Got a burning SEO question?


Start my free trial

How does Q&A work?

Browse Questions


Adwords Display Network: Have you been able to place ads on specific websites but only on pages that match your keywords ?

Jul 26, 2015 - Posted by EGOL in Internet Advertising, Online Marketing Tools, and Paid Search Marketing | 4 Responses | 183 Views
  • Adwords has features that allow you to target your ads to specific websites. 

    Adwords also has features that allow you to target your ads to webpages that are relevant to specific keywords.

    Google documentation says that you are able to use these together.  An article about this in the Google Adwords Help website is...  How Placements and Keywords Work Together.

    This, for example, should allow you to target your ads only to pages on that are relevant to "tennis" as a keyword.

    If you are an Adwords advertiser who has successfully done this, please let me know.  Just reply saying "yes, I have done it".  I am just looking to hear that someone has been successful.  If you have tried and found it a waste of time, I would like to hear that too. 

    If you care to share anything about your experience, either positive, negative or neutral, I would appreciate any thoughts you can share.    

    Finally, if you have successfully targeted ads this way....  What is your impression of the bid level required to get your  ads on relevant pages of specific Display Network websites.  Are you getting good value ?

    Thank you.

4 Responses

  • 303841
    • Hi Egol,

      Yes I have done it :) - so if part of your question was a technical 'is this possible?' then it is. You can check which pages your ads are showing on by going into display network -> placements and then clicking the 'see details' button. This will give you a list of specific page placements which ran your ad.

      As to if it is worth it or not, that depends on a lot of factors including what objective you have in mind, your budget etc.
      I will say that running keyword + placements together often results in a very narrow set of pages that your ad becomes eligible for. This can be ok depending on the objective of the campaign but I often find that it is better to either run broader keyword only campaigns which I then add negative placements to (if I see placement sites I don't like much) or else run a very specific managed placement campaign with certain exclusions based on the categories of the site(s) if needed.

      Bid levels vary a lot depending on the site and how many other advertisers want to appear there. Well known sites like the NYTimes are usually going to be more expensive than a niche site but it all depends on your targeting, what you are willing to bid and what any other advertisers are willing to bid. if a specific site is turning out to be too expensive to bid on then you could try making it a remarketing only campaign which restricts your ads to people that have already visited your site and you might then feel more comfortable bidding a higher amount for them to see your ad. If you have historical conversion data on the campaign it might also be worth trying a CPA bidding model to see if that works better for you.

      n my experience display campaigns are great for remarketing and branding/awareness type campaigns but can really suck up budget if not controlled properly and kept on a tight leash.


    • Reply
    • ✓ Good Answer
    • Good Answer
    • E
      • Thank you Lynn !

        I am glad to hear that someone has been successful at this dual targeting... and thanks for the tip about how to see where the ads are showing.

        I appreciate your help !

      • Reply
    • 406561
      • A few things to add to this great response, ad type will make a huge impact in your overall performance. Some sites have better CTRs on different ad sizes or types - image v text. It's very important to run all sizes throughout your test. 

        I agree that display campaigns will suck up your budget, if you can spend the time to manage them well, then they can really turn a great profit for you - branding/remarketing or not. I didn't believe that was possible until I started working under a manager with 10 years of experience in both SEM & Media buys. It takes longer to crack the Display nut than it does to make a profit on Search, but I highly recommend it. There's a significant learning curve but stick with it and keep testing. 

      • Reply
      • E
        • Thank you, Jasmine.  That is a good point about CTR varying from one site to another.  A person might be able to look at the site and know if visitors will be able to see the ads.  

          Some sites run ads, but they really don't want to run ads, so they have them down at the bottom of the page or in a corner where few see them.

        • Reply
Explore Moz Pro
