3 impressions, 3 clicks, 0 conversions, $4.83 down :-< Is it worth me contacting Google about this? Also, with 'Invalid Clicks' in the Account Performance report, does Google ever really credit us for these Invalid Clicks? Thanks guys
Not necessarily - if you are in a reasonable position and you have a reasonably well written ad - it is more than possible that all three searchers would have clicked on your ad. In terms of conversion - you also have to factor in the fact that many people do not buy immediately - they'll search for the product - visit multiple websites (often through the ppc ads) and then they'll make a decision a day, or a few days or even a few weeks down the track. You would need a much bigger sample to get google interested I would think. Dylan
What I forgot to add was that sometimes when problems like this occur - you need to make sure that you are assessing the entire chain from search to sale. If your impressions = clicks = 0 sales - the problem might actually lie in the second half of the equation (rather than at the adwords end). Do you need to focus on adjusting your content/placement etc to make sure that you are pitching more effectively to everybody who visits your site? Dylan
Thats not enough data to really say. I would let it go to possibly 100 clicks or more before jumping to conclusions.
If you're at 100 impressions and 50 clicks and 0 conversions, that looks like fraud. You can't really tell on 3 clicks, because you might just have a really well written ad. I'd say wait about 5 more days until you get 100 impressions, and then you can tell.
Thanks guys. I emailed Google anyway so will be interesting to see what they say (for future reference). I was position 9.0 on broad search for the keyword. I just think it smells a bit fishy. Lets say it was 3 different people, each with a 1 in 10 chance of clicking my advert off the first impression, thats some odds right there. But I take your comments about needing more clicks and impressions, only thing is it'd be that much easier to hide the clickfraud then?
It may be the same person... but I dont think that makes it click fraud. Does It? I know, in the past I have found a product via sponsored links, and if it sticks in my mind but I dont remember the domain, I will return to the SE keyword to find the sponsored link. Shame on me .... but I would guess it happens somewhat often.
Let me tell you google's invalid click detection algorithm sucks big time, just search your keyword for which you have bidded in google search. Use open in new window 4 times on your advertisement. Google will probably deduct few more dollars from your adword account !!
The problem is that that's an average across all of the keywords that it matched to. You may have been the only bidder on the keyword that generated the three impressions. I'd check the search term report, and find out which searches the clicks came from, then search for them on www.google.com/adpreview and see how visible your advert is...
I would suggest...to wait for a few more days. 3 Clicks isn't a huge number to jump on to a conclusion.