Adwords Broken?

No ads up north... anywhere

[michaelbs]

I have just noticed that there are NO ads up north for ANY search term on google.co.uk. Ive tried 3 PC's and they're all the same: NO ads up north!

I have noticed this for 1 hour now - is anyone else seeing this? This could cost G and advertisers massively if not sorted asap!

[michaelbs]

I notice something pretty strange after more investigation.

I tried a search for a keyword i know should bring up premium ads "loan" and nothing shows up north.

Then try the same keyword with but with a star like this "loan*" and premium ads show when i do this?

Very strange stuff?

[Alternative Future]

Hello michaelbs,

>>No ads up north... anywhere

When you say north, north of where? I am in Aberdeen, Scotland and can see the ads.

-GS

[michaelbs]

Hi! When i say "up north" i mean premium ad space! the 2 long ads right at the top of your google search.

[inferno]

some words have it, some words dont, u have to be a special advertiser to be listed up there.

[Kings on steeds]

Yes, i seem as if "High Performance Ad Bannaers" have been turned off, this is quite anoing because now my clients who where just "above the fold" are below it because there are two more ads to contend with. i think i will phone google for an A to my Q.

where the hell is the blue bar?

Alan

[sem4u]

I can see them here. I guess it depends on the search term.

[michaelbs]

Hi Sem4u! What area are you seeing them from? Thanks

[inferno]

[google.co.uk...]

[sem4u]

I can see them for all sorts of searches.

[michaelbs]

Sem4u! Sorry i meant what area are you viewing the internet from? UK US?

Thanks

[sem4u]

From the UK using Google UK.

[michaelbs]

Hmmmmm - thats very strange! we've tried through proxies and everything. Is anyone else not seeing premium adverts?

[bazza9]

Definite problem this morning - seeing premium ads very rarely and stats are lagging a long way behind too

[andye]

I'm in the UK, using Google.co.uk, our ads are still running 'up North'.

Perhaps they've fixed it?

best, a.

[michaelbs]

Still not seeing any premium advertisers? AWA please help? It's not just me other members are not seeing them either. I think there must be a bug here. mike

[andystowell]

I'm not seeing them either. Searching on any terms on .com and .co.uk from the UK.

Can't imagine this problem will last for long, they will be losing revenue...my clicks (not surprisingly) are way down.

Andy

[AdWordsAdvisor]

AWA please help?

michaelbs, I just got here a few minutes ago, and will take a look into this.

I'm not seeing a problem myself, though. Just did a dozen searches ranging from extremely popular to very obscure. I saw ads up north for every one, except for the most obscure, which was 'dog polish'. So no surprise there, really. ;)

Anyway, I'll explore this further.

AWA

[michaelbs]

Thanks AWA! Wait to hear from you! It has been 14 hours now for me. I asked a friend to check who uses a different isp and she could see premium ads but its very strange that others and myself can't see them in the UK?

Wait to hear! Mike

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Michaelbs, I've been away from my desk almost since the moment I posted in this thread early this morning. Just now returning for (hopefully) an hour or so of actual WebmasterWorld time. ;)

Anyway, I did ping the tech folks earlier, but have not yet been able to follow up on that yet.

However, in the meantime, I'm thinking that clearing your cache and cookies might do the trick for you. Have you tried that?

I'll try to track down my contact now - but it's been an amazingly busy day - and I'm not sure what luck I'll have.

AWA

[michaelbs]

Hi AWA. Thanks for reply. Yes one of the first things I did was clear cookies and delete files. The problem is being reflected in my adwords account too!

Keywords that daily have 30% CTR and 65% CTR have dropped too: 19% CTR and 45% CTR respectivley (proving that my ads are not north for many people)

Leave it with you! Mike

[bazza9]

Yes...I'm still seeing this problem and CTRs have dropped off accordingly.

[bobby_boy]

Seeing the same problem here - CTR have reduced by about a third.

I started seeing this on Tuesday (through google.co.uk) and it has been intermittent since then. Is this just a .co.uk problem/test or is it more widespread than that?

What is also worth noting here is that due to the drop in CTR the average CPC has inevitably increased. So spend hasn't reduced but clicks have.

[chrisk999]

I can't find a single premium adword either (in the UK).

Even a search for 'adwords' which I always assumed was a manually fixed top listing has the Google ad on the right.

Seen a dip in revenue for the day so far today, so hope they restore this back to normal soon.

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Thanks to everyone for the additional details, which I forwarded a short time ago to the tech folks.

I'll do my best to stay on top of this and post as I know more.

AWA

[michaelbs]

Seems fixed for me? Anyone else still seeing the problem? Thanks AWA

[saooop]

This topic has prompted me to ask a question that's been bugging me for ages.

If I search on G I firstly look at the first 2 or 3 organic results, then I look right to the Adwords results. I hardly ever look at the 2 Adwords results above the organic results. I suspect this might be something to do with 9 years of subconsciously ignoring banner ads.

Am I alone in this behaviour or am I correct that the ‘premium’ position is actually number 1 or 2 in the right-hand sidebar ads?

[suzyvirtual]

saooop, I don't ever look at those either. In fact, when my ads move up there, I usually have a freak out because I think my ads aren't showing at all, then I remember to look up top.
But, my stats reflect that they are indeed the best positions. Never underestimate your grandma's (or neighbor's or pool boy's )naive surfing habits.

[michaelbs]

Suzy knows what she's taking about me thinks! NEVER judge others on your own surfing habits...

[AdWordsAdvisor]

Seems fixed for me? Anyone else still seeing the problem? Thanks AWA

Yes, all should be well now. And thank you for the heads-up. ;)

But, my stats reflect that they are indeed the best positions.

This seems to be one of those areas in which advertisers have very strong opinions!

I've talked with advertisers who wanted a check box they could click to ensure that their ads never appeared above the search results - and at least one who decided to no longer advertise with AdWords if we couldn't guarantee placement there for every search.

This is a big part of why I get such a kick out of working with AdWords, and AdWords advertisers. ;)

AWA