A recent whitepaper published by Google points out that advertisers in their content network "are likely to be as or more cost-effective than ads on the search network." Slightly more than half of the 25,000 global accounts in a study concluded in November 2008 experienced a lower "Cost Per Acquisition" using Google's Content Network versus their ads in SERPs.
Why do I bring this to your attention? Because it parallels one of the elements of the success of TMC's global online communities and channels. Owners of these portals have their marketing messages surrounding relevant content (updated news, feature articles, videos and more). These marketing messages perform better because they build brand identity and position the portal's owner as an information source.
Compared to pay-per-click advertising, which puts companies at the mercy of Google's amorphous bidding-war pricing structure, GOC and Channel owners on TMCnet pay a fixed rate, regardless of the amount of traffic. They get clicks from visitors who are genuinely interested in content that's tied into their market segment.
What is Google's reason for publishing this whitepaper? Probably to persuade their search-only advertisers to move to their higher-priced Content Network ad program. Hmmm ... more bucks for each bang?
