Targeting Is Definitely Off This Weekend

[Blue_Fin]

I have read several comments on various threads about mistargeted ads and PSAs on pages that formerly were well targeted. While I haven't seen any PSAs on my site, the pages that I just put Adsense on yesterday are not targeted.

I have also seen quite a few PSAs on other websites I have visited this weekend.

Maybe if we can keep all of the targeting issues on one thread and GoogleGuy reads this, he can look into it for us.

[4eyes]

Budgets might expire near to the end of the month - at least it seems to be a pattern that has happened in previous months.

[Blue_Fin]

That could explain PSAs; but it wouldn't explain mistargeted ads.

[Jon_King]

Blue_fin I think it might. The highly targeted ads run out of money so the next 'tier' takes their place. This is just my general observation and guess.

[401khelp]

I agree with Jon_King. As far as I'm concern it has everything to do with ad budgets for primary keyword being exhausted leaving nothing but minor keyword ads or nothing that fits your keyword at all, hence the PSA’s.

I arrive at this conclusion because after over three months on the program, the following month-end pattern is starting to emerge:

Around 10 days of month-end, the per click payment begins to decrease. Higher per click paying ad budgets on primary keywords have started to become exhausted (they get priority from Google while their budgets last since Google earns more from them) and lower paying ads start picking up the slack.

Around five days, you start to see less targeted ads and PSA’s. Lower paying budgets on primary keywords become exhausted and secondary ads or PSA’s pick up the slack.

[Blue_Fin]

I hope you're not right because if I were an advertiser, I wouldn't want my ads shown randomly on sites that were not targeted for my ads simply because Goodle didn't have any relevant ad inventory. Advertisers could then pull out of the contextual option and then everyone loses.

[Blue_Fin]

There has been a story on my local newspaper's website for 3 days entitled "Dallas socialite arrested in shoplifting" (I'm not in Dallas). In that article, the names of the designer items that were allegedly stolen are included. Those designer names are very popular keywords and each time I've gone to story there have been relevant AdSense ads related to the designer names included in the article, until just now. Now there are PSAs.

I think this is a very relevant example of the mistargeting that is going on and has nothing to do with ad budgets.

[401khelp]

Advertisers could then pull out of the contextual option and then everyone loses.

I agree, this would not be good for any of us.

[europeforvisitors]

The fact that we're approaching the end of the month may be reducing the number of targeted ads in Google's inventory, but that's only part of the story. Something else is going on, too. For example, as I mentioned in another thread, I'm seeing ads for Munich hotels on a Venice page, but those ads aren't appearing on Munich pages. That's simply bad targeting.

[cornwall]

>>I'm seeing ads for Munich hotels on a Venice page, but those ads aren't appearing on Munich pages.

I assume they are playing with their algorithm

Damned if I can understand it. I have hotels worldwide, and can find one state in the US with targeted ads and another with off target ads. As far as I can tell from my coding, both states should be showing equally targeted ads.

My CPC has been remarkably consistant over the months, but the CTR has shown more variation. As the CPC has been constant, and I have not altered the ad format at all in that period, I assume that it is not "cheap" ads that have caused the drop in CTR, but an increase in off target ads.

But as the statistical info that we get is so sparse, then who knows!

[4eyes]

I think this is a very relevant example of the mistargeting that is going on and has nothing to do with ad budgets.

Maybe - but it is nothing new and entirely to be expected IMO.

Sure Google could improve the targeting on some pages, but putting adsense on a news page is always going to present some problems.

We have commented previously on month-end fluctuations - it seems to be a regular thing so far, and is likely to be the culprit in your particularly case.

We are likely to see a different quality of results from each other as the relevance of the ads and number of PSAs will vary depending on factors specific to your particular market, eg the depth and responsiveness of the advertising inventory associated with your sites.

this thread [webmasterworld.com] covers other reasons for fluctuations - many of which will also affect relevance of ads.

[div01]

I have a couple of websites that deal with a multitude of independent subjects - A, B, C, D, E.

In the past I might have seen PSAs at the end of the month, but now Google seems to be taking ads from say A, and filling them into D and E - even though the subjects are absolutely unrelated. I am hoping that this is not a algorithm bug and will clear up sometime this week.