What Google Means By “Position Preference”
I was reading through my blog list earlier this week when I ran across an article posted by a PPCer who’s not a novice, explaining that she’d had to deal with a client whose ads had seemingly dropped off Google altogether. The culprit? Position Preference settings. It seems that Google doesn’t do a very good job of explaining what they mean by position preference.
To put it simply, when you choose to use position preference, you are telling Google that you prefer not to show anywhere else but the positions you put into position preference. So let’s say you figure out that your ad sweet spot is position 5 or 6. If you use Google Adwords Position Preference and set a preference range of position 4 through 6, fine and dandy, Google will endeavor to show your ads at just high enough CPC to get you into those positions.
But what happens when some other competitor kicks in the ad schduled CPC=120% increase? If your Max CPC isn’t high enough to show your ad at least in position 6, your ad won’t show at all because Google’s been told that you prefer ONLY to show in position 4-6. If you don’t bid high enough to hit position 6, you drop off until the CPCs drop.
Does this sound stupid? Well, keep in mind that some pay per click campaigns are very scientifically based – it’s not just about showing an ad – it’s about selling a product. If you have a 90% bounce rate from position 7 why would you ever want to risk showing ad there? Those clicks are wasted – why bother? In that case, the position preference does you a favor – it keeps your ads only in those positions where you have historically performed well. On the other hand, if you’re an ego bidder, or you’re using PPC for branding, you need impressions; position preference isn’t going to make you happy. But if you’re trying to control costs and spend on clicks only from positions that are most likely to result in a sale, position preference settings just might save you a buck here and there.
Sorry, ouija has no special extra insight.
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