Most of you will be too busy running your businesses to know that Google has just changed the AdWords Quality Score weight system. If you’re a little unsure of what Quality Score is, it’s a ranking system from 1 to 10 to judge the quality of your keywords, ads and landing pages, with 10 being the highest score. Each point below 10 effectively increases your cost by 10%, so if you have a Quality Score of 7 out of 10 you’re paying 30% too much: if it’s 4 out of 10 you’re paying 60% too much for each click.
Historically speaking, Quality Score has been a difficult area due to Google’s lack of transparency. Even the information provided tended not to align with the actual evidence we would see each day. I personally suspect that the displayed Quality Score is only 35% accurate following our own trials. The challenge has always been to be find ways to achieve high Quality Scores and therefore reduce your costs.
Google AdWords have been testing the new AdWords Quality Score system in trials in Brazil, Spanish-speaking Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. The new system increases the weight given to relevance and landing page quality. Changes will take place across the UK in the next few weeks.
I expect many AdWords accounts to see variations and dramatic decreases in Quality Score.
Jonathan Alferness from Google has commented that paid search results have faced a problem with poor quality merchant landing pages. Advertisers in both top and bottom ad positions have created equally good ads but the top advertisers have poor sites and deliver a user experience that isn’t what it should be. Apparently Google wishes to send customers to the best user experience site. It’s well known that Google’s search results have drifted into the long grass recently. Just try searching for information on the high level of business failure that has sweep Shanghai this year and I bet you’ll find hotel listings.
Personally I don’t believe Google are solely looking to improve the user’s experience. I believe AdWords is the world’s best lead generation tool; it’s just the price you have to pay for those leads that I take issue with. I have long suspected that in particularly uncompetitive, small or low cost per click markets, Quality is lowered as method of increasing revenue. In this instance, the lower advertisers haven’t got the skills and expertise to support the AdWords costs that are generated by the higher positions. You may be one, and it does take a shift of mindset to be a highly successful online advertiser, something we specialise in. However, it’s more likely the new Quality Score system will be used to push AdWords costs. Google costs are rapidly climbing; the telephone support isn’t cheap to provide. That one reason we have the new AdWords Strategist (telesales to you and me) emailing and calling you to switch to mobile advertising – be very careful here.
Even the maths supports the view for revenue increases from the new system. Each time a search is made, an auction take places and the only two variables are the Max CPC you are willing to pay and the Quality Score, which, when combined, generate Ad Rank points. The advertiser with the most points wins the auction.
For example:
Max CPC of 100 pence x Quality Score of 7 = 700 Ad Rank points.
If your Quality falls to 5:
Max CPC of 100 pence x Quality Score of 5 = 500 Ad Rank points
Let’s assume your actual CPC original was at the Max CPC of £1.00; with the new QS of 5 you will have to increase your bid to £1.40 to maintain your position.
Max CPC of 140 pence x Quality of 5 = 700 Ad Rank points
In effect a two point decrease of Quality Score under the new system could increase your price by 40%!
Now you know why Google have $47 billion in cash.
If you feel your AdWords costs have got out of control, performance online has reached a dead end or you’d like to build a successful AdWords account, call us on 0844 478 0999.
I have only a few spaces left for new recruits on our November AdWords Impact Mentoring and Training program, so don’t delay!
