How do I get my ad placed at the top of search results?

Discussion in 'Google AdWords' started by WZT, Oct 3, 2008.

  1. #1
    Hi,

    I just got started with an AdWords campaign, and my ads are showing! :eek:

    I was wondering about getting your ad placed above search results (instead of the standard placement at the right), as far as I know, getting this placement is related to how much you bid.

    Now, there are many AdWords gurus around here and someone should be able to answer this question: if my ad shows with a 0.10 CPC, how much should I bid to get it placed at the top of search results?
     
    WZT, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  2. muchacho79

    muchacho79 Active Member

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    #2
    I think it refers to your bid but also your keyword Quality Score.

    I'm in the section you mention, on many keywords, yet in many instances my Max Bid is as little as 0.05 so it can't be all down to Max Bid. Max Bid, QS and maybe CTR is taken into account.
     
    muchacho79, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  3. theoddoneout

    theoddoneout Peon

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    #3
    Indeed. It is highly related to your Quality Score, in particular the landing page quality and CTR.
     
    theoddoneout, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  4. CustardMite

    CustardMite Peon

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    #4
    Google explain it here.

    http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en-uk&answer=6546

    Basically, they multiply your bid by your Quality Score, and check to see if it's above a threshold. If you are appearing on the right, then you can get there either by improving your Quality Score, or by increasing your bid (this will, of course, mean that you pay a lot more click, effectively buying the position).
     
    CustardMite, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  5. bjewelled

    bjewelled Peon

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    #5
    Wonder when that Google file was written?

    Since the new system was introduced I have seen nothing to suggest that QS has any bearing on position whatsoever. Quite the opposite, in fact.

    That suggests your best bet is simply to throw money at it!
     
    bjewelled, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  6. Tuzic.com

    Tuzic.com Peon

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    #6
    hi,

    focus on achieving higher CTR this will result in your ad appearing higher & paying less for it.
     
    Tuzic.com, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  7. Adriaan1985

    Adriaan1985 Peon

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    #7
    It's not that hard to achieve:

    - increase CPC bid
    - increase QS by making a more relevant advertisement!

    Good luck :)
     
    Adriaan1985, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  8. KonichiJ

    KonichiJ Peon

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    #8
    you gotta pay to play, increase your landing page score too, this helped lower my costs by about 15% per click.
     
    KonichiJ, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  9. communityn

    communityn Active Member

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    #9
    ,

    Quality score, Quality score, Quality score..... thats all you need to take care of to get into the top position :)
     
    communityn, Oct 3, 2008 IP
  10. WZT

    WZT Peon

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    #10
    Thanks a lot for the helpful replies! My QS averages 6/10 at the moment, which is pretty low. I checked some tips on the web on how to improve your QS but as a beginner AdWords user they are too complex for me right now.

    I read somewhere about creating "ad groups". I have a bunch of keywords in my list that aren't searched for, and they don't generate any Impressions/Clicks. Do the following factors influence your QS:

    - number of keywords in your campaign (i.e., does it make any difference if I use 10 keywords or 50?)
    - keywords that generate Impressions/Clicks versus keywords that don't (i.e., would it make any difference if I removed the keywords that don't generate any clicks?)
    - whether the keywords are in separate ad groups, or all together?

    Should I work more on the keyword density of my landing page, in order to improve the QS? For example, if I'm getting most views for the keyword "red tennis shoes", will the QS improve if I have a good keyword density on my landing page for this keyword?
     
    WZT, Oct 4, 2008 IP
  11. bjewelled

    bjewelled Peon

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    #11
    This may cause some controversy but I would answer as follows
    No.
    No, but
    Maybe. If they are getting a lot of impressions but no clicks then it would help, if they are getting very few impressions then the effect would be negligible.
    Depends. The main reason for breaking the words into groups is so that you can more closely link your advert text to the keywords thus improving QS. For example, I sell jewellery so I have separate adgroups for bracelets, earrings, necklaces, pendants and so on.
    Finally,
    Yes, as long as it is sensible, intelligible and not "spammy".

    Oh, and I don't think an average QS of 6/10 is too bad. The way the system is scoring at the moment it is hard to know what qualifies as a good score. One of my best performing keywords in terms of position and CTR has a QS of 2, some of the poorest, i.e. never had a click, have QS of 8 and even 10.
     
    bjewelled, Oct 4, 2008 IP
  12. WZT

    WZT Peon

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    #12
    Excellent! I found your advice to be very helpful! Also, I didn't think about creating different ad groups to create better adverts for the specific keywords, that's a great idea! I only have one product for sale, but it would help a lot to better match the ad with the users' queries.

    I also have a few keywords with a low QS; for example, I'm getting the highest number of impressions for a keyword with a QS of 4/10, and there's also a message saying "Ad showing? No. This keyword is not triggering ads to appear on Google or the search network." I've read other posts on this forum and on some websites and found that the QS system is rather new, which is probably why it's not functioning normally.

    The keyword that generates the highest number of impressions is also the one that generates most clicks; however, the CTR is very low (0.08). Do you think I should remove this keyword because of the CTR?

    Also, I'm wondering what you think about broad keywords, for example

    I'm selling red tennis shoes for women

    I create a keyword "sports shoes"

    My ad says: "Buy red tennis shoes for women"



    Is it worth using such an advert just incase someone who is searching for "sports shoes" will want to buy "red tennis shoes for women?"

    Thanks again! Your ideas and suggestions are priceless to a newbie like myself!
     
    WZT, Oct 4, 2008 IP
  13. GuyFromChicago

    GuyFromChicago Permanent Peon

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    #13
    WZT - here are some resources/answers.

    While the number of keywords in an of itself is not a factor in determining the QS how those keywords perform does impact your account level QS. See this for more info / tips.

    How you group your keywords is critical for a number of reasons. Google provides some good advice / steps for how you should approach grouping / account setup. Get that info here.


    As far as keyword density...having the searched for words / phrases on the landing page is generally considered a best practice but if you're trying to incorporate it a certain number of times so you reach a certain % you're wasting your time.
     
    GuyFromChicago, Oct 4, 2008 IP
  14. pawanpandey78

    pawanpandey78 Peon

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    #14
    Hi,

    In adwords QS, Keywords bids, CTR plays the crucial role for ads position. make ads to similar to keywords.
     
    pawanpandey78, Oct 6, 2008 IP