September 26, 2006 Comments
|
|
There's been a lot of talk about click fraud again in the last week or two, including some major articles in some mainstream media sources. While most of it rehashed many of the same old issues that we've been hearing about for years (how much click fraud is there and what can we do about it?) one post that showed up late last week at the Marketing Shift blog is worth reading...especially if you are a small business owner operating your AdWords campaigns on a limited budget.
Marketing Shift's Evan Roberts takes the time to explain that Google's AdWords ads can run on partner sites via the "content network" or a "search network." Basically, these networks allow other sites to take Google's AdWords ads, run them on their site and earn a portion of the profit whenever someone clicks on the ad. Now many small business owners are well aware that allowing their ads to run unchecked on the "content network" can lead to higher rates of click fraud and to lower campaign ROIs.
With that in mind, many small business owners do not know that Google "search network" includes more than just a few search engines.
As Evan points out:
The content network is any advertiser that has AdSense on his or her site as a potential spot for your ad. So whether it's Uncle Willie's vacation blog or that MySpace layout site that is covered with Google AdSense, your ad can show up. These are lumped into one pile and the relevancy between the content and your keywords is supposed to determine if your ads are shown on that person's site. While the search network is supposedly made up of Google's partner search engines, such as AOL, MyWay, DogPile etc. They do not disclose this info so you are either all in the search network or your ads only appear on Google.com's SERPs.
This is where the dilemma lies. Google for some reason is secretive about who its search partners are and where your ads will be shown. The reason why brings me back to my friend.
Mr. B sent me some examples, some data which really surprised me. Referral information to his clients site from Buy.com and HowStuffWorks.com. I was surprised that these sites would be considered "search partners" because these sites aren't search engines, they are normal retail and information portals with a search function. How can Google label these "search partners"?
Evan's full post has a nice list of sites that are included in Google's "search network" including a list of those that seem to be a bit of a reach when it comes to calling sites "search" related. (Are The New York Times and Trip Advisor REALLY search engines or are they content sites?)
Evan suggests that companies that are having trouble gaining positive ROI on their campaigns may want to limit their ad runs to ONLY the Google.com domain by turning off syndication through both the content network and the search network...at least until they're showing positive ROI on Google.com. Either way, if you are running AdWords ads, it's a good idea to read Evan's post and to do a little research into how this might affect your own campaigns.
Search marketing information for small business owners.
Fetching the best small business news.
A friendly place to share small business ideas and knowledge.
A different kind of small business marketing conference.
The directory of the best small business sites and tools.
Home of our network.
Copyright © 1998 - 2012 K. Clough, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy
FreeFind Site Search Engine - FreeFind adds a "search this site" feature to your website, making your site easier to use. FreeFind also gives you reports showing what your visitors are searching for, enabling you to improve your site. FreeFind's advanced site search engine and automatic site map technology can be added to your website for free.
(Unpaid placement - FreeFind is a Search Engine Guide partner.)