Another way to optimize content campaigns

How does the content campaign work?

To determine whether to place your ad on a content page, the AdWords system considers the theme of all the ads and keywords in the ad group. On the content network, ads are shown to users as they research interests and browse sites that are related to your keywords.

Your ad group's entire keyword list helps determine where your ads show on the content network. Each ad group should have a cluster of 5 to 20 keywords that relate closely to one another and to the ads in that ad group. The more closely related your keywords, the more likely it is that your ads will find the right audience.

For optimizing content network, you can choose a bid based on the ad group's network performance.

To monitor and measure your ad group performance you can use conversion tracking or Google Analytics, two free tools that will help you track your conversion metrics. Once you've reviewed your performance results, you can set your bids accordingly.

How to get performed keywords of content campaigns?

Currently AdWords or GA or any web analytics tool is not providing keyword performances of content campaigns.

If you are collecting your lead data on back-end, you can easily get the converted keywords for content campaigns by using manual tagging. Use of mentioned parameters is the more sufficient condition to get keywords for content campaigns.

For Example:

1) We need to tag our LP - http://www.mysite.com/users/home.aspx with the proper utm, Network and SiteTarget parameters as follows:

http://www.mysite.com/users/home.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=contasap&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=quick&Network={ifContent:C}{ifSearch:S}&SiteTarget={placement}

For utm parameters click here:http://www.google.com/support/googleanalytics/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55578

Network= Used to differentiate Search and Content ads.

SiteTarget= Used to get the site name where your ad displayed

When any one clicks on your content ad which displayed on www.indianmba.com, url captures the information as follows:

http://www.mysite.com/users/home.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sitedefeb&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=Mba&Network=C&SiteTarget=www.indianmba.com

2) Catch the query parameter values on your back-end data.  The parameter value of utm_term will provide you the keyword due to which your ad displayed on the site.

By using this method you will get to know which keyword is converted from which campaign and from which site. It will help us to know performed keywords and non performed keywords of content campaigns.

Auto tagging doesn’t help to provide keyword performance report of content campaigns.

When you are using “Auto Tagging” for tracking AdWords’ data in GA then all applicable information such as campaign name, ad group name, keyword, ad content etc. will be tracked by the query parameter gclid (google click id – combination of characters and numbers). Keyword report for content campaign reveals under ‘(content targeting)’ in GA.

Here is the screen shot what you see in GA: