category Exclusion tool. They can help you further tailor your Content Network performance to meet your advertising goals.
Of course, it's important to recognize that performance can vary from advertiser to advertiser, both in terms of CPA as well as conversion volume.

The report describes the experiences of those advertisers who adopted tools such as the Conversion Optimizer and Placement Performance Reports and continued to use them. We think that the evidence is strong that these tools have been useful to these advertisers.

We believe that search is still the most effective advertising medium for providing a strong base of conversions. At the same time, the Content Network can be a cost-effective way to gain additional conversions beyond those you get via search.

A Google white paper: Content Network performance trends

Many of our advertisers show their AdWords ads on the Google content network to reach potential customers as they spend time across the web.

How effective is the Content Network for these advertisers? We wanted to find out, so we looked at performance metrics for advertisers who show their ads on both the Google search and content networks.

Our findings, captured in the white paper, CPA Performance Trends On the Google Content Network, show that ads on the Content Network are likely to be as cost-effective as ads on the search network. In fact, we found that the median advertiser showing their ads on both the search and content networks has a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) that's about 2% lower on the Content Network than on search pages, with the Content Network driving close to 20% of their total conversions.

In the analysis, we looked at thousands of AdWords campaigns and many geographic regions. We also analyzed how conversion rates improve for advertisers using campaign management tools such as the Conversion Optimizer and site exclusion.

These findings show there's a substantial opportunity for advertisers who complement their search marketing campaigns with ads on the Content Network. To learn more about advertising effectively on the Google Content Network, we recommend you review our Content Network optimization tips.

You can read the full white paper here. We hope it helps shed light on the potential to meet your performance goals when advertising on the Google Content Network.

Display ad builder contest winners

We're happy to announce the winners of our display ad builder contest, where we challenged advertisers to use their creativity and innovation to create compelling new display ad builder ads. The top five entries stood out for their choices of template, ad copy, use of images, and overall creativity.

First place: Wilshire Grand Hotel in Los Angeles, whose display ads have helped them significantly increase online reservations.


Second place: ResortQuest.com, whose ads received a low cost per conversion compared to other ads in the ad group.


Third place: TripRes.com, who used text-only display ad builder ads to achieve a lower cost per conversion compared to text ads in the same ad group.


Honorable Mentions: Printglobe.com, a promotional products company, and the tea company, Teavana.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who participated!

We also invite you to learn more about display ad builder, and how you can build your own great ads that will reach your customers in new ways. Or, if you use Twitter, you can follow @GoogleAdBuilder to ask questions and get the latest display ad builder updates.

New templates for coupon display ads, as used by Razorfish

We now have two new display ad templates available which allow you to easily create online coupons to run on sites across the Google content network. You can probably guess why coupon-based promotions might be especially effective these days, and display ads allow you to add in eye-catching ad copy, coupon codes, and customized color schemes that wouldn't be possible with simple text ads.

Razorfish, a top digital advertising agency, has begun to use templates for coupon-based promotions for a major national retailer in the U.S. Danny Huynh, Associate Search Director at Razorfish, has this to say about the tool: "We see the display ad builder as a great creative sandbox, allowing us to us to quickly test and iterate with new ad formats and capabilities that simple text ads can't offer. The coupon templates in particular are allowing us to bring the messages from our customers' offline circulars, to the online world, at scale with Google's content network. We're planning to test display ad builder templates on an ongoing basis."

Each of our new templates has a prominent slot for featuring a price or a discount, e.g., "20% off," and has extra room for coupon codes. As with any of our other templates, you can easily edit your ads on an ongoing basis to change the discount level, prices and any other customizable aspect. Just remember that any edits will need to reviewed by an AdWords specialist, and may take 2-4 business days to take effect. Here's an example of the new templates, which come in several sizes:


To access these new templates, log in to your AdWords account and choose the "Display ad builder" ad format option within any ad group. Then, choose the "Retail" category to find the coupon templates. This video can also show you how to access the feature.

A display ad builder contest reminder

Happy St. Patrick's Day. We recently announced a contest for the AdWords display ad builder. We've received some great entries, and with the deadline of March 24th coming up soon, we wanted to remind you to enter. Just fill out the form with your basic account and contact information, and we'll evaluate entries and choose winners based on creativity and innovative uses of the tool. For example, let us know if you've used the tool to create a great St. Patty's Day ad using our holiday template, or if you've used it to provide coupons to your customers to get them to visit your site. The top five entries win up to $1000 in AdWords credits, so get your entry in soon. This contest is only open to anyone in the U.S. with an AdWords account.

St. Patrick's day display ad templates now available

If you're looking to add a bit of luck to an upcoming campaign, you might want to try out one of our two new St. Patrick's Day display ad templates, which are available in the "Seasonal" category of the display ad builder. We're excited to offer template ads for another holiday, after debuting the feature with Valentine's Day and President's Day in the U.S.

To show you these templates and how you can use them, we have a short tutorial video:





To access the display ad builder, log in to your AdWords account, and choose the "Display ad builder" ad format option within any ad group. This video can also show you how to access the feature.

New how-to videos for the AdWords display ad builder

We've created four new videos to help you complete the most important and useful tasks with the display ad builder. Combined with the two videos we already had, the new videos help us cover a broader range of topics. Our library now addresses all of hte following issues, arranged by the order in which they'll arise:


If you're looking to get started with the display ad builder for the first time, you may find the first video on this playlist to be particularly useful:



Check out the individual videos above or go here to bookmark the playlist of all these videos.

To get started now, log into your AdWords account.

Valentine's Day & President's Day ad templates now available

Last week, we gave you a sneak preview of our seasonal display ad templates for Valentine's Day and President's Day. We're excited to let you know that these new templates are now available for you to use in your campaigns -- just visit the "Seasonal" section of the Display Ad Builder gallery in AdWords to get started.

We're always interested in your feedback and ideas for more template themes, so let us know if you're looking for something special. One of our advertisers, Jason Barnes of Superb Internet Corporation, helped us come up with the idea for easier, more timely display ad promotions. Jason and his team wanted a way to bring more relevancy to display ads, without the cost or lead time it would otherwise require, so he got in touch with us. Here's what Jason had to say:
Using Google's display ad builder is just a smoother process. Say we wanted to do a one-day holiday sale of 50% off, and the rest of the week, 30% off. That can be a hassle with standard image ad directories, but with the Display Ad Builder, we can easily swap in text if we have an image. It's a great time saver, and we'll definitely continue to use it that way.
You can adopt Jason's strategy of making quick text changes to your image ads in the Display Ad Builder, whether or not you decide to use one of our new seasonal templates.

If you're new to Display Ads, you can get started by clicking "Display Ad Builder" on the "Create an ad page" within a new or existing campaign. To learn more about creating and running display ads, visit our Display Ads 101 tutorial site.

New seasonal templates for display ad builder: coming soon!

Celebrate Valentine's Day and President's Day with ad templates dressed up specially for the occasions. In a few days, we'll offer seven new templates in the display ad builder -- each with elements and animations designed for the upcoming holidays. Seasonal templates are a fun, effective way to make your message more relevant to customers, no matter what you're advertising.

As a sneak preview, we've included some screenshots of a few upcoming templates. Keep in mind that customization options for each template will vary, so we encourage you to check out all the options once you're ready to create your ads.

(Click screenshots to enlarge the images.)

The new holiday templates will be offered in all of the display ad builder's 13 languages. We'll update the blog once the holiday templates are available to you.

Build your own display ads in minutes

Today we released the AdWords display ad builder, which lets you create professional-looking display ads in AdWords without needing to hire a designer or start from scratch. If you've wanted to expand beyond your text ad campaigns, or if you've been looking for an easier way to build display ads, this tool can help.

This new tool lets you create customized display ads with your own text, images, and logo. You can also change colors and backgrounds. The tool can create ads to fit all possible placements across the Google content network, including video and game placements. The display ad builder is available now to all advertisers in the U.S. and Canada.

We've also put together a short video demonstrating how to create your first ad:



And for a more detailed look you can watch a longer tutorial.

To start creating your ads, click Display Ad Builder on the Create an ad page within a new or existing campaign in your AdWords account. If you want to learn more about creating and running display ads, visit the new Display Ads 101 tutorial. As we continue adding new templates and features to the tool, we're want your feedback. Please let us know what would make the display ad builder better for you.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew