View Posts by Google AdWords has become the leader in pay-per-click advertising over the past few years, and has changed the way advertisers do business online.
However, traditional display advertising remains strong, and Google’s Content Network gives advertisers a much more affordable option outside of the traditional pay-per-impressions format that people used to have to deal with.
Lets explore.
In the past, advertisers in the display field were pretty much stuck with paying per thousand impressions (1 impression=your ad is displayed once), usually at an extremely high rate, in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. This limited display advertising online to the big players, or those that could afford it. The local supermarket, hobby shop, or pet food store was pretty much unable to compete at this level. In short, it wasn't the most convenient thing to get into even if you had the money! Worst – while you paid the money you didn't know the value it brought you.
Then along came Google AdSense. This system allowed web site owners to monetize their site by displaying ads relevant to the content on their pages, and make a bit of money by doing so. They would do this by agreeing to show Google Adwords users ads on their own website.
For example, you own a site that sells pet toys. Google would read the page and judge what the content was about, and then begin showing ads about pet toys, pet food, veterinarians, or breeders. Advertisers were more confident in the knowledge they would be advertising to people they were after for sales or leads, and not just the public at large.
Using AdWords, advertisers can also now engage in ad types beyond the standard text ads served up by Google. Banners, Flash animation, and video ads are all options on the Google AdSense network through an AdWords account.
And the best part of it all? You, as the advertiser, can select how you wish to pay. Only want to pay when your ad is clicked? You can do that! Want to go the traditional route and pay per thousand impressions? You can do that, too!
But that’s not all. You get to select the price you are willing to or want to pay. Want to pay $5.00 per thousand impressions, $1.50 per click, or test both? Go crazy – it’s all possible!
The downside to this, as you might imagine, is that the lower your bid price, the fewer impressions you may receive, especially if you are in a highly competitive industry. You could correct that by increasing your total number of keywords in order to increase your chances for impressions. If you are in an industry with a low level of competition, then lower prices may mean a much cheaper advertising campaign, and you are a leader in your industry, appearing as much as you would like!
One other option in Google AdWords 'content network' advertising is called placement targeting. And while it’s a bit more expensive than the aforementioned methods, it is still more affordable than traditional display advertising. In this method, advertisers choose from a list of websites within the Google AdSense network, categorized by themes or subject matter relevant to their product. The advertiser then selects what sites they wish to appear on, and bid for placements within certain ad frames on the site itself.
As usual, there is a downside, though not a major one. This time, you are only limited by the number of sites within the network as Google approves and lists those sites it deems good enough to be a part of the placement targeted option in AdWords Content Network advertising.
The traditional online advertising methods are constantly changing, as is the pay-per-click model. Those wishing to build a brand or increase awareness of their product or service, all while on a limited budget, should look in to Google AdWords. Hey, it is even a service that TechWyse just happens to manage. 
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4 Responses to “Posting Display Ads On Google Network?”
When Google launched AdWords in the year 2000 it really revolutionized the online advertising industry. It is with the advent of AdWords that SEM became a very effective marketing tool. Marketers enjoyed wider reach, better targeted advertising and greater ROI. And Google has come up with tweaks so often which have made AdWords the preferred program for the online advertiser.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Google has penetrated into all forms of online advertising, but display is the one they’re weaker compared to their competitors. It’ll be interesting to see if they make progress here, as in their PPC ads where Google enjoys a wide lead over its competitors, or will fail like they have in some other areas outside of their core service offerings (auctioning print ads). I have no doubt they can get some advertisers on board.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
AdWords for sure is a wonderful program for online advertisers. But often the advertisers make the mistake of thinking that Google’s search network and Google’s content network are the same while in reality, the two are very different. Thus a content network campaign should be set up separately from a search network campaign.
November 30th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Adwords places a lot of choices to online advertisers, and this reasons of its status as an effective SEM marketing option. All the more even limited budget marketers can find their choices there. Agreed Matt, online advertising scene is slowly changing thanks to adwords and also increasing competition and mainstream adaptation of the Internet.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:17 am