Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports

Wednesday, April 11th, 2007 by Jeremy Luebke

Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports

Google has released a new type of report named “Placement Performance Report.” With this report you get detailed statistics of where and how ads performed on sites within the content network. From Google:

Google is testing a new report type called the Placement Performance report so advertisers can view performance metrics for ads that may be running on URLs or domains within our content network.

Google has always provided full online statistical, conversion, and financial reporting for the Google AdWords program. Now with the Placement Performance report, you can gain greater transparency about your campaigns’ performance on the content network for the first time. This report is intended as a tool for you to make informed decisions on improving your campaign’s return on investment.

This report is run in the same way you run any normal Adwords report. It includes the usual options such as CTR, impressions, and conversion rates which can be grouped by either domain or exact URL where the ad appeared.

This is definitely a step in the right direction but I am a little disappointed. The information only covers the content network while the search network is still shrouded in mystery. Don’t get me wrong, this newly available report will help many increase their ROI through adsense ads and block out small time arbitrage players. Problem is the biggest waste of ad spend is not through the content network. It’s through the search network where anyone with deep pockets or a large domain portfolio can run Google search ads at full price.

Yahoo is ahead of the game in this arena making moves towards being more open with their premium search network feeds. If your Yahoo Panama account is equipped with the full analytics package, you can already see the conversion data for the entire search network including the big arbitrage players. Our Yahoo Rep. tells me they will soon have a way to block search network sites that you don’t want traffic from. Google should do the same.

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19 comments on “Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports”

Brian Says:

April 11th, 2007 at 1:24 pm

I don’t appear to have this yet… wonder if it’s for advertisers of a certain size/profile or if it’s just random testing they are doing?
Jeremy Luebke Says:

April 11th, 2007 at 1:40 pm

Not sure. The account it appeared on is sizable so it could be either.
Google’s New Report Offers More Transparency… But Is It Enough? Says:

April 11th, 2007 at 3:43 pm

[...] Matt has been calling on Google to provide advertisers with more information for a while now. They've answered, at least in part. According to Marketing Pilgrim, Google is now providing advertisers with a new report called "Placement Performance". [...]
Mark Barrera Says:

April 11th, 2007 at 3:57 pm

I don’t see for any of my clients as well. Most of these are under $40,000/month in spend but you would think anything over $10,000 would have it.
Webmaster Money Says:

April 12th, 2007 at 2:56 am

Why it cannot be for everyone. This would help to improve for all and also for Google.
Google Releases Content Network Analytics Report » Unofficial SEO Blog - Search Engine Information, much before it's official. Says:

April 12th, 2007 at 8:47 am

[...] Analytics for the search network, which would definitely be of more interest, is still unavailable. There is a screenshot of the report at Marketing Pilgrim. As Jeremy Lebuke has pointed out, Yahoo! is already ahead with Panama, which already provides reports for the search network. In fact, the higher level of transparency is one of the factors why Panama has registered a strong growth rate so far. Share The Post Recent Posts [...]
Kyle M. Brown Says:

April 13th, 2007 at 10:59 am

This is not available in my account. I think its a great step towards improved ROI.

The content network needs more tools. Whats offered now is too limited. It would be nice to provide advertisers with more data on the content sites than impressions. that similar to the tools provided for search.
PPC Hero: Heroic Feats of Pay Per Click Management : PPC News Round-Up Says:

April 13th, 2007 at 3:06 pm

[...] Google just released new reports on their content network, which gives advertisers detailed information on how specific websites are performing.Â Advertisers can then remove those that aren’t working well, improving their ROI.Â Overall, this move allows more companies to advertise via the content network.Â No more excuses that the content network gives a bad ROI! [...]
The end of adsense arbitrage? - Page 3 - WickedFire - Affiliate Marketing Forum - Internet Marketing Webmaster SEO Forum Says:

April 13th, 2007 at 5:06 pm

[...] Originally Posted by wesley As you can see in the following image, google adwords now shows conversion data, etc.. for the content network: You can easily ban domains using this interface. Great news for advertisers, not so much for most of us here. What will the impact be? Thanks for citing the source douche bag! Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports | Marketing Pilgrim __________________ [...]
This Week In SEO - 4/13/07 - TheVanBlog Says:

April 13th, 2007 at 8:25 pm

[...] Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports [...]
Stalkk.ed Bookmarks del 13 Aprile 2007 [del.icio.us] | Stalkk.ed Says:

April 14th, 2007 at 4:34 am

[...] Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports - Google ha reso disponibile un nuovo tipo di report denominato “Placement Performance Report”. Serve agli advertisers per misurare piÃ¹ accuratamente le performance degli annunci AdWords: l’obbiettivo Ã¨ l’incremento dei ritorni pubblicitari (ROI). [...]
CMS SEO : Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports Says:

April 17th, 2007 at 5:02 am

[...] under seo. Follow any responses to this post with its comments RSS feed. You can post a comment or trackback from yourblog. [...]
NIContent Says:

April 23rd, 2007 at 3:33 am

Well, people searching on google using specific keywords are more likely to buy than just browsing the content network, meanwhile, there are more fraud clicks on content network than on searching keyword. Yes, it does increase the exposure of the web site, and should be good if your web site is new, but with much much lower ROI.
dealership Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 9:27 am

NIContent, we have found great ROI using the content network. Goal was to promote our car dealership finder and try and get people to fill out a car quote. We separated our campaigns for search only and content only. When you do this you can play with the text and find out what text ads truly convert better for you on the content network. Average cost per conversion on the content network, after a few weeks dipped below our search network cost. ON the content network we are able to write for conversions, because the CTR is not as sensitive on the search network.
NIContent Says:

April 25th, 2007 at 11:27 pm

We did set up separate campaigns for search network and content network, also have a mixed campaign. So far, didn’t see any ROI on the content network. But, we’ll find out later if the cost on the content network will drop and our ROI will rise from the ground.
Seo Mumbai » Search Engine Strategies PPC Roundup Says:

May 23rd, 2007 at 8:15 pm

[...] Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports - Marketing Pilgrim [...]
This Week In SEO - 4/13/07 | TheVanBlog Says:

January 30th, 2008 at 1:04 am

[...] Google Releases Detailed Content Network Reports [...]
Google Automatic Matching Beta = Pay, Spray and Pray? | Scott Clark - Finding the Sweet Spot Says:

February 25th, 2008 at 8:47 am

[...] the Content Network setup (default=0n). A while ago, Google set up content-bids, and then they improved reporting, it still makes little sense unless you truly know what you’re [...]
White Label AOL Adwords Market Impact » PPC Blog Says:

December 13th, 2008 at 10:43 am

[...] Greater transparency accross both content and search networks. Google are currently testing new reports which aim to provide greater visibility accross the content network to start with. They detail [...]

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