It’s not Christmas, but Google Claus is dropping a present to all AdWords advertisers - their new Content Performance Report. Advertisers received and email from the AdWords team that explained the reports like this:

The Placement Performance report provides site-by-site performance metrics — including clicks, impressions, cost, and conversion data — for domains or URLs in the content network where your ads have appeared. The report also provides a new level of transparency for traffic you accrued from sites in our network that are participating in the AdSense for domains program. Currently, AdSense for domains statistics are collectively reported, but we are working to give you site-by-site level statistics soon.

This is a step in the right direction for Google, since it will not only allow advertisers to optimize their use of the content network, but also allow Google to see which sites are unpopular with advertisers. In effect, this will make advertisers into AdSense police…since we all will be diligently looking to see where our clicks are coming from.

While this could reduce some advertiser spending in the beginning, I think this will help build advertiser trust in the Google content network and increase the likelihood of more advertisers using the content network in the long run.

Maybe this is Google’s way of mending some hurt feelings from the recent quality score update…or maybe not. Either way, Performance Reports will make the content network more accessible and profitable for AdWords advertisers - which is a good thing for all of us.

See Search Engine Land’s coverage (with screenshot) here and the Inside AdWords blog here.

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