Google AdWords Bonus: Search Companion Marketing

There’s a new kid in Google AdWords town and its name is search companion marketing. An exciting, yet somewhat hush-hush, component of the Google AdWords platform, search companion marketing can help your business increase ROI when done correctly.

What is search companion marketing?

In an effort to deliver more qualified (and hopefully cheaper) traffic to marketers, Google decided it would be a good idea to show ads based on search intent. Search companion marketing makes this possible by displaying text and image ads on the Google Display Network (GDN) to users performing a search query on any search engine, including Google, Bing and Yahoo!

For example, if you were to type in the keyword “enchiladas recipe” and then click on an organic link that was part of the GDN, you might then see ads about local restaurants that serve enchiladas, the history of enchiladas or (surprise!) recipes for enchiladas. It all depends on the link you choose, which tells Google Adwords about your intent, which then signals an ad most relevant to this intent.

The bonus with search companion marketing is that it serves up ads to searchers that are already interested in what your ad is about, so it effortlessly moves them up the conversion funnel.

Implementing SCM in Google AdWords

As of right now, search companion marketing is in beta, so only a Google representative can enable it in your account. However, a search engine marketing consultant with experience in advanced AdWords campaigns can direct you on strategy and execution and then guide you through the next steps in boosting the success of your online advertisements.