6 tips to optimize for the content network

A week ago, we let you know that we'd launched content bids, giving you the control to set one bid for ads running on search sites and a separate bid for ads running on content sites. Now, we'd like to share a few tips to help you get the most out of your content-targeted campaigns.

1) Group Your Ads by Theme - The AdWords system looks at the overall theme of this Ad Groups to determine if your ad relates to a particular content site. That's why each Ad Group should focus on a specific theme and a specific audience.

2) Match Keywords to Ads - Each Ad Group should contain a cluster of keywords which are related to one another but which provide variations within the theme. For example, if you're advertising soccer cleats, you may also want to include soccer shoes, but you wouldn't want to include soccer jerseys. The closer the relationship, and the more precise the variations, the more likely it is that your ad will find the right audience.

3) Stay on Message - Write sharp, compelling ad text that reflects your keyword list.

4) Know Thy Customer - Different advertisers have different audiences. Use negative keywords or site exclusion to ensure that your ads reach the users you want.

5) Embrace the Data - Track your performance with our free conversion tracking tool or by adding URL parameters to your keywords.

6) Test. Test. Test Again - Performance improves when you test and make changes based on your ads' results. Use data to drive your decisions and get the most out of the content network.

By the way, if some of these tips seem strangely familiar it may be because you recall our Google turns 7 post from back in September. While today we've mentioned these as tips for effective content targeting, in truth all of these tips could be called "best practices" for targeting your ads for search as well. Give them a try and see if they'll help your ads deliver better results.

Posted by Sarah, Inside AdWords crew