What is managed placement targeting?
Author:
Categorised In:
Share:
In an increasingly crowded and competitive advertising landscape, it is essential for advertisers to ensure that their ads are reaching the right people on the right platforms. Managed Placement Targeting provides that control, allowing ads to be placed on the specific websites, apps or channels that align with your brand and audience. An effective way to guide your PPC strategy with confidence.
What is managed placement targeting?
Defined by Google Ads as ‘a targeting method you can use to specifically choose websites, videos, channels, apps and app categories’, managed placement targeting involves the advertiser selecting where the ad places. It is an optional feature which can provide the advertiser with more control over where their ads are shown. Usually, Google Ads are placed on sites included in the Google Display Network (GDN) automatically and advertisers don’t have control over it. The GDN includes over 200 million sites, apps, and videos which reach over 90% of global internet users. These sites span from The NY Times to Weather.com, therefore it is quite likely ads won’t suit all available GDN site placements.
As well as choosing where they appear, advertisers also have the opportunity to decide the individual bid amount on each platform, consequently supporting budgeting. The GDN works on a live bidding auction basis, the same as Google Search Network (GSN). However, generally there is less competition on GDN meaning on average CPC is less.
How managed placement targeting works
Usually, in the Search Network, Google sorts sites based on users’ search keywords and historic site traffic in a matching format. Whereas in placement targeting, you specifically select the placements of the ads. When choosing the placements it has to be part of the display network or YouTube for the ad to show there. Advertisers participate in an auction for each ad placement, going through the same competitive process as all other Google ads. Of course, bids can be adjusted and the bid amount will vary depending on the chosen placement. For example, popular YouTube videos or in-demand sites will cost more than positions in the network with lower impression opportunities. As bids can be easily adjusted, it could be advised to increase bids if high volumes of traffic is being brought in with the new strategy. Assigning a unique bid to a specific web page, observing performance and making alterations based on outcome will heavily support the success of managed placement targeting.
To add the placements, simply go into the content tab in the display campaign and you will find campaign placement targeting and exclusions in which you add the websites, YouTube channels, videos or apps.
Using exclusions
A strong way to support managed placement targeting is the use of exclusions. Where we have been selecting the sites, apps and videos for ads to appear on, exclusions allow the advertisers to choose where they don’t want ads to appear. A common example would be possibly a B2B lead-gen ad excluded from children’s YouTube videos. Making a judgement on where your target audience will be to consume your ads is just as valuable as understanding where your target audience won’t be.
Exclusions protect brand image and help advertisements avoid irrelevant websites. They also assist in ensuring spend is wasted on platforms which don’t provide strong ROI. This can be done for display campaigns however we can also utilise placement exclusions in Performance Max as this campaign type utilises all of Google’s inventory including the Display network. We can therefore exclude placements to ensure that ads are compliant with brand suitability, and are only shown on placements for appropriate pages, sites, mobile apps and videos. Exclusions help ensure ads reach appropriate, high-value audiences across Google’s network.
When to use managed placement targeting
Managed placement targeting is an optional feature but when used correctly it can be very beneficial to advertisers using the Google Display Network. Accurate ad placement can be crucial in brand-sensitive campaigns. If as an advertiser you are setting live a campaign in which you strictly want to remain reflective of the brand beliefs, being able to select the platforms which align with your image is extremely beneficial. Further, if your product is within a niche market, placing the ad in front of potential customers will be very helpful in not just generating clicks but also raising brand/product awareness.
Benefits
The level of control over the placement of ads is a clear benefit of managed placement targeting. For example, if you’re a cookware brand you would want to select to appear on recipe websites, videos and apps as it is likely the user will be interested in your product by association. This then means you can choose for ads to appear where your target audience spends their time, increasing the impression rate. As a user, if I see an ad on a page for something irrelevant to me there is very little chance I’ll pay any attention to it, let alone click on it. As an advertiser being able to specifically select my ads to be shown where my target customers will be is likely to create value.
With managed placement targeting, advertisers can also;
- Enhance brand safety by choosing suitable ad placements
- Increase ROI by reducing ad spend on irrelevant sites
- Tailor bids which in effect maximised budget efficiency
- Improve audience reach as ads are shown where target customers actively spend their time
Placement targeting enables advertisers to track specific site-level performance, gaining insights into which platforms generate the highest engagement, conversions, or ROI. This data can be used to refine bidding strategies and targeting in future campaigns.
Final thoughts
Managed placement targeting is all about making every ad placement count. Ensuring your ads reach the right audience on a platform that aligns with your brand image provides extensive value. An effective way to effectively manage budgets, increase opportunity for ad placements in front of your target audience and, a key goal to all marketing decisions, improve ROI. Implementing managed placement targeting within a PPC strategy is a fun experiment to see its impact on engagement and ultimately conversions.
