Some pay per click managers will warn you not to join the Content Network. There are some good reasons for that advice, but it may be a little misguided. Sure, there are problems and risks associated with the Google Content Network, but there are risks associated with pay per click advertising.
LifeScript recently conducted a case study about the Content Network and had this to say:
Additionally, MySpace’s performance has lead Aloke to reconsider the power of social media sites at driving effective traffic and conversions for his clients. “I think the performance I have seen with MySpace for LifeScript has made me reevaluate the effectiveness of social media advertising. If setup correctly, social media advertising can be a profitable source of traffic.”
There are two things that this could mean:
- Advertising through social networks may be valuable after all
- We can learn from advertising in the Content Network
A third thing we can conclude from this case study is that not all Content Network websites are created equal. Some are winners and some are losers. You have to judge whether or not a particular site is valuable to you or not. That requires testing.
If you do decide to advertise through the Content Network, don’t just join the network willy nilly. Find sites that are like yours and test your ads on them first. If they do well in the test then roll your ads out on them for your entire campaign. MySpace might work as an advertising partner for one business and not do well at all for another. But another website might work for someone else and not for you. So do the testing and make your decisions based on real world scenarios, not fantasy.
