I appreciate that ordinarily bidding is converted to $USD and it's pretty much real-time and at regular interchange rates, and there is no advantage from using one currency or another.
My question concerns the maximum bid of $US100. In other currencies, the maximum bid is roughly equivalent to $US100, but is rounded. So instead of it being £51.445622 today, it is probably something like £50.00.
This figure seems to only get updated every month or so.
So, if the maximum £GBP bid of £50 equals $97.19, does someone bidding the maximum allowable in $USD ($US100) have an advantage over someone in bidding the maximum allowable in £GBP (£50.00/$97.19)?
[note, I don't know what the current maximum bid in £GBP is - my question is general in nature]
[edited by: SuperF at 9:12 am (utc) on May 12, 2008]
IMO, since nobody can figure Google’s calculation as a number, it is abstract to even try figuring this out.
For example, if you have two identical accounts, one in GBP and the other in $US, each single search is specific to itself.
Just run hourly report and see how much you pay per click each hour during the day. Hourly AVG CPC is never the same, even with same ads hanging in there all the time, with MAX bids that are likely fixed.
My approach is that I try to pay Google in the same currency that I get paid, just so I evade multiple currency exchange at the worst possible rate.
Then I deal with my local bank or whoever.
I always wondered how much money people lose or save when bidding in non-US currency.
So, if the maximum £GBP bid of £50 equals $97.19, does someone bidding the maximum allowable in $USD ($US100) have an advantage over someone in bidding the maximum allowable in £GBP (£50.00/$97.19)?
One thing I should note is that when my CA$110 bids are converted to US$100, it seems to be a one-time conversion. Subsequent changes in the exchange rate do not seem to affect the bid. A few days ago, I bid CA$110 for one keyword and that bid was changed to CA$102.39 to match the US$100 amount at the exchange rate at the time. Today, my bid is still CA$102.39, even though the exchange rate has changed and CA$102.39 is now worth US$102.27. Maybe Google adjusts it to US$100 when calculating Ad Rank, etc. but only someone deeply experienced with AdWords would be able to tell you that.
[edited by: Rehan at 9:58 pm (utc) on May 15, 2008]
I was hoping someone would know. Are there AdWords questions that nobody knows the annswer to, not even Google themselves?
I think I have spent somewhere in the neigborhood of 16,500 hours (I just did the math) working with AdWords and AdWords advertisers, and this is the first time I've ever heard this question. :)
I'm not saying that it's not a good question. Just that it's one that I have never thought about - nor have I had occasion to research it. And yes, this is a longish way of saying that I don't know the answer. ;)
And, in a sense it's a bit academic since one's postion does not depend on Max bid alone - and all the factors are constantly in motion, rather than at a standstill. It's worth remembering that the advertiser 'A' who is in position 'X' might actually be paying less than the advertiser 'B' below them - if advertiser 'A's quality is better.
I have had much less time to post on this forum recently, and have not made it a point to get an answer to this question due to that (bordering on severe) lack of time. That said, I will try to run down an answer - but, to set reasonable expectations, I can not speak to how soon that will happen. ;)
AWA
I would hate to think that someone in India, Canada or the UK had an unfair advantage in this circumstance.
A few weekends ago (while the banks were closed for the weekend), the conversion rate from here was CA$1.0039 = US$1.0000... So at that rate, US$100 would be CA$100.39. But Google converted my test bids to CA$100.82; that's a 'loss' of about 43 basis points (0.43%). I'll check again this weekend to see if I get a similar rate difference.
As for the change such that CA$100 is the max bid allowed, I'll be contacting Google about that because it does create a slight disadvantage relative to some other currencies. (If the CA$ fluctuates as it has recently, there will again be times when CA$100 is less than US$100.)
