AdWords Ranking

Google AdWords

[Simon_Monk]

So, here is one for you folks.
We have been using Google AdWords very successfully for over a year, so I'm not one to complain. Good quality traffic.

BUT

In theory the Ad ranking is CPC x CTR (where the last thousand impressions is weighted 50%, the next thousand 25% and so on, PLUS CTR is weighted more heavily than CPC).

I am sure there are other factors too, but this is what I can get out of Google so far.

So, based on this you would have thought you would be able to make sense of the rankings.

Not so.

I work with two companies who happen to bid on the same keyword.

Company 1 has double the CTR and pays double the CPC ... yet (sometimes) appears below company 2.

Has anyone had a similar experience or can anyone make any (Ad)sense of this?

SimonM

[eWhisper]

The first thing that comes to mind is to check on the matching options to make sure they are the exact same keywords. Are these searches for the identical type of searches? (i.e. [exact widget])

[Simon_Monk]

Yes, everything was identical. I can reproduce the weirdness in the AdWords control interface. I have screen shots that I sent to Google too, but these are confidential.

[FromRocky]

Some observations have been made in the below thread about the ads jumping around. What you have experienced is the same phenomenon?

[webmasterworld.com...] [/url]

[Nikke]

Stupid question:
Could it be that Company 2 has been on AdWords longer?

[vibgyor79]

Not a stupid question at all. Look at company 2's CPC X CTR over a longer time frame.

Also, do remember that Google considers the CTR/CPC at Google only - not the partner sites. So what you see on Google stats is not what Google considers for ranking.