Many of you use contextual targeting on the Google Display Network to reach potential customers as they read web content directly related to your products or services. To date, you've been able to do this by specifying keywords that work together to show your ads on relevant webpages. This week, you'll also be able to specify topics to contextually target your ads to pages in the Google Display Network. With this additional contextual targeting option, you'll be able to select from over 1,750 topics and sub-topics to target your ads, helping you quickly reach a broad audience across the web that's actively engaged with content related to your business.

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Using topics versus keywords to target your ads

Using topics to contextually target your ads offers broad targeting and reach and is a good way to connect with a large audience quickly and easily to generate awareness or drive sales. When using topic targeting, our system looks at all the terms on a page to determine the topic of the page and is less reliant on particular keywords. On the other hand, using keywords to contextually target allows you to target your ads to a more specific set of pages in the Display Network, since you use individual keywords to develop a theme in your ad groups. However, both targeting options can be used together to effectively reach an audience across the Google Display Network. Let's walk through a use-case.

Let's say you're selling digital cameras. Here's how you might use keyword- and topic-based contextual targeting together to achieve different campaign objectives like raising awareness and driving sales.

1. Create an ad group targeting the sub-topic News & Current Events >> Technology News with a display ad to increase awareness of your cameras among technology enthusiasts.
2. Then target the sub-topic Photo & Video >> Cameras, using a display or rich media ad format like video to educate people interested in cameras on your products' features and benefits.
3. Finally, create a separate ad group using keyword-based contextual targeting with keywords focused on a specific brand or camera model. Then run a text or display ad which includes a special offer or discount on your camera to drive purchases among users reading reviews of that camera brand or model.

This is just one example of how you can use topic- and keyword-based contextual targeting together to build awareness, increase consideration, and drive sales. You can also exclude topics and sub-topics to refine your targeting.

As with other targeting options on our Display Network, contextual targeting by topic supports all ad formats, such as text, display, video, and rich media, as well as all our bidding options, such as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand-impression (CPM), and cost-per-acquisition (CPA). In addition, you still have access to URL-level reporting and other tools such as the Conversion Optimizer.

To find out if this targeting option is right for you, you can read our best practices. Then learn more by watching this video and reading our Help Center articles.

Posted by Lisa Shieh, Inside AdWords crew