We have all had the “problem” email at 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon.
There is an issue or problem that you have to think about and then go about finding a solution. I believe that most people’s “thinking time” follows a similar pattern:
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Is this a priority problem?
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Can I delegate it?
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How could I go about solving it? I
I also believe that most people’s solutions starts with a Google search.
This was the situation facing me yesterday when I was thinking about an email about a broken flue liner at my house – a pretty dull problem, but a problem none the less.
This was one that could definitely wait till Monday, however the problem was still on my mind when I was finishing off checking my emails and updating a client on their campaign.
Therefore imagine my surprise when about five or six potential “solutions” popped up around my G-Mail window for chimney companies, Gas fitters, flu lining specialists,and other possible solutions!
I stared at the screen and thought: Google has perfected telepathic search! I was thinking about a problem and they served me up a ready made solution!
A few moments later I felt myself feeling pretty stupid.
Rather than mind control, Google had simply served me up solutions to my problem, based on their Google Display Network*, which was working in my Gmail Account (one of their placements).
In short, Google had scanned the content of my email and had displayed Adwords adverts based on the keywords that had appeared in the text, something, in fact, I was explaining to a client only a few days earlier!
The concept is pretty simple in itself but why does the Google Display Network really work?
The reason is that Google is breaking into people’s thinking time.
They are suggesting solutions before you have even made the decision to search for a solution. Once a decision is made to search, the majority of people switch into buying mode and the barriers come up, as to which sites will offer the most relevant and trusted solution. Catch them before the search, when the barriers are down, and well written, relevant adverts will have an even greater impact.
Anybody who has an Adwords campaign should start testing out Google Display Network.
It doesn’t cost any more to display your ads here and the sites that they appear on are themselves ranked by quality and relevance.
Plus, if it can fool reasonably web savvy people like me, then maybe it is worth trying?
*The Google Display Network is a collection of partner websites such as Gmail & YouTube that display Adwords ads in text, image, video, or rich media format.