The more time I spend in the forums, the more confusion I see about Google AdWords’ Ad Rank (CPC bid × Quality Score). I’m going to try to break this down, not by what Google says it is, but what it actually is.

According to Google:

A keyword-targeted ad is ranked on a search result page based on the matched keyword’s cost-per-click (CPC) bid* and Quality Score.

Ad Rank = CPC bid × Quality Score

The Quality Score for Ad Rank on the search network is determined by:

• The historical clickthrough rate (CTR) of the ad and of the matched keyword on Google; CTR on the Google Network is not considered
• The relevance of the keyword and ad to the search query
• Your account history, which is measured by the CTR of all the ads and keywords in your account
• Other relevance factors

http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6111

The more you think about this, the more your head hurts. In reality, the formula is quite simple: Ad Rank = How much revenue your ad generates for Google. The more revenue your ad generates, the higher your Ad Rank.

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Posted in Google AdWords, Search Engine Marketing, Pay-Per-Click ~ 2 Comments

If you’ve ever setup a Google AdWords account and noticed that the Minimum CPC (cost-per-click) for most of your keywords started around $1, $5, or $10 from the get-go, you may be experiencing a quality score issue around your “Visible URL” …at least that’s what was explained to me by a Google AdWords insider last week. It’s apparently possible, through no fault of your own, to inherit a doomed domain …and possibly ruin your SEM reputation in the process.

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Posted in Google AdWords, Search Engine Marketing, Pay-Per-Click ~ 4 Comments

Google AdWords Campaign Optimizer Optimizes Something
…but not Campaigns

Considering Google’s track record in releasing quality products, I’m a little bit disappointed with their recent release of Campaign Optimizer. Wanting to test this new tool, I set up a nationally targeted test campaign for “Tampa Plumbers”. I was careful to make sure the campaign was about as poorly optimized as the average campaign generally is.

The results might surprise you. Not only did Google AdWords Campaign Optimizer fail to offer any helpful optimization, its recommendations made the campaign less optimized. In addition, one can’t help but notice that all suggestions the tool made would help increase Google’s revenue from this campaign (generic keyword additions, increase bid prices, and copy changes that increase click-through rates). It also ignored optimization tactics that would benefit the advertiser in terms of driving qualified traffic and eliminating budget waste. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Google AdWords, Search Engine Marketing, Pay-Per-Click ~ 1 Comment