Average Position Reporting

It is sometimes way off

[Robsp]

The average position is important when optimizing your campaigns. The strange thing is that often I get an average reported position of between 3 or 4 while the ad is consitently on the top spot (sometimes even in the premium spot), even without competition.

I know that this is region specific but even it I test the major Geo's these keyword are still on pos 1 or 2 but never on 3 or 4. How does this get reported and are others seeing this as well (It may be G trying to get us to bid more :-)

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Robsp, one thing to keep in mind is that Average Position is a statistic that is reported for a particular date range. So, when referring to it, always be aware of the date range to which you are set. In a campaign that has been running for awhile, the date range of 'all time' can be a very different thing than the date range of 'today'.

And in either case, you are always seeing an average of all the positions your ad has held in the specified time period, rather than your actual position at the moment.

And as we're all aware, ad position can vary from search-to-search, depending on what your competition is up to.

Lastly, a quick reminder that 'date range' is a sticky setting that always defaults to whatever you last set it to.

AWA