Content Network CPC suddenly shoots up

content network, adwords, cpc high, low traffic

[samseo]

I had a content-only campaign running at $0.18 cpc (max cpc was at $0.25). I was getting about 2000 visits per day. The avg position was 3.4

I then hiked the max cpc to $1.0. No other change was made. Suddenly the CPC shot up to $0.46. The budget was increased proportionately. But the number of clicks did not increase proportionately. The average position was 2.8.

Is there a reason for this? I mean, why did the number of visitors not rise at least "close" to proportionately of the budget? Does Google show ads on different sites (which are more expensive) and hence my ads were shown on different set of expensive sites? For a marginal increase in the average position, so much of a drop in traffic is a bit confusing...

[BDuns]

It could be that whatever ad you had showing was much better than the others, thus getting more clicks. I have more than a few ads that actually perform better and get more traffic when they are lower in position, which is likely from the ad copy i'm running. I've seen plenty of instances where i'll have a good ad group going...i increase the bid, hoping to get a better position, even more clicks, etc. what happens is that everything pretty much stays the same, except i'm paying more for clicks. higher position isn't always better.

[mimmo]

I speculate Google also applies a "variety factor" when showing content ads. When you started bidding higher you probably ended up on more expensive website but you lost your position on cheaper websites.

[RhinoFish]

i've observed this at times. i call it the "wander" factor. on a search results page, everyone's used to progressing down a list and thinking that relevancy is decreasing as we go down the page... but in the content network, the order is more somebody wandering around, browsing a page and seeing things of interest all over the page. given the variety of ad sizes and layouts, order is diminished and mere presence has a majority affect.

changing your position on pages you're already on, will bump your traffic some, but not anything like it does on a search page. often though, your higher bid displaces others (especially banners) and gets your imps and clicks to move proportionately up.

so i'd say your initial bid was getting you sufficient coverage for the content / keywords you are targeting, relative to your competitors.

[samseo]

Thank you all for your inputs. Very useful.
-Best,
SamSEO