Understanding the Google Content Network in Adwords

Google Adwords is a great way to bring in new customers, clients, or leads for your home based business. But only if it's managed properly. Most people understand the Google Adwords Search network because those are the ads you see. The Google Adwords Content Network is a bit less easy to understand.

Content network refers to companies that have partnered with Google to display paid advertisements based on keywords. These might include other smaller search engines, news sites, shopping sites, and content sites (like this one). The easiest way to understand the Content Network is to see it. Look to the right of this blog post under "ads by Google" and you may see some ads displayed.

I can't tell you exactly what will be there because it's dynamic. It's based on the content shown on this page. That's why it's called the "Content Network". One thing to remember about the Google Content Network is that it's HUGE! The Search Network of course, is large, but the Content Network is even larger. Think Rhode Island (Search Network) compared to California (Content Network). Or Panama (Search Network) to China (Content Network). You get the picture hopefully.

The Content Network comes with a lot of opportunity to show your ad to a massive number of internet users. However, along with that comes risk of burning through lots of money quickly if it not managed correctly. Some people just exclude the whole Content Network from their ad campaigns because it can ring up clicks so fast. But did you know there are controls for the Content Network?

In your Adwords campaign, look for the "Networks" tab. Look for the Content section under that. There you will find controls that let you exclude specific sites from your campaign. This is handy if you find a certain site that is burning through clicks but not giving you results. Exclude it! You can also find controls that let you add your own choice of content sites. This can be handy if you want to add a certain YouTube channel that fits your ad copy (for example).

The Google Content network can be a tremendous resource for marketing your home based business. But it works best if time can be devoted to managing it and of course testing it.