Hi, When i conduct test searches on one of my high traffic keywords i find that the number of sponsered results directly above the organic listings is changing, generally there are three (in the pink box) but on occasion this changes to two and very rarely one. This has implications for us as if we are ranked third then we are moved over to the side bar of sponsored links. Any ideas on why this happens ?
I've wondered the same thing. I thought at first that it might have something to do with the time of day, but then I noticed that you can do a search for a keyword back to back and have a different number of top results for each search.
Why doesn't my ad appear at the top of every search results page? Why does the position of my ad keep changing?
We were talking about the actual number of ads showing in top position above the regular search results. You can search a keyword and see 3 ads at the top and then search it again and only see 1, etc. The number of ads in top position above the search results changes sporadically.
Right, on the other end of one of those links I provided it says: "About top placement: Ad placement is based on your cost-per-click bid (how much you're willing to pay per click) times Quality Score (Ad rank = CPC bid x Quality Score). To be promoted to a top position above Google search results, your ad must exceed a certain quality threshold, which helps ensure that only the highest quality ads appear in top spots." Changes in QS (or budget, ad scheduling, etc) will cause the number of ads above the results to change.
Yeah, I know that. That's why at first I thought it might have something to do with the time of day or people changing their bids, but you can search a keyword and see a certain number of top placement ads, and then do the same exact search immediately afterwards and see a different number of them. That can't be from ad scheduling or bid changes.
It does appear to be a bit on the random side of things to be perfectly honest. I don't think it is paramount to understand WHY this happens. Just know that it does... if you are above the natural results then great (depending on several factors of course). I have several ads that are up there one minute and over on the left the next... it is also worth mentioning that only certain (performing) keywords get top spot placement and keywords that don't convert extremely well do not even get the chance to appear above the natural results. Cheers Stewart
It could be from QS changes as they are calculated real time but more likely it's this; "In addition, if you search for your ad multiple times on Google.com (not using the Ad Preview page), our system may adapt the results you see. This means you may begin to see your ad in a lower position than before." http://adwords.blogspot.com/2007/07/not-seeing-your-ad-on-googlecom.html
I think you're right. That probably is the cause. It could be important if you target a certain position range at all. Say you usually like to target the 4-6 range on a standard results page with 8 ads. If there are 2 top placement ads you would then want to target the 6-8 range instead because there are now 10 total ads.
Yes, hence why I said it is important to know that it DOES happen but it is not so important to know WHY it happens. Cheers Stewart