Ever since Google launched its contextual network, marketers have wanted to bid for those placements separately from the ones that appear on search results pages. Now, they've finally got their wish.

Google last week quietly rolled out what it's calling "content bids," letting advertisers "set one price when their ads run on search sites and a separate price when their ads run on content sites," according to a recently-added AdWords FAQ item.

"If you find that you receive better business leads or a higher ROI from ads on content sites than on search sites (or vice versa), you can now bid more for one kind of site and less for the other," the FAQ says. "Content bids let you set the prices that are best for your own business."

Several search engine marketers noticed the new feature had appeared in recent days. Google confirmed it was testing this offering, but wouldn't elaborate.

Advertisers have reported mixed results on their AdSense campaigns since the network launched in 2003. The consensus has been that the contextual placements increase traffic but offer a lower ROI than pure search listings.

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