The Google Network
Your customers tend to do a lot online – they search, they shop, they read the news and browse interesting websites. You want to reach them no matter what they’re doing on the web. The answer, the Google Network. This is the name of the ad platform where your AdWords ad can appear, including Google sites, webpages that partner with us, and other placements like mobile phone apps. It’s as if you’re presenting your message to a stadium full of fans – Google collects a crowd of interested people and brings them to the stadium, then you start the show.
This bundle of sites, called the Google Network, is divided into groups to give you more control over where you’d like your ad to appear:
- Google Search, Google Shopping, Google Maps, Google Images, and Google Groups.
- Search sites that partner with Google (search partners), such as AOL
- Google sites (like YouTube, Blogger, and Gmail) and thousands of partnering websites across the Internet
Why it matters
The Google Network can connect you with customers at the exact moment when they’re doing an activity online that relates to what you offer – like searching for your product or reading a blog about your industry. Because your ads can be shown in relevant places, you have a better chance of turning viewers into customers.
By understanding what the AdWords network is and how you can control your network settings, you can take advantage of this world of interested customers.
How it’s used
For each of your ad campaigns, you’ll choose network settings that tell Google where you’d like your ad to show. You can choose Google Search and Google Shopping, or the entire Search Network (including other Google search sites like Maps and Images, and search sites that partner with Google), just the Display Network, or all networks.
The Search Network
The Google Search Network is a group of search-related websites where your ads can appear, including Google search sites and search sites that partner with Google to show ads, called search partners. Ads are matched to search results based on the terms a person uses to search. With a few exceptions, described below, text ads are the main ad format used on the Google Search Network.
Where your ads can appear
When you target your campaign to the Search Network and add keywords to your campaign’s ad groups, your ads can appear on Google and other search sites based on the keywords you choose:
- On Google search sites: Ads can appear alongside, above, or below search results on Google Search, Google Shopping, Google Maps, Google Images, and Google Groups.
- On other sites that are part of the Search Network (search partners): Ads might appear alongside or above search results on the search partners‘ sites, such as AOL.
To show ads on all Search Network sites, navigate to the “Networks” section of your campaign’s settings page and make sure that the checkbox for “Include search partners” is selected (this option is selected by default when you create a “Search Network only” or “Search & Display Networks” campaign). Sites on the Search Network show mostly text ads, which are typically labeled as “Ads” on Google Search as well as on search partners’ sites. Google Images can also include image ads.
Example
You have a business that offers face-painting services at parties for kids. If you add the keyword “children face painting” to your ad group, and then choose to show your ads on the entire Search Network, your ads are eligible to appear on an AOL search results page when someone types “face painting.”
How Google Instant works
Google Instant helps people find information faster by showing relevant results as they type a search term on Google search. As someone starts to type a search term, Google Instant automatically shows results for a popular search that begins with those letters. An algorithm tries to predict what the rest of the term might be based on popular searches typed by other users. The predicted text is shown in light grey in the search box, and search results and ads are automatically shown for that predicted term.
Although Google Instant won’t change the way ads are served, ads and search results can show for a predicted search term. For example, if someone types “flow” into Google, an algorithm predicts that the user is searching for “flowers” (the predicted search term) and therefore displays search listings and ads for flowers. Those results will continue to show unless the next letters that the user types lead to a different predicted term.
How ad impressions are counted
When someone searches using Google Instant, ad impressions are counted in the following situations:
- The person begins to type a search term on Google and clicks anywhere on the page (a search result, an ad, a spell correction, a related search).
- The person chooses a particular search term by clicking the Search button, pressing Enter, or selecting one of the predicted terms.
- The person stops typing, and the results are displayed for a minimum of three seconds.
You should monitor your ads’ performance the same way you usually do. Google Instant might increase or decrease your overall impression levels. However, Google Instant can improve the quality of your clicks since it helps people search using terms that more directly connect them with the answers they need. Therefore, your overall campaign performance could improve.
Display Network
The Display Network is a collection of partner websites and specific Google websites – including Google Finance, Gmail, Blogger, and YouTube – that show AdWords ads. This network also includes mobile sites and apps. If you’ve ever seen an AdWords ad on your favorite news site or in your Gmail account, and wondered how it got there, now you know: Websites like these are part of the Google Display Network.
When showing ads on the Display Network, you can reach a wide range of customers with broad interests, choose which sites or pages to appear on, and engage users with appealing ad formats.
Reach new customers: Capture someone’s attention at different points in the buying cycle. For example, if you run an art supply store, you can catch a mom’s eye when she’s reading reviews about the best brands of washable paints, but before she puts her toddler in the car seat and heads out to buy.
Select where your ads appear: Within the Display Network, you can choose more specifically where you want your ads to appear — you can select types of pages or specific websites for your ads, as well as audiences to show your ads to.
Engage users with appealing ad formats: Text, image, video, or rich media formats can appear on the Display Network.
The Display Network reach
From millions of partner websites, news pages, and blogs to Google websites including Gmail and YouTube, the Display Network can help you show your message to more customers.
The Display Network reaches 83% of unique Internet users around the world (source: DoubleClick Ad Planner), including people speaking more than 30 languages in over 100 countries. To help make sure your ads appear on high-quality sites and products, all websites and products in the Display Network are reviewed and monitored by Google.
There’s more to Google Advertising than placing offers on Google Search. You can learn more about the power of the Google Display Network program in this tutorial.
Matching your ad to sites in the Display Network
Finding the right audience across millions of websites can be difficult. The Google Display Network lets you put your message in front of potential customers at the right place and at the right time in several ways.
Reach users by keywords and topics: Using contextual targeting, AdWords finds the best places for your ad across the Google Display Network, based on your keywords. This can help you show your ad to an audience that’s interested in your business and more likely to take action.
Choose specific sites or pages: Put your message on the websites you think are the best match for your business using placement targeting. By adding managed placements, you can show your ad on specific webpages, online videos, games, RSS feeds, and mobile sites and apps that you select. You can even block your ads from sites you don’t think are relevant.
Find users who are already interested in what you have to offer: Show your ads on Display Network websites to specific groups of people. You can reach people who visited your site before by creating a remarketing campaign, or customers interested in specific categories, by adding interest categories. Then, you can show them highly relevant messages as they browse other sites on the Google Display Network.
Example
If you offer dog training services in New York, you could reach customers on the Display Network in these ways:
- Add the keyword “puppy training” and you might be automatically matched to a blog about dogs.
- Identify a site selling puppy toys that you want your ads to show on, and add the site as a managed placement.
- Use remarketing to show your ads to customers who have previously visited your site – even if they’re browsing pages about kayaking instead.
Ad types on the Display Network
In addition to the text ads you’ll see in Google search, sites on the Display Network show other types of visually engaging ads, too. Here’s a list of ad formats you can use to attract customers on the Display Network:
| text ads |  |
| Image ads – ads that include photos or artwork |  |
| Rich media ads – ads with animation or other | |
| types of motion | |
| Video ads |  |
Where Your Ads Might Appear Within The Display Network
If you choose to run your campaigns on the Display Network, your ads can appear across a large collection of partner websites and specific Google websites – including Google Finance, Gmail, Blogger, and YouTube — that show AdWords ads. This network also includes mobile sites and apps that show ads (these are called mobile display partners).
The Display Network can help you connect with customers on over one million websites around the world. You can show your ads to people when they visit, for example, their favorite news sites or blogs.
Fact
The Google Display Network reaches over 83% of unique Internet users around the world (source: DoubleClick Ad Planner), including people who speak more than 20 languages in over 100 countries.
But you’re still in control of your ad targeting. You can do the following:
- Narrow or expand your focus at any time by changing the countries or regions for your campaigns. Your ads appear on Display Network sites based on your campaign location settings.
- Choose specific websites where you’d like your ads to appear and sites where you’d like to prevent your ads from appearing.
- Select specific types of audiences to reach with your ads.
Remember
To show your ads on the Display Network, you’ll need to use one of the following campaign types:
- “Search & Display Networks – All features”
- “Display Network only – All features”
- “Display Network only – Mobile apps”
- “Display Network only – Remarketing”
If you have a different campaign type from the ones listed above, you won’t be able to show your ads on the Display Network.Learn about AdWords campaign types.
Where your ads can appear and who might see them based on your targeting methods
Ads on the Display Network appear on websites and webpages – not search results pages. They can appear on automatic or managed placements only if the sites are part of the Display Network. This network includes sites available through Google AdSense, including AdSense for domains and AdSense for errors, as well as DoubleClick Ad Exchange publisher sites.
When you’ve decided that you’d like to show your ads on the Display Network, you can tell AdWords where you’d like your ads to appear or what audience you’d like to reach by choosing from these different targeting methods:
Keywords: Your ads appear on the Display Network based on your keyword list. For Display Network pages, Google uses contextual targeting to match keywords to webpage content.
Placements: Your ads can appear on websites or placements that you hand-pick (these are called “managed placements“) from the Display Network.
Audiences: Your ads are shown to specific audiences on Display Network websites. You can reach people who visited your site before by creating a remarketing campaign, or customers interested in specific categories, by adding interest categories.
Topics: Your ads appear on multiple pages about a specific topic. Google uses contextual targeting, just like with keywords, to match your ad to relevant webpages about specific topics you select. “Topics” is the AdWords term for specific themes or categories, such as agriculture or music. If you’d like to target pages with specific content, you can select one or more topics so your ads appear on pages about those topics.
Mobile devices: Your ads can be shown to customers who visit Display Network websites from full-browser mobile devices, like iPhone or Android devices. Your ads can also appear on mobile apps, which are considered part of the Display Network.
Contextual Targeting
AdWords uses contextual targeting to match your ads to relevant sites on the Google Display Network using your keywords or topics, among other factors. Contextually targeted ads offer useful information to readers, and attract an audience interested in your message. Contextual targeting is used when an ad group has keywords or topics and the campaign is set to show ads on the Display Network.
Remember
To use contextual targeting, you’ll need to use one of the following campaign types:
- “Search & Display Networks – All features”
- “Display Network only – All features”
- “Display Network only – Remarketing”
If you have a different campaign type from the ones listed above, you won’t be able to use contextual targeting. Learn about AdWords campaign types.
How contextual targeting works
The system analyzes the content of each Display Network webpage or URL, considering the site’s text, language, link structure, page structure, and more. From these factors, AdWords will determine the central theme of each webpage and match this theme to your ad using your keywords and topic selections, plus your language and location targeting and other settings. Sometimes, they might show ads when keywords match the content of pages a person has recently browsed.
Example
Suppose you’ve created an ad group to advertise gourmet cookies, and it includes keywords like “dark chocolate chip cookies” and “nutella chocolate chip cookies.” AdWors uses contextual targeting to identify and place your ad on Google Display Network sites that share the same themes. That means that your ad might appear on webpages about gourmet chocolate desserts, discussion groups for baking enthusiasts, or a newsletter about dessert recipes.
When AdWords uses contextual targeting to automatically place your ad on sites based on your keywords, your ad is matched to what called automatic placements. These are different from managed placements, which are websites or webpages that you manually add to your ad groups.
Using contextual targeting by topics
You can use topic targeting (or contextual targeting by topics) in addition to keywords to reach an even broader range of pages in the Display Network. This is because AdWords contextually match ads to a page’s concepts, rather than its individual terms.
Example
Let’s imagine again that you want to show ads about gourmet cookies using AdWords. You could add the sub-topic Food & Drinks> Cooking & Recipes > Baked Goods to your ad group. This would help you target all pages about cooking and recipes on the Google Display Network related to cookies, regardless of whether your exact keywords appear on the page.
Add exclusions to improve your contextual targeting
You can fine-tune ad groups for contextual targeting by adding exclusions. From within your ad group or campaign, you can do two things:
- Exclude specific sites or types of sites that you don’t want your ads to appear on, such as competitor sites or low conversion rate sites, or websites that aren’t appropriate for your audience or ads.
- Exclude many pages about a specific topic at once.