Google Content Network Wins in Massachusetts

If you have caught any news this week you heard about the recent Massachusetts election. Scott Brown, Republican, defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in a race for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Ted Kennedy.

But what you may not have heard is the online marketing technique Brown used to win. Twitter? Maybe. YouTube? Sure, that helped. Google? Most definitely.

Yes, Brown was very aggressive with his social media tools, but it was Google that sent him over the edge. A recent article on blogs.wsj.com points out it was Brown’s “groundbreaking use of Google to drive volunteers and voters”.

It was Google that got people to the voting polls. Social media was great for generating a buzz that was certainly needed to win a historical democratic seat. However, the Google Content Network sealed the deal.

“If you were in Massachusetts, pretty much all day every day you would see a Scott Brown ad” – said Galen Panger, a Google spokesman.

“We have targeted towns that we want to win,” said Rob Willington, Brown’s online campaign strategist. The campaign targeted specific towns with specific messages. For example, ads targeted to people living near Plymouth encouraged supporters to “Volunteer in Plymouth.” – as mentioned in clickz.com

It was not “groundbreaking” to any of us who use the Google Content Network every day, but it was something new in the political world. On the days leading up to the election, the Scott Brown Team flooded the Google Content Network with display ads. These ads were very geographically and demographically targeted.

The Google Content Network is often misunderstood and under appreciated. Through detailed customization and reporting, users can create targeted campaigns. The cost of the Content Network can quickly rise, if mishandled, which is often where most people give up. However, high cost and no return is usually a result of a poorly managed campaign.

Like any strong Google campaign, content or search, the key is separation: separating keywords, separating content from search, separating geographically, separating messages, etc. For more optimization tips: 4 Tips for a Successful Google Content Network Campaign. Google recently posted New ways to optimize Content Network campaigns that should help if you are having problems getting started.

Scott Brown’s use of the Google Content Network once again shows that although social media definitely has its place, there is still a place for well-targeted online marketing messages.