Active but no impressions?

What's taking so long?

[farmboy]

I set up an account, selected keywords, submitted payment information and my log-in page tells me the account is active.

My research on the keywords tells me they get thousands of searches daily, yet in just over 36 hours I haven't had a single impression, much less a click.

What would cause this?

FarmBoy

[Nancy99]

Your CPC is most likely too low. Raise your CPC and you will see the higher you go to Google's secret target mark the more impressions you will see.

The secret target mark is my term for the "auction" based on market driven CPC competition and what Google feels a click on your keywords is worth based on what other people are paying.

[farmboy]

Your CPC is most likely too low. Raise your CPC and you will see the higher you go to Google's secret target mark the more impressions you will see.

I signed up using the "starter" account or whatever it's called. Google asked me to set a monthly budget, but there wasn't a place to set a CPC for each keyword phrase.

FarmBoy

[netmeg]

You're probably on the Budget Optimizer, then. You might want to go into the Campaign Settings and check.

[farmboy]

You're probably on the Budget Optimizer, then. You might want to go into the Campaign Settings and check.

It looks like that may have been the problem. Thanks.

FarmBoy

[farmboy]

I guess I'm expressing newbie frustration here, but this seems like a crazy way of conducting business.

Google hasn't suggested to me why I'm not getting any clicks, they haven't contacted me to give me a hint how high I need to bid before getting clicks...if not for this board, I wouldn't even know to look into the matter further.

I wonder how many other new AdWords users there are that basically are sitting there with dormant accounts wondering what to do next?

FarmBoy

[AdWordsAdvisor]

I guess I'm expressing newbie frustration here, but this seems like a crazy way of conducting business.

Google hasn't suggested to me why I'm not getting any clicks, they haven't contacted me to give me a hint how high I need to bid before getting clicks...

I'm Sorry for your frustration, farmboy. Like most things worth doing, AdWords does take some time to get comfortable with - and I know it can be frustrating, having been there myself some years ago. ;)

That said, please know that there are enough AdWords advertisers that it is not possible for AdWords folks to actively monitor each new (or existing) account and offer advise to advertisers on how they should proceed. For this reason, if you ever have any unanswered questions about your account, please contact the AdWords support team by using the 'Contact Us' link on each page of your account.

As you say, these boards are also an excellent source of information - but many questions are best answered by someone who can actually see your account, as the AdWords support teams can.

Many questions can also be answered by spending a bit of time in the AdWords Help Center. For example, here are some resources from the Help Center for advertisers who wonder why their ad is not running as expected:

Why can't I see my Ad?
[adwords.google.com...]

Other results from the Help Center for the query 'Why can't I see my ad?
[adwords.google.com...]

AWA

[farmboy]

Thanks for the response AWA. I certainly understand that there too many accounts for a human to sit around and review them. I'll review the information at the links provided.

On the other hand, if someone starts and activates a new AdWords account and hasn't had any impressions after 48 hours / 96 hours or whatever time period, it would be nice to at least have some type of automated email to alert the person and possibly provide the same links you provided here.

I've been an AdSense publisher since July, 2003, but I'm new to AdWords. You might say I have a self-interest in encouraging lots of people to sign up for AdWords and generate impressions. :)

FarmBoy