Adwords advertiser that holds 2 top results (premium listing?)

Ads doesn't appear when searching for sponsored links only

[stormy]

I've just discovered something interesting when looking at my Adwords competitors.

The first two spots (the colored boxes at the top) in all the money terms for my niche are always consistently occupied by two companies (owned by the same team). No matter what I do, I can't beat them. I'm bidding pretty high but can't experiment with "crazy bids" (like 10x more) since it's a fairly active market.

The surprise is that today I was doing a search for sponsored links only, and these 2 advertisers don't appear. I've tried every variation and compared those results with the standard serps, and it's always the same case.

I suspect that Google has sold the "premium listings" spot (which doesn't exist anymore!) to this particular company, so they always appear at the top in the serps for their keywords.

I'm wondering whether to contact Adwords Support and enquire about this.

Can anybody shed some light?

[ScottG13]

If they have a secret level of advertising, I've never heard of it. I suppose its worth asking about since it is in your market sector.

[Shak]

I suspect that Google has sold the "premium listings" spot (which doesn't exist anymore!) to this particular company, so they always appear at the top in the serps for their keywords.

I am willing to lay AWA and GoogleGuys bank balances on the line that this ain't true.

Shak

[stormy]

Forgot to state that this is for the Spanish market. I too doubt that there's a "secret level of advertising", but I also don't see any reason why this company couldn't approach Google and offer good money for that spot, with a carefully drafted agreement between the two parties.

If we rule that out - why the glitch in the sponsored results? I've tested some other areas and the top advertisers always appear there too.

[cline]

Advertisers running multiple Adwords accounts happens all the time. I've reported 3 this month. Report them to Adwords customer service. They'll take care of the issue.