...discrepancies between Google search and the Ads Preview tool are commonplace and we always recommend that you use the Ads Preview Tool to get the truest representation of your ad positioning.
Am I the only person who finds this alarming? How on earth is the preview tool going to give us the "truest representation"? The results on the ads preview tool are not what our customers are seeing, the actual google results ARE. I, at least, would like to see what people are ACTUALLY seeing, not what google wants me to think they are.
By searching for your own ads constantly on Google.com it is possible for you to change what ads you see or don't see - including your own. Searching for your ads using the Ad Preview Tool prevents this, and shows you what others users are seeing in the moment you search.
Keep in mind that your ads will only show in the Ad Preview tool if they are eligible to show in the moment you search - taking into consideration your budget, and so forth.
AWA
Keep in mind that your ads will only show in the Ad Preview tool if they are eligible to show in the moment you search - taking into consideration your budget, and so forth.
Not so true. Keywords that adwords had listed as "inactive due to search volume" still triggered ads in the preview tool.
I dont mean to be argumentative. Im sure I seem pretty stupid to all of you experts, but I guess I have a different line of thinking.
Im sure I seem pretty stupid to all of you experts
So true, all of us here were born with the Adwords DNA add-on pack. Our parents had great foresight and purchased the add-on pack prior to Google being invented.
Everyone here has gone through the learning curve, many of us are still on it.
How on earth is the preview tool going to give us the "truest representation"?
My current thinking is that there is no single representation. That each user is getting a personalized version of the SERPs and ads. I think AWA is saying the preview tool has personalization turned off - and so you'll get the nearest picture to reality without sitting next to the user.
I use the following:
1) Ad Preview
2) Normal Search
3) If you do a normal search and click on "more spnsored listings" you can see yet another change in the AdWords algo.
4) In Adwords UP I look at the avg positions
I ususally gauge them by identifying the most common position. Its not perfect, but it seems to work for me.
I use the following:1) Ad Preview
2) Normal Search
3) If you do a normal search and click on "more spnsored listings" you can see yet another change in the AdWords algo.
4) In Adwords UP I look at the avg positions
I would also add a 'normal search' through a web-proxy, depends on the geo-targeting. (surf through US, canada, UK, etc')
I would also add a 'normal search' through a web-proxy, depends on the geo-targeting. (surf through US, canada, UK, etc')
IMO, normal search is useless for checking ad positions -- if you're checking your ads regularly, it will cause your ads to appear lower than for a typical user (you can "fix" that by deleting your cookies, but then you'll just see the same thing as the Ad Preview Tool). And "More Sponsored Listings" has been completely unrelated to ad positioning ever since they changed it last summer.
I typically use just the Ad Preview Tool and the stats for my keywords to see where they're appearing for users. I use normal search only when I have to extract a competitor's landing page URL from an ad link.
