Stop Searching for Your Ad on Google!

A common problematic scenario which comes up in the day to day running of many online campaigns is when someone with a Google AdWords account Google themselves so that they can find their ad. While I can totally understand why any SME owner is interested in performing a Google search to see if they’re showing for their top keywords, this is detrimental, and I will explain why. Googling yourself is a quick and easy way to check on your AdWords results and shows you who you are competing with for space on the front page of Google at that particular point in time. However, it quickly becomes an issue when, as a business owner, you search for yourself but can’t find your ads.

I thought I’d take this opportunity to de-mystify Google and help explain why you shouldn’t Google yourself and why you might not see yourself up on page one every time you search.

It’s bad for data. If you’re running an AdWords campaign and you’re searching for your ad several times a day it messes with the impression data. The data will show that you’re receiving a lot more impressions and less clicks comparatively, which in turn lowers your Click-Through-Rate (CTR) and impacts your quality scores. Eventually this will affect your Cost-per-Click (CPC) and will have a negative impact on your AdWords campaign.

You can’t show for every single search on Google. There are about 40,000 searches performed on Google every second. That equates to around 3.5 billion searches per day. No matter what industry you are in you simply can’t show for every search relevant to your business. No one can. It’s impossible.

In order to show for each and every search you need an unlimited budget and no one has that. Not even Coca-Cola or Nike can show for every single search. Subsequently, Google has inbuilt into their algorithm a function which, based on your budget, spreads your searches evenly throughout the day. How thoughtful!

Here is the maths

If you have a $48/day budget and a $2 cost per click it means that over a 24 hour period you are able to get 1 click an hour. Let’s say you have a click through rate of 2% it means that you are only able to show for an average of 50 impressions per hour.

Google is all about relevance. Google likes to keep things relevant for its users. Google recognises when a user makes the same or similar search regularly. What they will do to ensure the best possible experience for its users and its advertisers is recognise when an ad is shown regularly to the same user. If that user regularly searches for a particular keyword but doesn’t click on the ad Google assumes that the ad its showing isn’t relevant to that user and will test new ads in its place.

Now it’s fair to assume that if you search your own advert you won’t click on it as it will cost you money. So what this means for the business owner who regularly searches for themselves is that over time, Google will stop showing them their own ads in favour of their competitors ads in the hope that it will be more relevant to the search.

It will send you crazy. Based on points 2 and 3 combined, you’ll probably go crazy before you’re satisfied with your AdWords results based on real time searching. It’s not that your ads are underperforming; it’s that in real terms you just can not show for every search.

You will send your campaign manager crazy. As previously mentioned, in continuing to search for yourself you will be disrupting the data and not giving your campaign manager the best possible opportunity to get you the results you need.

So what can you do? It’s not unreasonable to want to see real time results based on your investment into AdWords and it’s not unreasonable to want to see how you sit in relation to the competition. The good folks at Google actually give us a tool which simulates a search in real time conditions and will let you know if your ads are showing or not. It’s called Ad Preview and diagnosis tool and will give you the ability to simulate a search on mobiles, desktops and will even allow you to select your location so you can see how your ads perform in different parts of the country, or world. It’s extremely handy and 100% the best way to search for your business!

Have I convinced you to stop searching Google for your ads yet? Phew, that’s a relief! If you want to learn more useful tips to help you get the most out of your Google AdWords campaign, then speak to the experienced team at SponsoredLinX on 1300 859 600 today.

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