I'm a new small advertiser bidding on keywords relating to bankruptcy.
I'm selling information. My keyword competitors are selling legal/financial services.
What I don't understand is why some of these advertisers manage to get their ads displayed on EVERY page of search results for a particular term.
I thought you could only appear in one position (say 3rd which would be on page 1 of results, or 33rd which might appear on page 4 of results).
How come I've found three companies who manage to appear high up on each page of search results for a particular search, and how could I do it if I wanted?
I mean they're even appearing with the same ad over and over again which I thought goes against Google policy.
Are large prepaying customers given special favours by Google?
One example which is really annoying is I sponsored a phrase "gone bankrupt" for traffic in the UK. During the signup with my budget and maximum PPC, I was advised I'd get hundreds of clicks a day and appear somewhere low on the first page of search results.
I have yet to appear in the first ten pages and that's two days later while still showing as "Active".
Thanks for reading and any help would be great,
Richard.
Now on some searches, they may still run lower priced ads if they don't have enough higher priced ads for that kewyword.
Here is what I am seeing for a specific search term.
There are 3 top horizontal ads on the first page of results. The top 2
of those advertisers are also the top 2 spots (horizontally) on the second page of results. Back to the first page of results on the right hand side of the page, of the 8 that are displayed on the first page - 5 are displayed also in the right hand side on the second page of results, but in a different order than on the first page. THEN my ad shows up for the first time (second from the bottom on the 2nd page of results). My max bid is $9.00 - there is no way I am being outbid by 20 advertisers on this keyword.
I came up with 20 advertisers because there are 3 horizontal spots on the page and then 8 on the right hand side. And again I am second from the bottom on the second page. There are really only 9 unique advertisers, yet I am 20th position.
This is extremely unfair. Looking forward to hearing why this is happening.
[edited by: Kobayashi at 9:44 pm (utc) on Aug. 14, 2006]
two months ago I wrote an email regarding this situation to Google Adwords.
Their answer was simple and lacking of any explanation. They said, it was perfectly legal and that was how the system was suppose to work. No further explanation.
I also ask why wouldn´t they leave room for lower biders, but that answer remains on hold.
Regards.
Their answer was simple and lacking of any explanation. They said, it was perfectly legal and that was how the system was suppose to work. No further explanation.I also ask why wouldn´t they leave room for lower biders, but that answer remains on hold.
I'm not quite understanding why you feel google should "leave room for lower bidders", particularly if, as is almost certainly the case, doing so results in less revenue.
Well then how about if Google was actually truthful about what they are doing then? They are not being forthcoming at all. If there are really only say 8 spots on a keyword, let us know.
I am looking at my stats from yesterday and on 1 term it says there were
6 impressions and my average position was 91.7. That's right 91.7 - not 9.7. There is absolutely no way, with a max bid of $9, there were 90 advertisers with higher max bids. Absolutley no way.
Care to explain my 91.7 average position Google? Care to explain anything anymore?
Well then how about if Google was actually truthful about what they are doing then? They are not being forthcoming at all. If there are really only say 8 spots on a keyword, let us know.I am looking at my stats from yesterday and on 1 term it says there were
6 impressions and my average position was 91.7. That's right 91.7 - not 9.7. There is absolutely no way, with a max bid of $9, there were 90 advertisers with higher max bids. Absolutley no way.Care to explain my 91.7 average position Google? Care to explain anything anymore?
I understand you are frustrated, and you really don't want google to succeed, at least from the raft of attack messages you've written. Heck you're entitled to your opinion.
1) You imply google isn't being truthful. Are you doing the usual complaining here (which usually comes from people with really questionable sites), or do you have evidence?
2) If you don't know that position is determined by more than bid, you probably don't know enough to be an intelligent adwords advertiser. You might want to make your fortune shorting google stock (or losing your shirt).
3) If you haven't noticed that the average positions are only estimates, and pretty general estimates, then ditto. A little thought would immediately tell you why they HAVE to be estimates in almost all cases, and why they are going to be inaccurate.
I know they are in business to make as much money as possible, who isn't? It seems like Google has become the airlines, God knows why prices for tickets jump around so much. It's just something you come to accept.
The problem I have with Google is that they never publicly aknowledge anything, unless of course it's a new press release.
Do what you think is best for you Google, but enough with the 'Do No Evil' slogan/philosophy.
The problem I have with Google is that they never publicly aknowledge anything, unless of course it's a new press release.
With you guys, I think the reality is you hate everyone in the business (I notice you ain't happy with MSN (can't blame you) unless they do what YOU want them to do. When it's pointed out that your arguments or ongoing critical comments are basically ill-informed or junk, you change the topic, in this case from the showing of ads to publicly acknowledging "anything". And if that doesn't work, you'll trot out the stock prices are crashing and I'm going to get rich stuff (oh, wait, you already did).
Ok. Once again, to offer some information. Google HAS indeed commented on the fact that they have changed how they show ads -- they've done it publicly, and have "aknowledged" it.
Whether you've seen it or not is pretty much your problem.
PS. I'm also affected by these changes, as a fairly low bidder, so it's not great for me either. There is certainly enough information google has provided so that it makes perfect sense from their point of view.
Meaning, they're blatantly stealing from you while staring you square in the eyes and smiling....
BUT, they won't actually SAY they're stealing from you.
They will likely just not reply...and keep staring you in the eyes.
The only difference between Google and Overture...
Google is the new Big Brother.
My personal experience is that YSM may not work for all KWs, and the management interface is rough, BUT I go to sleep each night knowing that when I wake up my YSM KWs will still be working for me. That's the big difference between Google and Yahoo, IMO. Same goes for MSN.
That would be the complaints I'm talking about. Fraud.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand...
this is expressly written in the Google Help Files:
Can I show more than one of my ads on a page?To provide the best possible experience for our users and advertisers, Google does not permit multiple ads from the same or affiliated company or person to appear on the same results page. We believe that pages with multiple ads from the same company provide less relevant results and a lower quality experience for our users. Over time, multiple ads from the same source also reduce advertiser performance and lower their return on investment.
We do not typically permit advertisers to manage multiple accounts featuring the same business or keywords. When we find that an account is not in compliance with our double-serving policy, we will prevent multiple ads from appearing on the same query.
Are there exceptions to this policy?
To protect trust in Google, and to provide a quality experience for our users and partners, the double-serving policy is strictly enforced. Exceptions are granted only in very limited cases.
Advertisers seeking an exception to Google's double-serving policy must contact AdWords Support. We take the following into account when reviewing requests:
* The destination site for each ad offers different products or services (for example, a large manufacturer with two product sites, one solely for stereos and one solely for computers, both running on keyword 'electronics').
* Each destination site has a different layout and design, and each URL and domain is different.The following criteria are not considered for exceptions:
* Target Audience such as B2B, B2C, and gender.
* Business Structure such as different divisions within same company.
* Accounts handled by various 3rd parties such as agencies and SEOs.
So, whaddya know people...it's all games.
But I really have to ask and wonder "why?"...
why can't Google and YSM just play straight with the people?
What is it about this business that makes these PPC guys turn negative on advertisers?
I mean, YSM is just downright mean. At least Google is reasonably pleasant to deal with, just waaaaaaaay too secretive considering SEO and PPC are about the ONLY marketing models available to non-megaglomerate companies.
Oh well, I guess it's just a punch and kick game of capitalism.
Google holds all the cards and insists that you keep guessing what hand they have...
and right when you think you've got it, they change it and laugh.
[edited by: Hipsoul at 4:02 am (utc) on Aug. 17, 2006]
No I'm not looking for a Fuzzy Green Widget - Let's go to the second page of results - OH THERE IT IS - a Fuzzy Green Widget! DUH...
What I don't understand is why some of these advertisers manage to get their ads displayed on EVERY page of search results for a particular term.
I thought you could only appear in one position (say 3rd which would be on page 1 of results, or 33rd which might appear on page 4 of results).
In this scenario I have to believe that each new page of results restarts the ad cycle, if you will. So it doesn't matter if you search thru ten pages of results, I've paid to be at or near the top on each of those pages. And I am.
At least one other factor, besides my cost, could be how well the ads work (CTR, et al). My ads draw traffic and provide good leads for me. They are well targeted, well written, and at times, costly. And I'm not big business, but mom 'n pop to the core. The big businesses have to spend a little more (and they can) if they want to appear above me.
My ads also get displayed on every diffn. page of the Search results. I notice most advertisers have the same display. Of course, the ad is not repeated on the same page.
IMO this could be happening because after the last QS update , Google ad inventory may have gone down so they compensate by displaying the same 6- 7 ads on every page of the Search result.
My CTR is also way up...almost 25% , when it used to be 4-5 % for certain keywords. So something new may be at work.
Personally, as a search engine user, I've always wondered about repeating ads on successive search pages. I'll admit I'm a power user of the internet, so my experiences may not be typical. When I enter a search term, my first reaction is to look at the top 3 or 4 search results. If the information I'm looking for appears to be in one of those results, then I click on it (for examples, if I search for blue widgets and one of the top SERPS results shows bluewidget.com, I'll probably click on it). Then I check the ads at the top and then the side, then the rest of the SERPS for that page. If I go to the next page and repeat the same process. If I see a lot of the same ads I saw on the first page, I develop ad-blindness and stop looking at them altogether. I've already seen and discounted those ads.
the airlines, God knows why prices for tickets jump around so much.
I feel it's worthwhile to point out the explanation of airline ticket pricing is quite corporeal. Price differentiation (or price discrimination) [en.wikipedia.org] My link goes to wikipedia, but it's a basic economics term so any source will explain it and almost always uses airline pricing as the example.
There's no reason to think that is what's going on with Adwords. But at least now you have a better understanding of airlines. :)
