are google adwords ripping us off?

**ejmo** · 13-02-07

Hi, I have just found some new keywords to bid on that have very little or no competition at all (no I'm not telling, lol). I set them at 3p and have had some impressions. I have returned to my adwords campaign and they have been turned off and are recommended at 10p to 50p each. I have checked and there is still know-one else bidding so what's the deal? Are we being ripped off? If I set them at the recommended amount will I be charged 3p to 4p as I am the only one bidding or will adwords take the 50p I have offered? I do not full trust them but I know that to not have an adwords program is nearly impossible. Does anyone else have similar experience?
Info for these words read:-

This keyword is not triggering ads
This keyword has a low Quality Score, so the minimum bid exceeds your current maximum cost-per-click (CPC).

Best regards, Phil.

**Hero** · 13-02-07

adwords, unlike other bidding systems, doesn't work on higher bidder case - it's a hybrid bidding system where your ad's CTR is taken into the equation. If their system deems that your keywords aren't being searched for and your CTR is low, then your bid is required to be upped in order for them to display the ad.

google's mind works in mysterious ways....

**crazymarketer** · 13-02-07

I would tend to say that Google has its own subtle way of making money - while the others are hardly able to camouflage their money making intentions - Yahoo for example.

I do admire Google's expertise in the fact that it charges you higher on the basis of quality - which is an excellent sales pitch!

**Shane** · 13-02-07

short answer.. YUP google are ripping us and everyone else off

long answer.. if it want's more money you have two choices.. pay the money or increase the relevancy of the keyword to the relevancy of the adcopy to the relevancy of the landing page, then get the ad live by paying what it asks and hoping it will drop once it spiders it and sees the relevancy there

if you can't make it relevant then you'll have to pay to play, although even if you can make it relevant you'll still find you'll have to pay to play, google is so far up itself that it's funny to watch.

I was bidding trying to get a keyword live the other day, I kept jacking the bid up and seeing if it went live.. eventually I was at the max bid of £60 a click and it still said I was below the minimum bid required to activate it.. like

**Hero** · 13-02-07

Originally Posted by Shane

eventually I was at the max bid of £60 a click and it still said I was below the minimum bid required to activate it.. like

stingy man! Is £60 too much to ask for a click?

**mikey_freedom** · 13-02-07

£60 per click

You going for that mesothelioma ambulance chaser traffic??

**Shane** · 13-02-07

nah was just seeing how greedy google was, click wasn't worth more than £2 yet it just kept saying it was not high enough to activate it ..

**axod** · 13-02-07

As far as I see it, google are doing exactly as they should.

1. They are maximising their revenues and stopping people from getting free exposure, by taking the CTR into account when setting minimum bids. If you have a lousy CTR, then google is loosing money from showing your ad vs an ad with a better CTR. You ad might even just be after 'brand recognition' instead of traffic, in which case you could be taking google for a ride.

2. They are making sure the users experience is the best possible by taking into account the landing page. If you bid on extremely low cost keywords, but send people to a website with non relevant adsense/other contextual ads with high bids, you could make money... it's misleading to the customer though. If they click through on an advert, the landing page should be what they think it's going to be. Not simply a mechanism to dupe the customer and make money off traffic in the process.

Can't see any reason why anyone would have issue with these personally. Sure it sucks when you have your minimum bids raised, but it's all just business. Make sure your landing page is relevant and fits exactly with the ad copy/keywords you're bidding on. Make sure your ad copy is worded well so that the CTR is high.

Just my 2c

**ejmo** · 15-02-07

Hello, thank you to everyone for the replies. It seems I have a lot to learn about adwords. I have tried improving the quality of my ads and they now want 8p instead of 25p to 50p. Still have two at 15p, will have to wait to see if they also come down in price.

Does anyone know what adwords looks for on the landing page, eg title, url, keywords etc. as changing these may help me but I do not know which ones to go for.

As for click through rate, I think that one may be a little more difficut, any clues?

Thanks again everyone, Phil.

**GerryW** · 15-02-07

I hardly think most of the ebay adverts are relevant ... buy UK Government on Ebay ? It may have a high CTR but thats only the humour value ...

Add to that the sheer volume of arbitrage sites...

Google is as evil as the rest, just subtley so ... I actualy prefer Yahoos trasnparent approach, although that may be going soon ...

**aqls** · 15-02-07

I guess google get alot of their relevancy data from the Google Analytics data they collect, or else how else would they have effectiveness data? (It doesn't seem to be click throughs.).

So is our data is being used to jack up prices against us?

-aqls-

**Davey Y** · 15-02-07

Obviously the higher the CTR the better, but whats a good CTR to aim for, or at what percent do people start to see prices being effected by it?

Personally I think at least 1 - 2%

Would you say im right?

Thanks
Dave

**ejmo** · 15-02-07

Originally Posted by GerryW

I hardly think most of the ebay adverts are relevant ... buy UK Government on Ebay ? It may have a high CTR but thats only the humour value ...

Add to that the sheer volume of arbitrage sites...

Google is as evil as the rest, just subtley so ... I actualy prefer Yahoos trasnparent approach, although that may be going soon ...

What's changing at Yahoo?
Cheers, Phil.

**Symos** · 15-02-07

Originally Posted by ejmo

What's changing at Yahoo?
Cheers, Phil.

Panama is coming! Their new system, very similar to Google's

Do a (Google

) search, you'll find lots about it.

**crazymarketer** · 16-02-07

Getting a good CTR (percentage would vary for different industries) in Google Adwords is a gradual process. You need to ensure that your ad copy is worded well - and it improves with time. As for the quality of landing page - of primary importance is the fact that the user should not have to navigate more than 2 pages deep to make a buying decision - ideally speaking 1 page would be great!!!

Check out the landing pages of the top advertisers in your industry, compare your landing page with theirs and improve it!

Anyone can do Adwords - you don't need to be a web expert to do it - you just need to be a little smart!