Ever seen an AdWord glitch like this?

Get charged .41 cents/content click when should be no more than .15

[metakomm]

I noticed when checking my google account today that I had two content clicks for .82!

That is way too high...My monthly average for those clicks are .11, and lifetime is .14. The cost per click for the ad is set at .15.

Anybody know what is going on? I sent tech support an email curious to know why I'm being overcharged. I paused the content advertising until I know what is going on...

[mike_ppc]

Look very carefully if you have a MaxBid for a KW higher than 0.41. That could be it.

[HitProf]

Do you have any keywords with higher CPC?

<sorry same as above>

[metakomm]

maybe that is it. I thought it was based off the default value. But I NEVER remember seeing that amount per click before...I have a few pricey keywords that RARELY generate clicks...

[mike_ppc]

Well, it seems it's not based on the default MaxBid Value, but on the highest MaxBid in that AdGroup.....

[HitProf]

Nope, Google support told me content CPC is based on keyword CPC not group CPC. Keep wondering why.

[MovingOnUp]

I can definitely confirm this. I have one Ad Group where the group is $0.05 Max CPC and the link for the ads go to certain pages. Each keyword has a considerably higher Max CPC and a different link. The content traffic I get is at the higher CPCs and goes to the links for specific keywords.

[skibum]

It seems like the auction for content is separate from search when it comes to bidding. <added>Not a new feature or anything like that - there may be 10 bidders in search and 5 opted in to content so the CPC charged may be higher for content clicks if that is how the marketplace works itself out</added> Even with the content "smart pricing", the actual CPC charged on content is sometimes higher than search.

Max CPC $0.50

Actual Search CPC $0.30

Actual content CPC $0.35

There shouldn't be anything charged higher than the max CPC at the keyword level, however if bids have just been lowered and the time period for which stats are viewed goes back farther than that it will take time for the avg CPC to drop.

[edited by: skibum at 3:43 pm (utc) on May 17, 2005]

[benevolent001]

Is the new feature to get more clicks turned on in your account?

[HitProf]

what new feature benevolent?

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Just thought I'd add one bit of detail to the discussion.

I'm paraphrasing an AdWords support email here, since it is pretty clear - so showing it in quotes:

When determining the exact CPC for clicks on contextually-targeted ads, Google looks at the content of a page and selects the keyword from your Ad Group that is most relevant to the page concepts. The system then ranks your ads with other relevant ads, and displays these as it would on Google.com. When a user clicks on your ad, you will be charged for a click on the single keyword that our system determined most relevant to the content of the page.

AWA