Quick question about Position Preferences

Just to make sure I understand this correctly...

[limitup]

We noticed a major drop in impressions across the board, starting right around February 23rd.

The only thing we've changed is that we've started to play around with Position Preferences, but all we've done so far is set a Position Preference of 4-10+ for some high-volume keywords, because we don't want to be 1-3 and it seemed easier to manage this with Position Preferences rather than managing the position by constantly changing the bids.

The AdWords material on the subject warns several times that using Position Preferences can cause your ads to be shown less, which would logically happen if you tell the system you always want to be 1-3 but your QS/bid doesn't allow that.

I don't see how setting a position preference of 4-10+ would cause our ads to be shown less - they should still be shown the same, right? We may get less clicks in positions 4-10 versus 1-10, but impressions should be the same.

I can't think of anything else to explain the rather large drop in impressions on these very competitive terms. It almost seems like it has to be something with the system versus a natural drop because I've never seen a drop like this before.

The only other thing I can think of is that it started around the time that the new QS kicked in, but I don't see why that would cause our ads to be shown less either. All of the keywords in question are Great, with average positions in the 3-6 range.

Anyone have any ideas, or has anyone else noticed a weird drop in impressions starting around the 23rd of February?

[Rehan]

I don't see how setting a position preference of 4-10+ would cause our ads to be shown less - they should still be shown the same, right? We may get less clicks in positions 4-10 versus 1-10, but impressions should be the same.

Not necessarily. If you've opted in to the Search Network, there are some sites that will show only the top 3 or top 5 results; so the number of impressions can be different whether you're in position 1-3 or 6-8.

BTW, I've found that position preference hardly ever works for what you're trying to do. Take a look at this thread [webmasterworld.com], especially the response from AWA2.

[limitup]

Thanks for the reply. That makes sense. I forgot to mention I only started testing Position Preferences on Google Search. I'm heading over to that other thread...

[limitup]

Well this has me baffled. I turned off position preferences the other day and our impressions jumped right back up to where they were before. Makes no sense to me. Position preferences were actually working well for me i.e. 4-10+ always resulted in my ad being in the 3 or 4 spot (4 90% of the time). But the drop in impressions makes no sense and we can't have that. (Our bid is plenty high and it has nothing to do with that, at least based on how I understand position preferences to work).

[RonnieG]

limitup,

The answer is really simple, and intuitive:

Unless your ad is really compelling, more compelling than the ads above yours, consumers will tend to click the top 1-3 results more often, as long as those ads appear to meet the needs of their search. This behavior and the impacts as far as click volumes may vary somewhat depending on products and market areas, but it is still basic consumer behavior 101. It is no different from consumer's tendency to click more often on organic results in the top 1-4 positions than those at the bottom of the page, or on subsequent pages.

So, while position preference can help in certain situations, top positions still generally get better results.

[edited by: RonnieG at 10:05 pm (utc) on Mar. 10, 2007]

[toddb]

RonnieG but that should not effect impressions.

[centime]

I believe the google literature suggests that you advert will only be displayed if it can achieve your preferred positions.

Ergo, if it ad rank is insufficient to achieve the position you want, perhaps it does not show,

I am not certain of this, maybe AWA will say something

[RonnieG]

Using position preferences will affect impressions. It will reduce impressions if you specify positions your ad cannot attain, because of bids and/or QS too low to put you in the positions you specify all the time. It could also reduce impressions if you specify only higher positions that result in more clicks at higher prices, thereby exhausting your daily spend sooner than it would have otherwise. On the other hand, specifying lower position ranges can increase impressions, both because you would not be paying as much for each click attained, and it would probably result in lower CTR, meaning more impressions before your daily budget max is reached.

As I watch my daily spend, in my vertical, clicks and top positions are more expensive early in the day, when everyone is competing for the same ad space, and they get cheaper at the end of the day as many competitors daily spend is exhausted and my ads are still running. That's why I use a combination of position preferences and campaign scheduling to start my ads later in the day and keep them running as late as possible, when most of my prospects are active on their computers.

However, reading the original post more closely, I would also be puzzled at the behavior described.

[edited by: RonnieG at 8:34 am (utc) on Mar. 11, 2007]