JumpFly Blog: AdWords, Yahoo & Microsoft Advertising

Google just launched the new beta version of the Display Ad Builder Tool. This very cool new tool allows you to create and customize image, animated and Flash ads for the Google AdWords Content Network.

To access this new tool, simply go to your content campaign. You do have separate campaigns for content don’t you? Then click the “Ad Variations” tab. Next to “Create new ad:” you will find the usual selections of: Text ad, Image ad, Local business ad, Mobile ad, Click-to-play video ad and the new Display Ad Builder. You really can’t miss it since it has NEW! in large red letters right next to it.

Once inside the Display Ad Builder Tool you will find dozens of unique animated templates to use as your starting point. There are several pre-designed ad formats based on different industries like; travel, finance, automotive, ecommerce, etc. These all make excellent starting points for your new display ad, and Google promises to be releasing many more as the feature moves out of beta.

After you pick your new template you will be taken to the page that allows you to customize the ad with all of your own information. There are text fields for headlines and descriptions, and you can easily change the font colors if you wish. As you proceed, there is a button labeled “update preview” located underneath the ad, and you will want to periodically click this button to see the results of your modifications.

Tip* Depending on the template, you may need to have some custom logos and product images available. If your logo’s file size is too large, you may need to reduce it to the maximum size shown. Usually this is about 50k. If this seems too daunting of a task, simply choose one of the other templates that does not display a logo. There are plenty to choose from.

So, you have customized your new display ad. The next step is to click “Continue” located at the bottom of the page.

You are now on the preview and ad variations page. As you will see, the Display Ad Builder Tool automatically generates your new ad into several of the common sizes including medium and large rectangles, leader boards, as well as the popular skyscraper formats. Different templates are automatically converted to different sizes, so depending on the template you have chosen, you may or may not see all of the formats mentioned.

If something doesn’t look correct, you will want to click back and adjust as needed. If it looks good, click “save ad” and you now have impressive new animated display ads running in your content campaign.

Many AdSense websites do not have layouts that accommodate these display ad formats, so you will always want to have text ad versions available in your campaign. I have found that in some of the AdWords accounts that I manage, display ads perform very well with higher CTRs than the text ads. In some of my accounts they simply do not see enough volume. Give the Display Ad Builder a try and see how it works for you. You may want to monitor results using Placement Performance Reports.

Creating Google AdWords Content Network Campaigns requires a unique strategy and keyword list. Contact a qualified PPC Account Manager to discuss your content campaign.

I would like to use today’s blog to highlight what I have witnessed to be the most hazardous mistake made by new PPC advertisers, and that is disregard for Content Match. Content Matching is a PPC advertising option that places paid listings on web pages containing “relevant” content, rather than within search engine results. When properly managed, I have seen Content Match prove tremendously successful, but when ignored, this feature can destroy an account’s results, and tragically lead an advertiser to falsely conclude that PPC advertising did not work for their business.

One critical thing for PPC advertisers to know is that Content Match is launched automatically in new accounts established at Google AdWords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter. If this feature is not manually turned off, the advertiser’s ads will run on the Content Network with the same bids set for search. This can result in the majority of an advertiser’s budget unintentionally getting spent on Content Match.

For those seeking to test Content Match, there are several critical measures I would strongly suggest:

1. Create an Isolated Content Campaign
2. Run the Placement Report periodically to make sure there are not any
under-performing or inappropriate sites & make necessary adjustments.
3. Test strategies separate from search - the keywords and ad copy appropriate for a content campaign can be very different than that of a search campaign.
4. Do not use the KeyWord Insertion Tool in Content Campaign Ads.

Based on the hundreds of campaigns that I have reviewed at JumpFly, I have determined that Content Matching requires isolation and special attention for maximized results. Reduced conversion rates and lower CTRs should be expected. Therefore, decreased bids are generally required to maintain a cost per conversion similar to that achieved from search results. Finally, when used properly, Content Matching can be a powerful tool for branding, as it often provides a large number of impressions and significant exposure.

Looking for some additional PPC traffic, but not sure where to go to get it?  It really is time to try a Google Content campaign if you haven’t done so yet.  Even if you’ve tried it historically and it didn’t work, it really is worth taking another look.  I’ve started several new Google Content campaigns for my clients over the last few months and each one has delivered solid conversions.

We had really stayed away from Google Content for quite some time due to lack of performance, lack of control over which sites your ads show on, which sites you could block, etc.  But now with all the new controls in place, with Google seeming to have placed a greater emphasis on bringing in some quality sites to the Google Content Network,  it’s time for you to give it a good go.

Here’s a method I’ve used that has worked surprisingly well for me.  I look historically across all my current Google ad groups for a client, copy only those ad groups and keywords that prove to be solid performers, then put them in their own separate Google Content campaign.  I usually cut the bids approximately in half, put a tight cap on the budget to start off with, then let it fly.

May sound simplistic, but I know it works because I’ve seen the results with my clients time and time again.  Give it try in your Google AdWords accounts.  You may be pleasantly surprised at the new customer base you find.