Google Gadgets as Ads in AdWords - overview

Google has started to open up the AdWords and DART ad networks to widgets. The widgets that can be distributed through these networks are effectively modified Google Gadgets. There are obviously many questions, both on the technical side and on the advertising side. This is an overview of the main issues and questions around Google Gadget Ads.

There is so much potential here, as for the first time the full power of widgetised content can be pushed out through paid distribution. Well crafted widgets with viral drivers should benefit from a kick start. Although Google list a bunch of 'Success Stories' on the site, I have to say at this point that most of them are dull and unimaginative and all fail to really use the tools available. As Google open up access and freelancing creatives and coders get their teeth into this, we should see some stunning results.

Google Gadget Ads
You can use AdWords and DART to distribute modified Google Gadgets on the Google content network. All the usual tools for creating campaigns on these platforms are available, or will be as accounts open up to Google Gadget Ads. Targeting by site, category, demographic, geographic location means that widgets can now be pushed into the distribution chain very efficiently.

Note that a campaign must have the content network enabled in order for gadget ads to run. Anywhere an image ad can be placed today on the Google content network, a gadget ad can run - i.e. not everywhere.

Pricing is the standard AdWords model, by CPM or CPC based on Google auction model. There are no creative fees and no per-campaign charges to use gadget ads. Moreover, because gadget ads are just simple HTML gadgets, development costs are typically lower than other rich media formats. You can push the same widget into iGoogle and the iGoogle gallery and all use of your widget within iGoogle is free.

" You should bid for your gadget ads as you would for any other ad in your AdWords campaign. CPC ads are charged when users click through to the landing page, but not if the user interacts with the gadget ad without clicking through to the landing page. CPM ads are charged for every impression, whether the user interacts with the ad or not. If you decide to run a gadget ad campaign using CPC pricing, please be aware that you may need to increase your bid to compete against CPM campaigns. If users interact with your ad but don't click through to your landing page, you will not pay for a click but your ad will also not be credited with a click that could increase its Quality Score. For this reason, you should design your gadget ad to optimize clickthroughs to your landing page. "

There are no serving or hosting costs. You can host your ad and content anywhere, and Google's caching infrastructure will allow you to serve at scale. Regardless of where it is hosted, Google will fetch a copy of your gadget ad every 1-2 hours and cache it on their servers. This reduces the impact on your web servers and avoids incurring bandwidth charges.

You can host video content on YouTube to ensure that you can handle traffic and load coming from your gadget ad. You can also use your own branded Flash player to playback YouTube hosted content. Google have a list of approved content delivery networks (CDNs) that can handle your hosting if you need it.

Google Gadget Ads are nearly identical to Google Gadgets, except that they run as rich media ads on the Google content network. By adding a small bit of code called a click URL to your Google Gadget, the gadget becomes a Google Gadget Ad, capable of running as an ad on thousands of content network sites. Otherwise, the two can be identical in their basic construction and content.

Because they run as ads, Google Gadget Ads must conform to IAB standards and to Google's accepted policies on rich media and dynamic advertising. For example, audio cannot play by default upon loading. (Because some web pages feature multiple ads, audio on loading could lead to conflicting sounds.) Gadget ads may not set cookies. Gadget ads may not contain objectionable content and must load quickly without using excessive bandwidth. Google has developed an initial set of editorial guidelines.

All gadget ads should have at least one exit link defined where users can click on the link and be redirected to some remote destination, usually a landing page of some kind. In order to determine clickthrough rates for your gadget ad, you need to track all clickthroughs on all your designated exit links. This requires a slight implementation change in the way you define your links.

There are dozens of interactions to track usage within your gadget ad. Detailed reporting of interactions is available in the Reports Center. Gadget ads can also provide click tracking reports in addition to measuring interactions.

Interaction tracking reports include events (such as interactions), but do not include values (such as time spent), though Google hope to include these in the near future.

All gadget ad campaigns that utilize interaction tracking must display a visible link to Google's FAQ's on load. This link should be visible as "Disclaimer"

Development
You can develop the creative with full support in either Flash or HTML. Standard development tools work with gadget ads. They claim developers can build gadget ads in less than one hour using their tutorial. An online tool, the Google Gadget Ad Editor can be used to preview, edit and validate your gadget ad in real time. Dedicated engineering and customer support are available to answer your questions free of charge on the Google Gadget Ads Google Group. There is also a nascent Developer Directory listing people who can build Google Gadget Ads. Open platform Gadget ads work with any web API or code library, including products from Amazon, eBay and Microsoft.

Full Google Maps API support is available for your gadget ad with multiple views and directions. Live traffic overlays are available for specific geographies. There is full support for product feeds including real-time inventory search engines.

Checkout merchants can integrate portions of the purchase process within the gadget ad itself.

Google links
Hosting and Caching
Pricing
Video and Feeds
Development
Maps
Commerce
Tracking and Reporting


Technorati Tags: google gadget ads, google, adwords

Comments

[Auad]

That mean I can advertise for free in adwords