For example, if a niche travel company specialises in Adventure travel, then there is a risk their keyword targeted ads may be appearing on sites whose audience is generally of a different target market.

Individual sites can be targeted through placement targeting and some sites within the content network offer targeting of specific sections of the site, hence the term placement targeting.

Google placement targeting should be considered by companies operating within a niche or those who seek to maximise Return on Investment from using the content network.

How do I setup placement targeting?

To start placement targeting requires creation of a new campaign since it is not possible to mix standard keyword targeting and placement targeting within a new campaign.

How do I identify sites for placement targeting?

The Placement tool for identifying sites is not readily accessible from the Google management console. You have to create a placement targeted campaign first and then choose Add Placements at the Ad Group level. The Placement tool is shown below, you can identify sites by browsing, searching on keywords, listing URLs of known sites or selecting demographics.

Click to view full-size image…

Tip. The Placement tool can be used for finding potential partner sites for other online marketing activities including display advertising, PR or link-building. Perhaps this is why Google makes it relatively difficult to access?!

How do I pay for placement targeting?

Placement targeting enables an individual site to be targeted using a range of payment options. From 2005 to mid 2007 ads were bought on a CPM basis, but in mid 2007 CPC was offered to encourage adoption of placement targeting and this now makes it a better option for direct response advertising. In 2008 it is anticipated that a CPA option will be made more widely available.

Bear in mind that some sites offer image visual formats, but many are restricted to text ads.

For more details, see the Placement targeting in the Google Adwords Help Center.