A couple of days ago, one company moved to number 1 in the AdWords for all of their keywords. Although this company had advertised in AdWords for a long time, they had always been near the bottom (with the same ad). The sudden change was also suspicious because that company also advertised in the premium sponsored links at the top of the SERPS.
Well, today they are number 2 across the board. A new player is number 1 everywhere! The new player is the largest company in their industry!
It's possible they are number 1 because they are getting the most clicks since they are the biggest, but in this marketplace that is highly unlikely!
Is Google selling the top spots in AdWords?
My client called Google advertising but they are all out for a week or more.
GoogleGuy?
Of course, this also drives up page views ($).
YES
And the big accounts were told first.
Hope to find out more at the Bar Conference [barconference.com]
>Is Google selling the top spots in AdWords?
>
Yes
There is a rumor... I don't know if it'll be formally announced at BarConference or not.
Is Google playing fair? Yes if the announce the change so you can make a decision knowing all the facts. No if they don't announce the change and continue to take your money.
imho
It is still wrong, however, to solicit advertisers and say rank is determined by click popularity.
A simple disclosure would not injure a beta program and still maintain fairness.
Click-pop is still a factor, however don't jump to the conclusion that it's the SOLE factor.
I can't see google breaking its own rules about disclosure, I've always perceived them as a pretty clean operator.
Anyway, that is why I like this place, where else could you get the "inside scoop".
Yep, I'd guess that the chance of this being found out by "live" example is pretty low -but it's obviously happened.
BTW, welcome to WmW seodaddy99 -that's a nice way to open your membership here. Good work.
As I understand it, this is to effect Adword positions only, not the SERPs.
Interesting twist. I just hope that they don't start pushing the envelope, eg, some 'mega corp' asks "can we run flash...just a small one?" and they only look at the money, instead of the user experience.
Not saying that'll happen, but it's a slippery slope...and I for one don't care to see them slip :) I enjoy my free rankings too much, lol.
They rotate within their CPM $-rate level, right?
I wouldn't panic just yet about Google abandoning that core concept. They may indeed move to a PPC model, but Im quite sure it will look and work a little different than Overture.
The top spot is $15 cpi
second spot is $12 cpi
3rd spot is .. $8 cpi
4th .......... $8 cpi
5th .......... $8 cpi
Your spot is decided by click pop NOT by how much you pay, it is the other way around. How much you pay is based on your click pop.
about beta testing a new program......hmmmm
I can't say.
Just wanted to set the record straight about adwords.
Google adwords FAQ [adwords.google.com]
Has anyone ever said how much the "Premium Sponsorships" go for. I know they don't list this info publicly - as I assume it varies depending on several factors - anyone care to give me an idea? Feel free to sticky me - I will not reveal your secrets - even if google comes to my house and beats me. I am just curious.
Also, has anyone did a bargraph to CTR comparison. I mean what is the click through rate for the "interest" green bar. If not - I might have to do one to add it to my outdated PR graphic.
So, if the top Overture rate for your desired term was 1.00 per click, and Google's average clickthru rate was 6% you would get approximately 60 clicks per 1000 impresions, so your CPM would be $60.00
Now, try doing the math on a Overture term that runs around $10.00 per click.... :)
And yet they won't even respond to my requests to be an advertiser (even though I've done Adwords for over a year).
Apparently they have more advertisers than they need for the "top of the page" ads. And they have filled up all 8 Adwords slots for a lot of terms. So, the next step is to start charging more.
As long as it is done openly, I have no problem with it. I do have a problem if a select few get to lock in the top spots without even a chance for the little guy to bid.
I´ve seen all the rumors posted, and I just want to add something...
It´s obvious that if Google would plan to launch something new, it would have to beta test it. This isn´t no kids play.
It obvious too, that the people invited to test something would have to agree not to tell anyone about it.
So, just wait and see.
Sicerely,
Nuno Oliveira
Sincerely,
Nuno Oliveira
Let´s clear some things…
I forgot that some of you are eager to see some confirmation of the rumors, and that because of that, you could misinterpret what I´ve written. I didn´t say that there is a Beta Program. I was talking in case the rumors are true, that something will be launched, that it must be tested before. And that the people who test it, must keep it confidential. This is pure logic, and happens every time. I have a medium SE on my country ( Portugal, but it reaches Brazil too ), and 3 days ago I setup a quality “Top Sites”, because some of my partners asked me. Before releasing it to the public, I asked some of my partners to test it, to find errors, and give me opinions so I could make it better. I wouldn´t want to release something buggy. This is common practice. Doing this, I´m not harming other webmasters. I´m preventing that they´ll find errors, and that they´ll get a better service.
Sorry to disappoint some of you, but I was talking for myself, not confirming anything.
So you´ll just have to wait, and if the rumors are true, something will come out, sooner or later.
You just have to trust Google. They have proved that they don´t care just with money, or they would sell top results, not ads on the right side, and they would banners all over, like all other SE´s
Sincerely,
Nuno Oliveira
I take it you have seen this
[webmasterworld.com...]
We were involved on the beta testing but I couldn't really say anything, but you had hit the nail on the head
Umm, passing around the beta url for three weeks? I'd say that is pretty good confirmation.
Water under the bridge now that it's out...
That´s a pretty odd sentence... hit the nail on the head, LOL. Yes I was one of the beta testers, but my first post didn´t confirm anything. It´s a simple referrer to any Beta Program. Take my post and change “Google” to the “Elixir of eternal life” ( :p If there was something like that, it would have to be tested before, and all participants would have to agree not to tell anyone. This applies to every experiment, to every beta test).
To post something like that, implies that I know if such thing exists?
I´ve been testing/using ADWords Select for some weeks, and I could say that I gave some suggestions like showing the number of impressions. The original beta didn´t have that. But they asked for confidentiality, to let the program mature, and I always keep my word.
Sincerely,
Nuno Oliveira
