Sudden drop down ranks

Was #1 now #6

[BadWolf]

I don't really understand what is going on. I have about 3 competitors in the UK for a specific phrase.

I was paying about 30p per click ( This is google UK BTW )

Now suddenly I'm number #6 - I have 3 US sites above me.

I've tries raising the CPC (Up to £1), but it seems to have no difference at all. I'm still #6. adwords estimatess I'll be spending 25p, but I'm spending 0p - nobodies clicking me anymore.

Anything I can do? I've have no orders since thursday and I don't know what to do!

Yours desperately,

Rob

[Tropical Island]

BadWolf,

Welcome to WW!

The first thing to do is check the copy in your ads and make sure you specify that you are in the UK (e.g. "Your UK widget guy"). This should assist your potential clients in knowing that you are close by to help them.

Second is to incrementally increase your bid to see at what level you need to bid in order to move up the ladder. It takes time - it's not instantaneous.

It seems odd that 3 sites would show up all of a sudden together.
Are they related? Same owner?

If so you can report them to AdWords as having multiple ads. Do not click on their ads! Just copy the URL's and follow it back to the three sites.

Once you have some more info come back here and one of our experts may be able to offer some more help.

[BadWolf]

My copy is already "Product (UK)" which has served me well for 6 months or so. In fact two of my UK competitors now do the same thing!

All of the sites above me are from completely different companies (I know them all well;))

I havn't done the incremental thing yet. But I will do. But would this be "short-cutted" (?) by setting a very high CPC and thus only paying 5p more than the highest bidder?

[Tropical Island]

This is AdWords - not Overture.

Every time you make a change it takes time for the system to digest and act on it depending on the number of impressions you receive for each of these terms.

I know this is not the exact answer you want to hear however there are many factors that go into what posistion you will be in - not just bid price.

[skibum]

Rather than raising the bid price, you might try adding a few more ads with different copy, a different call to action. The copy can make a huge difference.

Just by testing different ad copy it's possible to take ads with a 2-4% CTR anywhere up to 30% on generic terms.

Can you promote a sale price, a low price, a premium product, free shipping, quick delivery, or something else that buyers want that your competitors are leaving out of their ads that you can back up on the website?

Can you get more specific on the keywords? Find some variations and bid on them separately. If this is your money keyword, it might be beneficial to focus on things other than the bid price.