Google's new option uses improved signals and methods to determine which of the display network sites an advertiser's ads are likely to perform the best. Initial tests showed 35 percent higher click-through rates and 35 percent lower costs.
Google AdWords has been trying to encourage more advertisers to include the display network in their PPC advertising.
But because some advertisers feel the quality of some sites within the Google display network is lacking, and conversions are lower, many advertisers just simply opt out of the display network completely, and simply advertise on the search network.
Google is now trying to overcome this issue by offering a new “Search Network with Display Select” option.
This Display Select option uses improved signals and methods in order to determine which of the display network sites the advertiser’s ads are likely to perform the best. So instead of simply showing up on display network sites based on things like keywords alone, Google is now also looking at both quality and performance for Display Select.
According to Google:
Search Network with Display Select uses improved signals and methods of predicting when and where your ads are likely to perform best, and sets a higher bar for when to show them. That means your ads are more likely to be shown to a smaller number of prospective customers, who are more likely to be interested in your offerings. Compared to the old campaign type, initial tests show that advertisers, on average, could see a 35% higher click-through-rate, and a 35% lower cost-per-customer purchase on the display portion of their Search Network with Display Select campaigns.
Google’s display network currently reaches 90 percent of the global online audience, according to comScore, and it includes 2 million publisher sites, including many large branded sites with high traffic.
If you’re currently using the “Search & Display Networks” campaign type in AdWords, you should be aware that they will be removing it within the next few weeks, and encouraging advertisers to switch to the “Search Network with Display Select” option instead. It is easy to change this in your AdWords account, with step-by-step instructions if needed.
Advertisers who manage their search campaigns and their display campaign separately won’t need to change anything.