There's a common misconception in the adwords world and it's one where newbies get very confused. Adwords tells you that their system is an auction style one where typically the highest bid gets the top spot, second highest bid gets the second spot and on down the line. This is not true. Adwords doesn't work that way even though that's how they advertise it. The thing is Google controls how much you will pay per click and your bid is really just the maximum you're willing to pay. They won't go above that number you set, but you won't get the results you'd expect just by bidding very high either. Google invented something called "quality score" also known as their "profit score" or their "dummy tax". The quality score is calculated using a mysterious formula that changes from account to account, keyword to keyword and even day to day. Google says the quality score is made up of the following: - click through rate of your ads - relevance of your ads - relevance of your landing page, (site now) - history of the keyword you're bidding on, (both your history and theirs) - and OTHER relevancy factors It's the last part that we don't know about. Sure we can sift through their patent applications and try to reverse engineer what they do, but even that is not 100% accurate. But the thing is they won't tell us how it's calculated so that they can tweak your quality score manually and control how much you are going to pay for each click. If they like you and your account you will get dirt cheap clicks and top spots, (believe it or not there are accounts out there that get this treatment). IF they don't like you and your account, they may still take your money, but they'll do their best to make it very difficult for you to profit. If they really don't like you and your account, they won't tell you that, they'll just jack up all your bids in your whole account so that bidding $5, $6, $10 or $12 per click is just too ridiculous to bother. Do you now see why it can be called their profit score or stupid tax? Reason being an ad with double the quality score of another ad will typically get double the traffic at half the cost. So someone in the first spot for an ad could be paying significantly LESS then an advertiser in 5th spot for the same keyword all due to the quality score. Plus that person in first spot receives far more impressions then the person in 5th spot would. So why do you need to know this a newbie? If you give google what they want, you will succeed. If you don't, they will still get paid, but you will fail. It's that simple. So what exactly do they want? Go through each point in the breakdown of the quality score and you'll see. You need a relevant ad, you need a good history, (aka high click through rate), you need a relevant landing page/site, you want to be in or near the top spots, (yes it will cost you at first, but in the long run you'll be far better off then shooting for spots 5+), you want to be bidding on the right keywords and then you cross your fingers and hope you'll get some love from the mighty Google. So give them what they want and you won't get "slapped" anymore. If you continue giving them what they don't want and just move your campaigns to a new domain everytime you get slapped, you'll never succeed. You need to fix what is wrong first and that's the hard part because google will not tell you why they don't like something, you have to guess and through experience you start to see things that work and things that don't work. I hope this post helps put some people into the right mindset because I've seen a lot of newbies who are under the wrong impression about Adwords. It's not a true auction, it's a highly modified version where you don't know every rule and are not allowed to know what they like or don't like unless you figure it out for yourself. But the key is look at it from their side, give them what they want, (even at the expense of short term gains) and you will do very well with them. That's the difference between newbies and experienced people, the latter has a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't.
I think the one point that people need to keep in mind when dealing with Google - and it's true of 'organic SEO' and adwords - Google don't do what they do for webmasters. They do it for the searchers. We webmaster's are a bit of an inconvenience for them - they have no interest in us. I see a lot of stuff on DP - not just in this sub-forum, but when the subject is sitelinks, or adsense or adwords, webmasters cling on to the idea that google has a relationship with them - that they're being rewarded or penalised - they're not. Google wants to serve up what the searchers want - that's it's raison d'etre. To work out what Google wants from you, try and think about what they think the searchers want.
Great post. I personally think,when it comes to adwords that google wants to build a good relationship between customers and ads,so if a customer clicks on a ad and he finds what he is looking for,he will have a good experience with google ads and he will probably click on ads much more in the future. And you all know what is going to be if more people click on ads,it will be better for us(PPC advertisers) and normally more cash for google.
What you fail to realize is that google is not picking on affiliates and webmasters. They are just raising the bar. As time goes on, and more people make money online and more affiliates join the scene, the game gets harder. Google has realized they many affiliates are flooding the search results with garbage, redirects, lengthy boring sales pages, and non basic compliant rules like contact us pages and privacy policies. Affiliates even went as far as to start putting google adsense on there landing pages to help offset costs. Who fault is this, the affiliates... Why, because they do anything they can to make a buck and trample all over each other, so what has google done to ensure their company name stays in good standing. They invented the quality score, google slap and other nonsense to keep the basic newbie from jumping in with a junk landing page or just a direct link campaign. Google knows there is no real value to these sites, so they might as well weed them out. Many affiliates see it as being picked on, but personally I think they are protecting their brand name and their users experience, because in the long run, its the web users they need to keep happy, not the advertisers. The advertisers are a dime a dozen and they don't have a shortage of advertisers willing to throw money at them. Plus every search result page only has between 8 and 11 advertisers and there is an entire world of businesses fighting for them, so there has to be a way to balance supply and demand. To google the most efficient solution is 1. leave those advertisers that have money 2. leave those advertisers who have there own domain 3. leave those advertisers who go above and beyond landing page expectations 4. leave those advertisers who get more clicks than the rest (because the more clicks they get the more google makes) 5. leave those advertisers who are actually providing value to the market, even if they are an affiliate Google's quality score is not rocket science... Its not a mystery... While the exact formula may be closed to only a select few people, we advertisers do not need to know the exact formula. Myself and anyone with an adwords account can make every single keyword in there portfolio GREAT... I can do, I have trained others to do it. Its only a mystery to those who have never done it before, but with some trial and error, it can be accomplished. You cant hate google for the learning curve involved with managing a successful campaign and failure has to be expected up front. So what is the real mindset a newbie needs to get into? 1. That adwords is not for everyone 2. It takes money to make money with adwords 3. There is a learning curve involve with making a profit on adwords, usually about 6 months to a year 4. Everything you read online from gurus was designed to make the guru money, not the reader 5. The best way to learn basic adwords is to pass the google exam 6. The best way to master adwords is with a mentor 7. Google does not favor specific accounts, any account can be great (Its not a hit or miss situation) 8. Google is used to spends of $1k per day up to 10k per day per campaign. 9. You need to know HTML, PHP. and even MYSQL, or at least know someone who does 10. 3rd part traffic analysis and conversion tracking is a must. Do not rely of google to provide you the information you need to optimize 11. Adwords is meant for businesses, so if your an affiliate you need to treat your venture like a business. That means have a business plan, marketing strategy and etc... 12. Google is not a set it and forget it program. You may make money while you sleep and 24 hours a day, but its going to take you 8 - 10 hours of optimization per day to keep on top of things 13 If you fail, try... try... try... again So there it is... The TOP 13 things a newbie really needs to know about adwords and internet marketing
Well it's obvious why google developed quality score. They want to satisfy searchers. Searchers want professional, eye catching, legitimate offers. Eg: If a searcher clicks on ad with "games" in it you better have a gaming website or google loses on it's credibility. And if google loses on it's credibility less people click on ads, and the less people that click on ads the less money google makes from advertisers. So it's only natural google wants advertisers who know what they are doing... and it's only natural they want people who approach their business as real business.
Excellent post robertpriolo. Specially the part I copyed.You told everything a newbie must understand to make a living from google adwords.I think that your best tips are number 2.,3.,12.,13.,newbies must understand that making money with adwords isn't easy or a 5 minute a day job.You must treat this as your personal job and spend time,money and effort learning and researching adwords.You will have ups and downs,but you can succeed if you are willing to learn. I will tell you my story. About 6 months ago i tipped in my browser "make money online",in that beginning period I have bought several ebooks and browsed various "money online" keywords.I was buying ebooks like crazy and spent almost 300 dollars on really crap ebooks.WHY?Because I thought that "the gurus" know the secret of earning six figure incomes real easy and fast,and normally that they are sharing their secrets in the ebook.So you buy a ebook and start reading it,expecting a step-by-step guide and everything else.AND?You don't get really no quality information,in other words you are scammed. I was browsing the internet about a month before i buyed one ebook about adwords,oh my good how I was dumm.I thought that i will immediately start earning large sums of cash,that it is very easy and fast.That is the reason i started my carrer with adwords. So after all that scamming and wasting my money I got on the right track,I didn't buy a ebook since my first month,joined this and other forums,started reading blogs,posts on forums,spent months learning adwords(I am still learning and never will stop).I ACTUALLY TOOK ACTION,maybe you don't know this yet but taking action is your first step to your internet error and success,you can't succedd if you don't take action. My long term goal is to learn everything about adwords,and make a living from it.I know that it will take me time to get where i want,but when I get there i will enjoy my job.You just must focus your efforts on learning adwords and you will see the results later and you must believe in yourself. 3 months ago I read a very interesting tip that left me thinking,here is the tip:If you want to earn a few dollars online you can do it anytime,but if you want real money specialize in one thing and don't get distracted. Do you see the point? I decided to specialize for google adwords,I am focusing all my efforts on adwords.I can't be distracted because i have a bussines plan,in other words my personal schedule what i must do every day.Mastering one thing can put you in advance,because i am not overloading my head with 3,4,5 or even more things.Just when i think what i had known about adwords 4 months ago;what i know now and what i will know in the future makes me even more satisfied. Good luck with your job everyone.
I don't think Google is picking on anyone. They're just protecting their income stream, (more like income river). I do agree with virtually everything posted here so far, good advice given. I think they should be more transparent though in their business and if they don't want an advertiser, be a man and tell the advertiser to go kick rocks. Don't give them ridiculous minimum bids and make them figure it out.