I am experimenting with a new niche. I just threw up a page really quickly, targeted specifically toward one model in this particular vertical. The page itself has a decent amount of text on the product (~300 words), a few affiliate links (to the product), an external link and two adsense/banner placements (I am running a banner rotator that I can rotate affiliate banners and adsense). Problem is this. While the LP is targeted specifically to the keyword(s) (title, 1 H1, all text, image alts, etc), I am getting a rediculously high minimum bid amount ($10). I have some similar pages (different, less competetive niches) that I am paying on average $0.14 CPC. This niche is competetive, but when I do a search for the model number that I am promoting (which is the keyword I am targeting), I only see 4-6 adwords ads. So in theory I shouldn't have any problem at least being at the bottom of that list. My AdWords quality score is "poor", but I can't for the life of me figure out why. As I said, my ad copy, keyword (all three states) and LP copy are all "dead on balls accurate". When I click on the magnifying glass next to the keyword in AdWords, it tells me that no ads are showing because the keyword and lp content are not relevant. In my estimation this just isn't the case. Anybody else been slapped like this?
The details aren't really important. I will say this though. It is an item in the consumer electronics market, I am only promoting one model of one brand as a test. The keyword is the model name. The LP is dedicated entirely too that model. Sorry I am being a little covert. It is a really competetive market. But I know that Google is just slapping me for some unkown reason.
Just for kicks, I set up a new adgroup using the AdWords keyword suggestion tool. For those that don't know, the keyword suggestion tool looks at the content of your LP and makes suggestions based on what it finds. So, in theory, these should be some pretty good GENERAL keywords for your ad and LP. Well, like I said, I set up a new ad group using these (general) keywords. My minimum bid is still $10 accross the board. Way to rich for my blood. But I can't for the life of me figure out why google is setting it so high. Seems to me that words that come out of its own tool should be pretty well related to the content of your site. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to combat these problems?
Try this, search google for the product in question......find the top rated landing page if there is one and then for a moment change the url of your ad to that and if the minimum bid gos down it has something to do with your LP if not then there is just high pricing for this product/keyword whatever.
Tried it. Minimum bid stayed at $10. I can't believe that anyone is this market is paying $10 per click. The per item price isn't high enough. If they converted even 5 out of 100 into a sale, they would barely break even. Something else has to be going on here. I find it really strange that regaurdless of the keyword, $10 is the minimum bid. I typically see more variation when initially setting up new AdGroups. Some keywords are poor while others are good or even great. You know, typical stuff. This just seems a little fishy to me. Particularly because the keywords and LP are soooooo tightly linked. Just to give you a little background on the account... It has been active for over 2 years. Never been questionable. My CTR's are consitentley above their "minimum" (which I think is 1%) and my quality score for all of my keywords is good -> great accross all campaigns. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
You probably have some major landing page problems that google does not like. It is impossible to pinpoint them without looking at the LP. If you want you can PM me the url and I will advise on what issues google does not like so you can fix them but from what you described here is my breakdown ok this is fine assuming you still included as basic website attributes such as privacy policy, contact us and etc... and used a google clear layout and proper color schemes Google could care less how much text is on the page, they care more about clear messaging, even if its all in image format. This should be fine, as long as its not a product google frowns upon or a reseller google does not frown upon. to where? 90% chance this will need to be removed. All those attributes, including H1 and alt tags mean nothing in adwords... That is only useful for SEO True, so this makes me assume you have some type of layout or structural issue with your landing page $5 and $10 min bids = major layout issue Many people are slapped like this every day because they don't understands googles definition if relevance. So, if you want me to take a look and let you know what I see, then drop me a PM if you want to keep the URL private.
Update. Google gave me a few pitty impressions (I assume they were some sort of test). Unfortunately I got no clicks on the 6 impressions they delivered, but I was sitting at number 4 with my miniscule CPC. (<.01% of Googles suggested minimum click price) So, I now know that I can get in with the click price I am willing to pay, but for some reason Google doesn't find the LP relevant enough. The mystery continues.
I just looked at the landing page... From what I can tell the page is loading completely differently for IE and Firefox. You need to make these load identical. Secondly, the adsense space is taking up about 1/3 of your landing page and I am sure google is considering the site a doorway, bridge or arbitrage page at this point since the only 2 things on the page are affiliate links and adsense. If all your bids are $5 and $10 right now, it may be due to a URL slap, possibly being carried over from the attempted promotion of another product on the site that has been slapped before. Are there any other products that are successfully being marketed that are under this same domain, that are not slapped?
robert...i've noticed that you've made a few comments here and there regarding clear "messaging". i'm still unclear specifically what you mean. can you give me an article that goes into specific detail about this? when i think of "messaging", i think of a clear call to action, clear cost/benefit statements, easy to locate shopping cart button... am i on the right track? please elaborate... btw...i've learned a lot from you...thanks.
yes this is what i mean by clear messaging. Plus, making that message understood within 10 seconds or less, not a long sales letter that would take at least an hour to read
Keep in mind that adwords take in consideration your account history as well, if you have other campaigns that have a hight ctr + your account have been active for long your bids will be much lower when you start a new campaign....
I think it is a URL slap. I tried the keywords on a totally unrelated page on a "clean" URL. I saw much more acceptable bid prices even though the content of the test page had nothing to do with the keywords I am trying for. Anyone have any suggestions on getting a URL un-slapped?
Time, Ive had keywords set at the max level to be activated and then two days later my page is re-spidered and its fixed
Yep. Definately a URL slap. I took the same LP and placed it on a different URL. Setup a new campaign and adgroup. Very acceptable bids now. Well, lesson learned. I am not sure why the old URL got slapped or how to get it unslapped. But, if I figure it out I will post a follow up for anyone who cares.
No one in that market is paying $10/click. You've been google slapped. It happens when google doesn't like something about your campaign, they do it to force you out. You should ask google what you're doing wrong, they always tell me when I ask.