Free Training on Placement Targeting and the Google Content Network
Shelley Ellis is an independent AdWords consultant in Dallas, Texas. She was one of the first Definitive Guide customers to send me a testimonial.
Then I started hearing great things about her from a customers I’d coached. After attending the Bobsled Run, a couple of sharp guys (Matt Gillogly and Tim Winders) decided managing their campaigns was too tedious. They hired a couple of consultants who didn’t work out. Then they hired Shelley – and raved about her.
For several years she’s worked closely with several large online ad agencies and with Google to develop Content Network expertise and she delivers it in spades.
Day 1:
Shelley Ellis gives a perspective of the scope and size of the content network, and the different kinds of contexts your ads appear in.
Get Flash to see this player.
Bryan Todd explains the different skill sets required to effectively use the Google Content Network and gives specific advice on how to set up your campaigns.
Get Flash to see this player.
Day 2:
Direct marketers often sneer at branding but here’s an example of a Content Network branding strategy that measurably increases sales:
Get Flash to see this player.
Day 3
A bit of very timely, SEASONAL advice – applies regardless of whether you’re in a “seasonal” business or not!
Get Flash to see this player.
Day 4
How to use the Content Network to preemptively combat competition with a straight-on sales argument:
Get Flash to see this player.
Day 5
The secret power of FEEDBACK in marketing
Days 6-10 to be announced soon! Check back often.
Day 6
“Turn the Corner” Advertising on Google
Today I’m going to give you an example of a real client I worked with, changing the names and details slightly, and use it to demonstrate a powerful truth about Google’s content network.
This company offered a membership site for Yoga instructors. It offered a number of tools that helped people plan and organize their activities.
Almost nobody was ever searching for “Yoga Membership Site” or “Yoga Management” or “Yoga Calendar.” But the Big Theory of the entire business, the Giant Marketing Assumption was:
“If we put this in front of Yoga maniacs, they’ll be all over it like white on rice.”
Now…. whenever you have a great idea that you’re just sure people are going to be rabid about, you should ALWAYS be aware of what your Giant Marketing Assumption is. And you should be wary of it. Especially if you know that not a lot of people are actively looking for it.
So we bid on the word “Yoga” and wrote an ad that said
Free Yoga Planner
Calendar, Instant Reminders,
Tips, Videos & Community Support
www.YogaPlanner.com
Remember: People did not wake up this morning LOOKING for this, but we thought if we put it in front of them, they’d bite.
The company had been planned on an assumption that they could get members on board at an acquisition cost of $20 per head, and then make money selling them stuff.
The very first day of the Google campaigns we got signups at a Cost Per Action of $14.00.
EXCELLENT for day 1 of a campaign.
After a couple weeks of refinements on the SEARCH network, I got that number down to $6.00 per signup.
The client was thrilled.
But I was pretty sure that we were only getting “newbie” yoga fans by bidding on the word yoga. My theory was, the Content Network should work a lot better, and get more mature, more deeply involved people.
Sure enough, the Conversion Rate was HIGHER on the Content Network.
Cost Per Acquisition: $3.00 per signup.
A ROUSING success.
On the Content Network you have greater ability to “interrupt” people with something they had never thought of and would never search for. That’s the magic of the Content Network.
It’s where I’m focusing most of my AdWords energy these days and I think this is a vitally important topic. There are many powerful Content Network skills that Shelley Ellis will be teaching in her Content Network Boot Camp. It starts November 18:
http://www.perrymarshall.com/content-network-boot-camp/
Perry Marshall
Content Network Boot Camp Registration Page
Day 7
You may not be aware of this, but the last 6 months have brought tremendous alterations to Google’s Content Network. But they pale in comparison to what the next 6 months will bring.
(Hint: Google’s acquisition of YouTube for $1.6 Billion a few years ago is really starting to make sense now…)
I’m doing a teleclinic tonight 11/11 at 7pm Central Time with Shelley Ellis to cover these changes – so you can take full advantage and get gratifying quantities of quality visitors to your website:
-A key ingredient missing from most content network text ads – get this wrong and you damage your ad distribution – get it right and you’re one step closer to your ad entering the fabled Google “jetstream” toward large scale exposure
-The future of contextual advertising – where the content network is headed – Shelley will give you the latest on YouTube, Google Product Search, and the Display Ad Builder
Date: Thursday November 11, 2009
Time: 7pm Central / 8pm Eastern / 5pm Pacific
Register here to get the call-in codes:
http://www.perrymarshall.com/teletraining-with-shelley/
Perry Marshall
P.S.: Renaissance Club Members and above (www.perrymarshall.com/club) will get the MP3. All others must be on the live call.
Day 8 is posted at http://www.perrymarshall.com/google-image-ads/
Although I’ve been retired for a number of years, I try to keep up with the latest changes. I use this information to help others just starting out. The information given by Shelley and Bryan will go a long way in this effort. Great content with no hype. This is what most people need to understanding the Google Content Network. Thank you.
Bryan,
In this interview with Jack you emphasized separating Search from Content traffic into different accounts. Did you literally mean accounts, or did you mean different Campaigns within an account?
-al
Different campaigns within an account.
In one of the tele-seminars, Shelley recommends copying over your search campaign to Adwords editor, converting it to a content network campaign and once complete bringing it back over to your Adwords account and launching it.
When I did this, it ended up over-writing my original search campaign. I am currently in discussions with Google in an attempt to recover that original campaign which if unrecoverable will be involve many hours to re-build.
I am sure I misunderstood something from that original tele-seminar – ie. I am not making any accusations. I simply just wanted to point this pit fall out to others so they don’t make my mistake.
Adrian,
If you copy and paste a search campaign in AdWords Editor, you will have two campaigns: 1) your original search campaign and 2) the copied campaign would become your content campaign.
Even if you deleted the original campaign accidentally, you should be able to recover it through your AdWords Interface.
~Shelley
Thanks for the feedback Shelley. What I did was I imported my Search campaign to Editor, converted it to a Content campaign and then exported it back to my Adwords account. This is where I believe I made my error. In doing so, Google simply over-wrote my original search campaign with the content campaign.
What I believe I should have done was to make a COPY of the search campaign once I got it inside editor, made my edits and THEN exported it back to Google. If I had done it this way, Google would have recognized it as a new campaign as opposed to simply an edit of my original campaign.
As far as I can tell, my original campaign is unrecoverable using the interface.
However, I am in the process of reproducing the search campaign using my Google Reports so at least I am not starting completely from scratch.
This was my mistake – a novice one but nonetheless, a mistake that others might make so I wanted to pass it along…
hello,
could i have a downloadable version of the conversations? it just make it easier to listen to them while not necessarily in front of the computer.
thanks
will be up in a few hours
Makes sense, good data. Thanks
I might be anticipating what comes next or getting ahead of myself but I assume that this all relates to PPC on the content network.
What about using the CPM (cost per thousand impressions)- is that differnt again?
CPM and CPC are two different animals, each has pros and cons. Shelley will cover that extensively.
Hi Perry,
What about the ‘hyper responsive’ guys who are not affiliates and have already been slapped for no reason? And no longer have a google account?.. Do we stop with Perry?, or will there be light..?
There are definitely non-affiliates who’ve gotten slapped. Content is better for them, in general. Maybe you can have a partner open a Google account.
I found the information that Shelley Ellis had on the varuous place that one can advertise their websites that I was not aware off.
Kenneth
Hi Perry,
Shelley mentioned that local sites to advertize on as a separate group. How to find those local sites? since they are not related to your keyword and site but your customer might be hanging out at those local sites.
Jack
Jack,
Consider what local information people might be looking for online: restaurant reviews, entertainment, traffic, weather. Real estate, apartment locators and moving companies all have links and pages related to local information. There are also sites that list local resources for CPA’s, manufacturers and suppliers, doctors, etc.
As you research, try different keyword variations/searches for your location (city, metro, neighborhood, etc.)
~Shelley
I am enjoying this talk on Content Network – thanks for this Perry and team!
My hr clients have enjoyed success on the content network specifically in the employment area. It is expensive to be near the top of employment searches on Google (which we do) and next to impossible to appear in regular organic rankings for employment searches. Using the Google content network we can affordably present trackable advertising on top local and national job sites – where people are looking for jobs anyway… Woo Hoo!
For those that have been suspended from Google, but want to continue, Perry is right…Google won’t give you your account back. The only alternative is to open an account in someone else’s name (e.g. spouse). The name on the account needs to be different, obviously, but so does the credit card you use (don’t use the credit card that was used in the suspended account), and the address. There are rumors that Google also tracks IP addresses. So, if you’ve logged into the suspended account with a particular IP address, don’t create a new account from a computer on that same IP address. You either need to get a new IP address from your ISP, or go through a proxy server.
Hope that helps…
Alex
Perry,
Can you give an idea of how you research keywords for the content network? Since it’s based on content and not on actual searches, I’m guessing it’s done a different way. Perhaps for the content network you (almost) always have to choose the sites you´re going to advertise in and simply read the content? (titles probably is already enough at first?)
Peter,
There are several methods for researching keywords and setting up AdGroups in the content network and we will be talking a lot about those over the next few weeks. One way is to think more in terms of topics or headlines and then set up your AdGroups to target those types of pages (headline or main topic = choosing a wedding florist with sub-topics for: silk or real bouquets, bridal bouquet designs, the meanings of flowers, etc.).
~Shelley
Shelly,
A quick question about Google’s geo targeting in the Content network. Say I have products that are only available in the US, I’ve geo-targeted only the US, yet I see relevant sites from the UK, India, etc. that are getting great CTR (unfortunately, I can’t track actual sales as conversions). Are US citizens visiting these UK, Indian sites, or am I losing $ due to Google targeting errors? I’d love to hear your experience re: this.
Al,
I’ve talked to Google about this and what they are telling me is that even though the extension is for another country, the clicks are coming from within the US (if your campaign settings are targeting only the US). For instance, I’m in Texas but I like reading articles on dailymail.co.uk even though it is a uk site.
Thanks Shelly,
By the way, I had an interesting experience that might be of some benefit to other people here. The other week I accidentally ‘paused’ my content network ads for 2.5 hrs (from all I’ve heard, this is a near-fatal move). I was expecting the worst on re-activation, but it didn’t happen. Business as usual!
It may have helped that in the past, as I’d found high-performance sites, I’d moved them to Placement (no change in bid though). Perhaps that was enough for Google to continue on where things left off? I can’t say, & I certainly can’t recommend pausing CN ads, but this result was interesting & encouraging.
Perry,
Feedback marketing,… Ipods? Didn’t Apples success come from the fact that they marketed to trend setters? They managed to make it look cool to walk the street with ear plugs in your head.
To use your analogy of audio feedback. Feedback is very frequency specific. It usually doesn’t do a feedback loop at 40 Hz. (though I’m sure it is actually possible.)
What I’m trying to ask I guess is: Besides volume you also need to hit the right tone (market, style, design, etc.) to get the feedback going. Right?
To get feedback going you need MOST of those things to be *just right.*
This is really nice job. I had an interesting experience that might be of some benefit to other people here.