Google recently announced that, beginning in early October, the network target setting for AdWords campaigns will no longer be able to be modified. Moving forward, the only edit that will be allowed is changing search-only campaigns to search and display.
The evolution of Google display and search features have made switching between targets more complicated and likely prompted this change. Display and search campaigns use different targeting methodologies: search allows you to control what search queries your ads are served against based on the keywords you bid on, while display ads are shown based on the overall context of a group of keywords.
The different targeting methodologies, as well as the upcoming change to the ability to edit a campaign’s target setting, make a compelling case for separating all your search and display campaigns. The separation of display and search targets will give you more control over each target’s optimization.
This change only applies to keyword contextual Google Display Network (GDN) campaigns. Beyond the contextual keyword targeting method, there are many options for advertising on GDN – vertical targeting, managed placements, remarketing or interest targeting are all other options supported by GDN.