The Inside AdWords blog announced two changes to site targeting yesterday: placement targeting (targeting precise subsections of websites) and CPC bidding for placement targeting.
A few questions popped up on forums about the changes this will bring, and AdWordsAdvisor chimed in with a few responses:
The goal, for example, is that the Google AdWords team is trying to make it simpler for advertisers to "target specific, quality sites and pay per click."
With this greater flexibility and control, we expect more advertisers will target publisher sites. This may lead to increased competition in the auction and higher revenues for publishers, and while things may not change overnight, we expect this to lead to better overall monetization for publishers.
Is contextual advertising still plausible under this model? AdWordsAdvisor says yes:
As with CPM placement targeting, there is the chance that non-contextually relevant CPC placement targeted ads may appear on your site. As always, you're welcome to add these ads' URLs to your filter list to prevent them from being displayed. However, keep in mind that those advertisers are likely targeting other aspects of your site or audience, and the ads may still perform very well.
What about opting out of this and staying in site-targeted CPC? You can't pick and choose, unfortunately:
Publishers are currently only able to opt into or out of all placement-targeted ads.
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld and DigitalPoint Forums.
