When the ad is on the top, it takes longer -- I've experienced anywhere from about 10 minutes (typical) to an hour or two. And in the mean time, I can still see the ad on the right side as it eagerly waits to be promoted to the top bar.
If you look at google.com/sponsoredlinks?q=keyword you'll see the new position reflected there pretty quickly. So sometimes there can be a difference between google.com/search?adtest=on&q=keyword and google.com/sponsoredlinks?q=keyword
Fast forward to a week and half later, and I've increased several of these keyword bids from $.50 to $5.00 and still no improvement on position. The Avg CPC and Cost increased substantially, while the CTR and Impressions remained constant, and Google continued to show Avg Pos of 1-2. But I would search these keywords and see my ads in 8th & 9th spots. I've used the ad preview tool in different browers, on different computers, different times of the day. I've tried logged in vs not logged in, but no improvement.
The keywords in question have quality scores of Good or Great and have some of the most impressions in their ad groups. They've been in use since the campaigns were started (about 2-3 years ago) and I haven't added/edited any ads or done any recent revisions to the landing pages. There are no new competitors, and I couldn't imagine the ones that are there would increase their daily spending by 10-fold overnight.
I've returned the bids back to where they used to be, and have seen no increase or decrease in position. I am completly stumped by this one. Any thoughts?
