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Friday, March 14, 2003
They listened!
When Google rolled out its new option for advertisers - "Content Targeting," which puts AdWords text ads near closely-matching articles, newsgroup postings, and the like - it gave advertisers three distribution options: (1) Google only; (2) Google plus all of Google's syndication partners (AOL, Earthlink, Jeeves, etc.); or (3) Google plus all of the syndication partners AND plus content-targeted ads.
The option that wasn't made available was, of course, Google plus content targeting but NOT syndication partners. For example, some advertisers might have a good ROI from clicks emanating from Google and from clicks emanating from content targeted ads, but do very poorly on AOL. Google's check-boxes now give advertisers this additional flexibility.
None of Google's competitors give advertisers any kind of choice about distribution preferences. For Overture, Findwhat, LookSmart, etc., it's the whole network, or nothing. "Google only" distribution has proven to be an attractive option for some B2B and high-tech advertisers, whereas the majority of advertisers like the additional reach afforded by Google's distribution arrangements with search partners.
Posted by
Andrew Goodman
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D'oh!
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