yeah, any idea on this from anyone?? I'm really experienced with adwords but haven't got round to trying out image ads properly in the content network - although I've heard really good things...
I find image ads in the content network to be effective as long as you find good placements for the ads. It does take a decent bit of refining which can be accomplished by adding site exclusions, placements, varying your keywords, and updating the design of the ad as necessary. I do not do any direct linking in any of my campaigns as I fear the Google slap. In the thread lnked below robertpriolo says that Google will not slap you for direct linking in the content network. Robert has provided many excellent answers but I will continue to avoid this behavior until I know for sure it is acceptable. http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1149001 Good Luck.