The Business of Software

Is this true ? I know there are some Adword gurus on this board - what say you ?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/21/google_secret/

Btw, read the comments too.

So the bottom line is that Google are more likely to show the ads that make them the most money? Surely that isn't news to anyone.

I don't see any secret here. It is well known among users of adwords. Google admits it too, though not directly.

I think that is logical, since google doesn't want to poison their searches with unprofitable ads, that only irritates searchers.

I agree that this is not really a big secret.  The saving grace is that the best long term strategy for Google is to choose useful ads to display -- not solely those with high bids.  Of course Google always put it in terms of relevence instead of profit, but the reality is they are strongly aligned.  Users only click if the ad looks relevant, and they will only keep clicking if the links are taking them to relevant pages.

I know that Adwords is a moving target - And that unless one has the perfect niche offering, it is dangerous to get involved without ever-revitalised expertise. I have spoken to many who have run a campaign as a semi-neglected, mostly non-optimal bolt-on to their overall marketing strategy. This I am sure will end soon, and Google will have the fat cut from their incomings. The question is the end-game percentage of this adjustment. So this downturn will surely show Google's yet untested true worth.

From my perspective, Adwords makes me nervous.

Sorry - Yes that was me, the OP

Here's what I think Google does:

1- If you bid really low on a keyword nobody else is bidding on, then Google will only show your ad every once in a while (as opposed to always showing your ad).  This is easy to test.

So if you pay more, they will actually show your ad on every search.

2- Google may be doing something based on the relevance + Pagerank (or subdomain importance) of your page.

Why?  The logic of getting rid of irrelevant ads is obvious as it improves the quality of ads.  But I think they are doing something based on subdomain importance so that people land on *quality* sites, not some stupid affiliate marketer's site.  For example, check out uberaffiliateguide.com to get the scoop on some of the tricks affiliate marketers do.  They do things like put up fake review sites... shilling for companies that pay them the most.

These pages probably have the highest conversion rates and such, and therefore you might expect them to command the highest bids.  But if you search for "web hosting", for example, you'll see some pretty mediocre landing pages for big companies like Godaddy which probably don't convert as well.  But Godaddy is commanding a higher ad position... Google is probably giving them some preference.

That, I think, might be Google's true adwords secret.  It's whatever they're doing for their secret "quality score".  SEO techniques like copious amounts of linkbait to your subdomain, and shaping all your internal links to point to your landing page might be helpful for Adwords advertisers.  But I haven't tested this.

Yes, it's true.

And you're surprised?