Google AdWords is the most popular pay per click advertising network in the world with advertisers able to display their wares at the side of relevant search results and on a network of partner web sites. This content network advertising differs hugely from search based advertising and should always be set up as a separate campaign within your pay per click account.

Whether or not to turn on the content network is often a stumbling block for pay per click advertisers. On the one hand, it’s much more difficult to target ads accurately, leading to stats that are hard to interpret and a ROI that’s tricky to measure. On the other, Google’s own findings paint a pretty convincing picture; more than 6 billion ad impressions daily to around 80% of the global internet population.

A year-long study by Google has just thrown up some convincing arguments for content network advertising. After monitoring a core of 25,000 pay per click accounts, analysts determined that for advertisers running both search and content, around one of two advertisers enjoyed a 2.6% Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) saving on the content network.

The study also demonstrated some excellent conversion rates with one fifth of total conversions on an average account coming from a content campaign.

To replicate these successes, be savvy about your PPC content advertising. The use of two free tools is key – the Google conversion optimiser and the site exclusion tool are both weapons that should be in your advertiser arsenal. The conversion optimiser in particular is a useful tool which automatically optimises bids in line with cost per acquisition goals. Use in conjunction with the site exclusion tool (which weeds out sites that aren’t performing) and your budget should shape up well, even when compared directly with search campaigns.

If you’re a relatively small advertiser, there is more good news; Google’s 12-month study found that accounts spending an average of just £500 per month performed better on the content network than larger spends.

Content advertisers must be selective in their targeting options in order to avoid having the budget run away with itself. Fortunately, the AdWords contextual targeting features allow advertisers to select the most relevant sites and page placements for the advert to be displayed.