Ben.
Campaigns should start to run immediately. Keep hitting refresh every couple of minutes.
In some cases, though, ads may not run.
Some possible reasons:
-- Your daily budget is too low. Google tries to match ad frequency as closely as possible to your daily budget. If you have a low number for your budget, your ad may not show up very often.
-- Your search terms aren't popular. You may not see a search term show up immediately because there aren't too many searches done on a particular keyword. If this is the case, you need to be patient. Any keywords you enter that don't project more than one click per day can be reasonably considered "unpopular."
-- Your CPC rate is too low. Sometimes, on highly contested terms, your ad may not have a high-enough CPC to be listed. If the predictor lists a number below 5 for your projected average position, this may be the case. This can be fixed by either raising your CPC or increasing Click-Through percentage (CTR). Remember, though, not to pay too much for a keyword.
Any further ideas why I'm not there? The only thing I can thin of is that this Adwords account normally only spends about 20 Euro a day and obviously this one is going to be costly - are they worried i won't be able to pay?
Ben.
Have you chosen which country/countries to target your ads?
Also, check the estimated click-through rates of your keywords. If the total is less than 1, you likely have an ad that won't show very often.
Also, I suggest reducing your total. Google will suggest to you the maximum daily spending needed to maximize clicks.
I'd also recommend lowering your spending on ads. 10 EUR per ad can add up VERY quickly should your campaign suddenly start. For most ads, you don't need more than half a EUR to get on the list.
I'd type the search phrases you've targeted into google, checking to see how many ads show up. This should give you an indicator of your competition, and, to a lesser extent, how popular the keyword is.
If the total is less than 1, you likely have an ad that won't show very often
What do you mean? If he is above budget, shouldn't his ad appear when someone or he searches for it? Please explain this further. It is interesting.
There is a few things that could be happening. Have you checked to see if the ad has been disapproved? They will send an email, but if your inbox is like mine, it can get lost.
If the keyword is very popular, adwords will shut down the ad after a certain amount of impressions until the ad is checked by an editor. It being the Memorial holiday weekend here in the States (assuming the servers and editors are located here, not sure on that for UK ads) there may be a delay for the editors to get to it.
I believe being a new customer can affect it as well, but I can't remember exactly why. Something about approving your credit level, I think. In other words, I believe they won't let an expensive campaign run very long until the credit card is verified.
I have noticed a delay occationally with my ads when I first put them up but never for more than a few hours. I would suggest that if you aren't appearing, shoot off an email to ask why.
If he is above budget, yes, he should see his ad when he or somone else searches for it.
I'm just trying to tell him that he shouldn't expect hundreds of impressions immediately for certain ads (namely, the ones that don't have a high daily click estimate).
