as a relative newbie, trying to get my site listed high up on Google adwords and not having much success as yet, I read in the support notes that if I set my max CPC higher, I will come higher up the list. Unfortunately even though I have done this, I am not even appearing in the listings. I then added a ridiculous CPC to see what happened (!) and nothing again. So are my competitors paying more than me? I think not - the last value I put in was £60 and I still didnt' appear! And also...how do they work out how much I actually will pay per click?
Any help appreciated
I found this month that my campaigns are more profitable if you start them off low and let them build themselves up to the first page as the CTR improves. Also using a combination of exact and phrase match has helped lots.
I hope this is of use to you! As I said Im new too and learning everyday as to what works and what doesn't!
What happens when I put in a max CPC? Will I end up paying that much?
The Max CPC is a cap that you set. You will never pay more, and will usually pay less. Your actual CPC will always be in the range between the minimum CPC ($0.05 USD) and the Max CPC that you set.
With that said, I'd never advise that you set a Max CPC higher than you're comfortable paying - because there is always the possibility that you could pay that much.
As to your larger question of why your ads aren't showing, I'd really suggest contacting AdWords support, as they can take a look at the actual account. The answer will lie in the details, which none of us here can see.
A few possible factors that come to mind are:
* Keywords may be of a sensitive nature, and need to be reviewed/approved before ads will appear.
* Max CPC is set higher than (or equal to) the daily budget.
* Ad has been inadvertently deleted.
* Campaign end date has passed.
* Campaign or Ad Group may have been accidentally paused.
I hope that your ads are running soon, and I wish you every success with your advertising!
AWA
Max CPC is set higher than (or equal to) the daily budget.
I would bet on this one.
Be glad nobody clicked on your ad when it was set to the top CPC, you would be amazed how much some people bid. Even though you were pretty sure your ad wasn't showing, you could have been burned pretty badly. I advise to never play around with outrageous numbers like that.
My ads are now showing, thanks to hours of mucking about with keyword matches, CPCs etc, and I think I might be getting the hang of it!
Regarding the outrageous cost per click, your advice is sound. I was experimenting with figures to see the effect on my listing, I am pleased to say that the outrageous figure was only up there for a couple of minutes! :-)
Thanks again
MsM
