Cracking the Content Network - Driving Me CRAAAAZY!

[TJ Kazunga]

Hi Warriors

I consider myself fairly experienced with PPC - I usually get good quality scores and a high CTR on my campaigns... BUT...

Recently I've been trying to crack Google's content network and I have failed, MISERABLY!

This is really beginning to bug me... big time!

Either my campaigns get no clicks, or else it costs so damn much!

And yet, people talk about getting cheap clicks on the Content Network. Can anyone recommend the best resource for learning how to develop a good content campaign? Something very practical would be ace...

Or, should I just forget the CN?

Thanks in advance

TJ

[Ron Killian]

I've heard the same thing, some people saying the content network can be good. I'd be curious myself as well. If there are any good ebooks out there? There was suppose to be a Warrior creating one about the content network, but don't think it's come out yet.

[scene4u]

The content network is a tough nut to crack though there are big rewards if you get it right. I have given up trying to crack it.

[TJ Kazunga]

Hmmm - 2 replies and both having difficulty with the CN... not good

Then again, if I was busy making money from the CN why would I want to tell other people how to do it?

Still, anyone have any tips or knows of any good resources?

[Ron Killian]

Originally Posted by TJ Kazunga

Then again, if I was busy making money from the CN why would I want to tell other people how to do it?

I think that's it right there. I wouldn't totally blame them either.

I'll look for the person I mentioned, see if I can find out when it's coming out, or not and let you know if you want.

[The Redfox]

The content network is definitely more expensive than it used to be; but still cheaper than search.
One of the keys to the content network is to know that google does not actually look at the individual keywords in your campaign; but rather the overall theme of your campaign. So, your adgroups will tend to focus on more generic terms (as opposed to long tail keywords that usually work well on search).

So make sure your search campaigns are totally separate from your content campaigns.

[ebuyer123]

Make it 50 kws/ad group as this is the optimum minimum number of kws that the Google Content Network's (GCN) robot needed to 'read' in order to understand the theme of your adgroup.

As GCN is "kw theme" base, long/short tail kw will not be the biggest issue for your GCN campaigns. Laser targeted kw is not needed.

For example, if you are selling mobile phone, your ad groups might look like this:

Ad Group#1: nokio mobile phone, nokia model 3300, buy nokia model 6600,...etc. nokia mobile phone related kws.

Ad Group#2: sony mobile phone, sony model 1000, buy used sony mobilephone...etc. sony mobile phone releated kws


....then....the G will display your ads of adgroup#1 on Adsense websites which targeted 'Nokia mobile phone' kws & phrases.

Hope that help...

By the way I am making *quite* a money from GCN. Therefore, I know what I am doing is heading to the right direction, mate...

ebuyer123

[steve20092009]

hahahaha never mind the content for now i have a hard enough time trying to spark up a profitable keyword campaign

i see adwords has an "access" option, i am almost tempted to pay someone
to come poke around my account and make adjustments.

[TJ Kazunga]

I think that's it right there. I wouldn't totally blame them either.

I'll look for the person I mentioned, see if I can find out when it's coming out, or not and let you know if you want.

Hi Ron
I would appreciate that... Thanks

By the way I am making *quite* a money from GCN. Therefore, I know what I am doing is heading to the right direction, mate...

ebuyer123

ebuyer123, thanks for the tips. Thing is, I do use those techniques, and more but still no joy. How do you compare the CN to Google search? Do you do both?
Thanks

[ebuyer123]

Hi,

I have a FIGHT in hand now. Some folks is stealing my homepage. What should I do now? Any advice?

Here is the details: Need HELP..! My Webpage is being Hijacked.!

Thanks

[Ron Killian]

Originally Posted by ebuyer123

By the way I am making *quite* a money from GCN. Therefore, I know what I am doing is heading to the right direction, mate...

ebuyer123

Maybe we need to persuade you to share more on the subject

[Ron Killian]

Originally Posted by TJ Kazunga

Hi Ron
I would appreciate that... Thanks

Waiting for reply, will let you know.

[imventures]

I think a big key to the content network is tracking and weeding out sites that don't convert. You can also target your ads to particular pages of sites.

[ebuyer123]

About GCN; not an affliate link & it's free to download I believe: www contentbully com

By the way, knowledge is not enough. You need knowledge + tactic + system.
Most of the time ebooks give you the knowledge and theory of a system. Then you really need to 'get your hand dirty' so that to gain the real tactics.

For example, one of my good successes was using GCN with yellow pages online for promoting a certain types of CB products. Most of the time you will loss your shirt if you are using GCN on the the MAIN/HOMEPAGE of a SUPER HIGH TRAFFIC Site.

To sum it up: all you need is "VOLUME" + "CHEAP Clicks" = "HIGH ROI" at 90% autopilot.
High ROI means $1 spent and make $3-$4.

Now, you may ask what is a "BIG VOLUME"? To me VOLUME has two variables i.e. "Numbers of Campaign" and the "Traffic". If you can't make $100/day from one campaign, then why don't you just run 10 campaigns at any one time and make $10/campaign in average?

There is also a big story about the SIZE of your campaigns for people with a limited funding available.

Continue next time when I am here again, folks. Meanwhile, good luck to all of us

ebuyer123

[ppclabs]

The content network can be far more profitable than search. Don't think that just because you can't get a search campaign to work that there is no chance of getting a content campaign to work. I have run MASSIVE campaigns on the content network that could never run profitably on search.

There is no magic number of keywords for your ad groups. I've seen ad groups take off with anywhere from 5-50 keywords. I would suggest trying a wide variety within that range. Use the google keyword tool to help you develop your ad groups.

Try at least 4 ads for a new campaign. Use different words in the ads, not just small changes like punctuation. Google is doing a 3-way match to place your ads on the network, so different words in the ad can help you to get placement on different pages.

Try placement targeting, but realize that some sites will require bids of up to 4x a standard bid rate in order to get placement. I have seen conversion rates on the best sites at 10x what the conversion rates are on the worst sites. Sites are like keywords, some are golden and others are junk.

[ebuyer123]

I used to make $100-150/day almost everyday from targeting one adsense webpage until the site owner removed all adsense ad placements from his website. My daily CPM was between $15-25. The only secret here is 'How did I find this sort of gold mined adsense website?'...

ebuyer123

[CraigJones]

Originally Posted by TJ Kazunga

Hi Warriors

I consider myself fairly experienced with PPC - I usually get good quality scores and a high CTR on my campaigns... BUT...

Recently I've been trying to crack Google's content network and I have failed, MISERABLY!

This is really beginning to bug me... big time!

Either my campaigns get no clicks, or else it costs so damn much!

And yet, people talk about getting cheap clicks on the Content Network. Can anyone recommend the best resource for learning how to develop a good content campaign? Something very practical would be ace...

Or, should I just forget the CN?

Thanks in advance

TJ

Go take a look at: My Google Tool .com

Adam has assembled a $127 video course that deals specifically with Googles Content Network and how to generate low cost leads.

[Lucid]

> The content network is definitely more expensive than it used to be; but still cheaper than search.

I don't know if it's more expensive. I haven't run the numbers.

As for cheaper, on an actual CPC basis, I'm looking at numbers now. I'm surprised but yes, 90% of campaigns show a lower CPC on CN. However, it may just be because of bidding lower and other factors, I didn't go into details.

On the flip side, conversions are consistently lower. And at times dramatically lower. But again, it depends on your campaign. Most of the data I'm looking at are before I managed a client's campaign and they didn't know what they were doing. There are just a couple of exemptions.


> One of the keys to the content network is to know that google does not actually look at the individual keywords in your campaign; but rather the overall theme of your campaign.

I have heard that too and believe it is essentially correct.


> So make sure your search campaigns are totally separate from your content campaigns.

Totally agree.

I usually avoid the content network. I use it for only a handful of clients. I know of some who only use the CN.

My strategy is to first get the search network going and making a profit. Never start a new campaign using both the search and content networks.

If I use the CN, I first research which sites related to the offer that display Adwords. Create a separate campaign to target the CN but not the SN. Then, specify which sites you want your ads to show on. Treat the sites as if they were keywords and remove those that don't perform. Continue researching sites and add.

Letting Adwords choose the sites using your keyword is not a good idea in my opinion. They seem to simply check an Adsense site for occurances of your keywords. Just yesterday while doing research, I saw an ad for a local college. As I recall, one course they offer is for pharmacy technicians as I think the ad mentioned that. The page however only mentioned a few times the word pharmacy. Of course, the college is also probably not doing Adwords correctly and probably using only that one-word keyword, which is a no-no in my book.

I've lately done a CN campaign and used only phrase and exact match types. It doesn't appear to make a difference although logically and intuitively, I would not use broad matches. Another thing I heard is only the first 20 or 30 keywords are needed and Google won't look beyond that number to establish your theme. That would mean too that negative keywords have no effect. I've tried negatives and it doesn't appear to have an effect.


> How do you compare the CN to Google search?

You can't really compare in my mind. Ads on CN are not targeted so you will definetely get lower CTR. My goal is 0.1%, one in 1000. If I get that, I'm usually happy but I've gotten more than 1% consistently in some cases.

As I do more CN campaigns, I'm learning more. One thing is when you target a site, create a campaign specifically for that site. Target individual pages and create a campaign for that page. In effect, grouping your CN ads.

One thing I tried once that Google didn't like was mention the site's name in the ad. The site was selling shoes and the client selling clothes. The ad was something like

Got the Shoes?
Buy the shoes at XYZ.
Now come buy the dress at ABC.

I thought it was a clever idea but the ad was rejected.

I've heard too that banners sometimes do better than text ads. Something to keep in mind. I would create a separate CN campaign for banners and not lump them with your text ads.

Also, just because an ad works well in search, doesn't mean it will work equally well in the content. You have to test separately.

I'm very good at search but still need to figure out the CN a bit more. I'm getting there.

[RonHamernik]

Google "Placement Locator." There are free tools, so no need to pay for this.

Use a locator to select sites where your ad will receive an impression above the fold.

Use banner ads, so upload all of the most common dimensions and Google will automatically select the appropriate ad.

Do not let Google choose where your ads will run. Select the placement.

Regards,

[scdayton]

Originally Posted by CraigJones

Go take a look at: My Google Tool .com

Adam has assembled a $127 video course that deals specifically with Googles Content Network and how to generate low cost leads.

Hey Craig,

Have you used Adam's MyGoogleTool course and if so can you provide some feedback?

Does he go into Placement Targeting?

Can his techniques be used to promote CPA offers?

Active forum/membership and quick response by Adam if we want some personal attention?

Thanks,

Stephen

[Hyaku_Man]

The CTR is always way lower on Content Network.

As for the cost per click, being creative with your keyword research and targeting a f*ckload of related keywords for ininitial testing seems to work well. Because you can get a ton of impressions quickly for testing, then toss out the non-performing kw's and leave only the high ctr ones. Then when your CTR goes up you can lower your bids.