Microsoft Advertising adCenter Content Ads allow you to target Internet users who are viewing online content related to your product, service, or message.
You can choose specific websites that your target audience might be viewing, or distribute your message throughout the Microsoft Media Network, which includes high-quality Microsoft owned and operated websites — such as MSN Money, MSN Entertainment, and Delish — along with hundreds of high-quality, third-party publishers.
Content Ads can:
- Inform potential customers about your business before they search.
- Increase the likelihood that searchers will take action when viewing your search ad.1
- Access new audiences that may not see your search ad.
Ready to get your message in front of more potential customers? Follow the steps below to create a Content Ad campaign.
Step 1: Enable Content Ads
You can either run your existing search ads on the Microsoft Content Network, or create a new ad group and run a dedicated Content Ads campaign. See our tips below for creating a dedicated Content Ads campaign.
To enable Content Ads through Microsoft Advertising adCenter, simply follow these step-by-step instructions.
Step 2: Choose content keywords
Choose shorter and more general keywords for your Content Ads campaign. The more your keywords reflect the themes on our publishers’ pages, the higher your chance of displaying there.
When selecting your keywords, be sure to:
- Include the most relevant, general keywords from your paid search campaigns.
- Include general keywords about topics that interest your customers.
- Include keywords related to recent news about your product.
- Use the downloadable Microsoft Advertising Intelligence tool to find the most popular keywords by industry and get data about their impressions, click-through rate, and average bids.
Step 3: Place competitive bids
Content Ads compete for an average of just four positions on each publisher page. Bid competitively, and your ads will have a better chance at displaying in top spots.
Step 4: Test, track, and refresh
After you create your Content Ads campaign, don’t forget to periodically check performance reports and freshen up ad copy, keywords, and keyword bids to ensure they continue to be relevant.
1. Microsoft Advertising Case Studies, 2008.
