What is going on?
I have an add running, and google has put my keyword "on trial." Fair enough - but that keyword is getting a 5.5% CTR.
What is going on?
The CTR standard that must be met to have your keyword running with a 'normal' status is measured on Google alone. So your 'on trial' keyword with a 5.5% CTR is performing well on partner sites, but not so well on Google.
The CTR column of your stats, btw, tells you how you are doing on Google and partner sites.
Your post implies that you may have only one keyword - and if so, you may want to consider trying some others as well - usually the more specific the better.
AWA
The CTR standard that must be met to have your keyword running with a 'normal' status is measured on Google alone. So your 'on trial' keyword with a 5.5% CTR is performing well on partner sites, but not so well on Google.
I understand how this can happen, as I have seen it too. What I dont understand is why Google makes this distinction. (Google vs. Google Partner) Doesnt Google stand to receive the same benefit even though the clicks came more heavily from a partner site? There is probably a perfectly reasonable explanation that I just dont get... yet.
I can just imagine the drop in the global temperature when Google account managers no longer have steam coming from their ears as they try to figure out why their terms are not showing.
(Okay, if there IS a secret for seeing those two rates, please let me know ;)
I bet the Google telephone and email support staff would throw a party if Google added that feature.
I understand how this can happen, as I have seen it too. What I don't understand is why Google makes this distinction. (Google vs. Google Partner) Doesnt Google stand to receive the same benefit even though the clicks came more heavily from a partner site? There is probably a perfectly reasonable explanation that I just dont get... yet.
You are correct - there is a reasonable explanation, and it is quite simple. ;)
It boils down to quality.
In other words, we care a lot about the quality of results that we show our users. It is as simple as that.
Not everything is about revenue - and many folks are a little surprised to learn that we would rather turn away money in the short term (by not running low-relevance ads) than to sacrifice the long term goal of creating an advertising program that our users value, trust, and use over time.
I stongly believe this is the right choice, for both AdWords advertisers, and for AdWords as well. It is very much to everyone's long term advantage to have millions of users trust the ads enough to click on them, no?
AWA
Advisor, when is Google going to realize that we need a column and/or options that show combined CTR and then just Google CTR? It's so hard for us to manage the accounts without that one statistic.
Justshelley, this topic has come up literally dozens of times in the past, and I always pass that feedback on, just as I'll do with yours.
Briefly, the CTR on Google alone is not at all a simple number, as it is normalized for position, and will probably be different every single time your ad appears. Also, it is calculated to a really large number of decimal places.
In any case, the decision was made to instead show a 'Status', that reflects the success of the keyword on Google alone.
With that said, please know that I do understand your frustration, and will pass on your feedback.
And here is tip to reduce the volume of steam appearing from ears: Really excellent keyword choices, when combined with targeted ads, will nearly always start as normal, and stay there - making wrestling with 'status' a non-issue.
AWA
PS - I LOVE google adwords!
A 5+% CTR on the network seems a good number. There are some markets/users that don't use Google as a primary, but AdWords still touches those searchers through the network.
It seems like those searchers see the ads as quality, and by penalizing the advertiser for Google-only performance, you might hurt the experience for searchers on the partner sites when they aren't being shown the ads that might be useful to them.
Just another two cents I guess.
AWA
Well, if the average CTR for a keyword or specific ad is 5,5 and it's behaving so bad on Google itself, it must be highly relevant for the partners generating well over 5,5%.
Is Google not interested in relevancy for search partners? Now thát sounds like short term thinking. Why not disable the keyword for Google but keep it for search partners?
(Not to mention giving advertisers the choice of advertising on partners only)
Let's say there's a company out there that makes a lot of stuff. It has either lots of affiliates or distributors. Let's call this company Acme and they make roadrunner food, earthquake pellets, catapults, large slingshots, rocket packs, and other items that any wily coyote might want.
Now acme comes out with a new and improved catapult, and I'm trying to sell them via my site. Now I have to let people know not only are they available, but I've got them to sell. So I take out an ad that says something like:
New Acme Catapult 33D
Faster, farther, more accurate
Get yours now!
www.catapultsrus.com
OK, that's not a real web site (I hope). What to use for keywords? OK, all versions of catapult, catapults, Acme catapults, etc. will bring me anyone looking specifically for catapults. Now if I use the word Acme as a keyword, I'm going to get a lot of searchers who are looking for a lot of other acme products besides catapults, and am most likely going to eventually get a low CTR and have the Acme keyword shut off. But before that happens, there are going to be the searchers who type Acme in part of their search term, see my ad and go, "Hey, the new Acme catapults are out! I got to get me one of those."
I make decent sales just from the keyword Acme and I'd like those to continue. Yes, I'm also getting sales from the more targetted keywords, but I don't want to lose the revenue stream from Acme. So now the battle begins. I try to find every way possible to keep that Acme keyword active somehow. Google keeps trying to deactivate for a low CTR. I know there are webmasters who know exactly what I'm talking about, so I won't go into details.
Now Google wants to maintain the quality of the ads they show on their SERPS. If too many webmasters or affiliates use Acme for everything Acme sells, there will be a plethora of ads that will make them all useless. To have my Acme catapult ad seen, I have to bid higher than all the people using an Acme keyword to sell the earthquake pills, rocket packs, and the rest of the Acme products.
So is there a better answer than the status quo? I don't know, but I hope Google is giving it some thought. Very general keywords can bring in revenue, for merchants, affiliates, and Google, but they can muddle the whole thing and render it all ineffective too.
This single word gets thousands of searches per day unfortunately only a small percentage want the Catapults and we have had an ongoing battle trying to keep this word active.
The thing is that the small percentage of people who want Catapults and type in Acme keep clicking on our ad when it is there although not at a high enough rate compared to the total to keep it there.
It would really be neat if Google reached a point of development where they could factor in words that had a dual meaning and give a break to the underdog.
In truth we are competing against a very popular alcoholic drink that just happens to have the same name as our location. This single word search term is now disabled although it brought us many daily clicks and a good conversion.
We have tried different ads, etc. however can't get past the problem that of the total number of searches only 10 to 15% (or less) are looking for our area although when you consider the total number of searches this is a good number.
In Overture we have been able to keep the term active and even in 6th place we get 20 to 25 clicks per day.
