New ADWORDS policy ?
 

Ok, I said I would stop posting here for a while, but I just got the emal from Google. How will this affect everyone?

F.e I am bidding for "MILF" and promoting Milf Hunter directly ( actually I am not :P ) and there are like 10 other webmasters who do the same.

So from now on, when someone searches for "MILF" only 1 ad for Milf Hunter will be displayed... But that means that the ads from the 10 ppl bidding for MILF and promoting "Milf Hunter" will still be rotated, right?

So basically what will be the effect on everyone doing that? Do you expect more traffic for the top bidders now, or what?

Oh and when exactly will this new rule be implemented?
In the email it says only January 2005, so that could be in 2 days, could be in 2 weeks.... :helpme

Think it comes in on the 12th of Jan.

It could hurt smaller ppc guys. I should be fine since we can still use landing pages, but a lot of guys are going to find it pretty hard imho.

today the industry changed forever.










The End

fuckerssssss

They won't be rotated, only the best performing ad (CTR x CPC) will show

Forecast #1: race to CTR optimization and more emphasis on text ad quality.

blah blah blah

sorry but that's not that easy, everyone who's already bidding on AdWords and making money from it has already the proper CTR and ad quality.

You have to remember that you can always get the biggest CTR by using f..e the word "Free" in your ad, but it's obvious that you will get worse conversions in effect.

NoCarrier - any idea how it will be measured?

Let's take the milf & "milf hunter" example - will Google take a look at the perfootrmance of all of them in recent month, and then compare that Ad 1 gets a 1.6% CTR with $0.07 per click on average, ad 2 gets 0.8%CTR, but $0.11 cost per click etc, and they they will simply start showing ONLY the ad that brings the most money to them and STOP showing completely all the rest?

Hmmm.. I am not really sure, but I think that older ads will have an advantage over the new ones (especially the ones already performing well). The competition will be tougher, that's for sure.

So 12th January will be interesting day for sure ( assuming that's the correct date )

I will try to email Google and ask them about it though....

From your Milf Hunter example.

If you had an ad that linked directly to a Milf Hunter tour, and the sponsor also had an ad that linked to the same tour, using the same search terms, whichever ad has the highest "AdRank" will be shown for that particular set of keywords/search terms.

If 10 webmasters had ads pointing to the same URL, with the same search terms, only the one with the highest AdRank will show.

If 10 webmasters have 10 ads for "Milf", but all linked to different domains, all 10 will still show according to the normal rules.

It's only when an ad with the same search term(s) points to the same URL/domain that anything really changes.

It's not clear to me whether it's the domain in the link, or the specific URL/page in the link. The notice isn't terribly clear on that point. It says both in different places. I'm not sure if http://www.milfsquatters.com would be seen the same as http://www.milfsquatters.com/tour1.html.

thanks, but please see what I wrote above....... how are they going to determine which is the one site with the highest Ad Rank? Will it be a one, final decision based on the history perfomance of all the ads using the milfhunter.com domain..... I don't think so...but I am really not sure.

I don't think that's the specific "policy", but I believe that will be the final effect.

If they compare Ad Rank on two or more ads, and one wins, the other ad won't be shown. Therefore, that ad can not improve it's ad rank, and will in effect, never be shown.

If you get competing ads, you'll need to up the Ad Rank, probably by paying more, because you sure can't improve the CTR on an ad that isn't being shown.

I'd think it would be best to modify the URL, or change your search term criteria to get out of the "deadlock" situation. if you really want that URL and those keywords, I guess you would have to pay.

This is just my interpretation of the posted new rules. :2 cents:

Google is stupid they will lose TONS of money on this. If they had 10 people bidding an PAYING for ads for MILF Hunter now they will only get ONE. Now unless that ONE person is willing to pay as much as all 10 used too, but I doubt it.

I guess google think this will rpevent repeat ads. Um nope just make a landing page. excpet now the surfer will click the ads and feel like they were suckered because all the "different" ads are actually the same. Yep surfers like getting tricked. I say in about 4 weeks CTR for adwords ads will fall greatly once surfer realize they are being "tricked". I give this new policy 6 months before it's recinded.

By the way this whle crap got started by jealous dumbasses then went out and spent money actually buildng their book or DVD website and buying the prodiuct for it while the smart ones just signed up for as an Amazon affiliate. jealousy is an ugly thing.

Google AdWords had been discussing this for a while. They are putting it into play so that the higher performing ads can generate more views than the ones that aren't performing so well. It will appear on AdSense ads as well. It's being done to combat lost clicks to an advertiser that won't convert, over an advertiser that will. A New system is also being placed that will automatically be able to filter out an advertiser or ad that will not perform well based on it's text and previous ads. Could be good or bad in the long run, guess you'll have to wait and see.

How do you get listed if you don't have a CTR to being with? I mean if you are new you'll never get listed. You have to be listed to get clicks. Hmmmmm. Also just because you get high CTR doesn't mean the advertiser is making moweny. Google is adn I guess that's all that counts. He I can go an bid $5 for "anal sex" and get the #1 listing doesn't mean I'm "converting" well.

It's actually not a bad idea. It's their way of combatting "AdWords Spam". It looks kind of silly when 5 of the 8 AdWords ads on the engine appear to be promoting the same site. It's just a way to clear up the ad space a little, and show relevant ads, that perform better than their competitors, that also give the surfer a variety of different ads to choose from, not all promoting the same stupid site. With Google, it's all about relevancy, not cash. Since the IPO and the insane surge in trading of their stock, and the fact that they generate more money in advertising, money is no longer an issue. This just cleans up the workplace.

They aren't phasing out all of the competitors, they are just giving a better chance to those with ads that can perform. You can still post a new ad campaign, but your ad will need to out perform the current top dog within the first 1000 impressions. So if you've got a solid ad, then poof, you're the new top dog, and everyone else will try and outrank you, but until then, you've got the top spot and all the traffic and sales that come along with it.

I, for one, think this will be a very good move for Google. The value of Adwords ads are being diminished everytime a surfer clicks on one ad..goes to a site. Clicks on another ad..goes to the same site..and over and over. The consumer is looking for choice, not the web version of deja vu.

And will this result in lower revenues for Google? Uh uh. I, for one, will be buidling new sites for keywords that I wouldn't even have considered before. An excellent example would be in the mainstream, ex. Flower Delivery. To get to the top spot right now costs approx. $13 a click. A $2 bid will find you starting your journey somewhere around 3rd or 4th postion on page 8. Now, weed out all of the repeats, and first page might finally be a possibility.

And, you've got to remember, Google makes almost all of their money from positions 1, 2 and 3. These get clicked on the most, and these are the only spots which also appear on Search and Content partners.

And finally...and perhaps most importantly...Google has made their mark on the industry through their dedication to providing RELEVANT searches. The minute consumers start questioning this relevancy is the minute that the valuation of Google as a whole diminishes. They are simply ensuring that their brand remains strong in the long run.

P.S. Now is the ideal time to hone your adwords skills. I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Perry Marschall's The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords

So instead of "appearing' to promote the same site the still will actually promote the same site just with differnt landing pages. No that won't piss surfers off. Wasting time clicking ads for the same site 8 times in row.

This is akin to Wal-Mart selling Sam's Choice Cola as Coca Cola in my book.

This is actually going to happen MORE often now not LESS. If a surfer sees 8 ads with MILF Hunter then he's only clicking ONE. now he;s ses 8 different ads they all apeear to promote DIFFFENT things but the all all promote the same so he'll clicks and gets pissed because he was tricked.

Ahhhhh, but you forget one important consideration..profit. Yes, many webmasters will still continue to try and repackage the same site under a different wrapper. But, just as the case is now, the repeat sites will arrive...soon findi out that if surfers are interested in the site, they would have already paid for it in one of the ads above..use up their budget...and then they disappear.

It's the ads that are selling something different then the ads above that make money. And the real players in the adwords game will continue to understand this important truth.

So, Google is going in the right direction...making it harder for the copycat buyers to play the game. This will in itself will effectively weed out a large number of the repeat advertisers.

Just gotta find a way to adapt

Here's another example of how Google will make MORE money with the new policy.

Let's use my Flower Delivery example. Right now, as I mentioned, the top spot goes for about $13. And lets say it is for flowerdelivery.com.

Flowerdelivery.com has an affiliate program. An affiliate decides he/she wants to advertise under the keywords "Flower Delivery". They open up an adwords account and see that the top spot is out of their reach, budget wise. So, being inexperienced at the marketing game, they think, boy I can get a much cheaper spot and still make tons of money. Fact is, as I mentioned above, if the first look at the flowerdelivery.com site didn't do it for the consumer when they clicked on the top spot, then seeing the same site again isn't going to suddenly magically make the site everything they wanted, and more. In short..no sale.

So, Google brings in the new policy, eliminating the "repeat offender". First off, surfers receive more relevant results. And second, google now makes More money. How you ask? Well say the same affiliate above decides he still wants to advertise under "flower delivery". The underbidding door has been closed. So now, if he wants to compete, he/she will need to pay more then the top bid for flowerdelivery.com. A bidding war starts...and google wins. Actually overall the affiliate wins as well in the long run. He wasn't making money repeating the same site...so now, he has a fighting chance.

As a side note, and no offence to the adult industry..but this isn't where google makes it's money. You can get in the top positions for a word like Milf for about 20 cents. And the 5 cents a click from the copy cats isn't giving the big return to google. The money is in the mainstream. Here, a click for something like Mortgage can go for upwards of $20+ PER CLICK. And further, a surfer looking for Mortgage quotes tends to be a bit more critical of the search results then a surfer looking for free milf pics.

I mentioned it before, and I will mention it again: Want to compete in the Adwords game..a good place to start is Perry Marshall's Definititive Guide to Google Adwords.

Perry Marshall's guide is OK, nothing spectacular, and nothing inside of it that you can't pick up for free on all of the seo boards.

I agree, in part. If you are already a marketing professional, (and almost everyone thinks they are), then there is alot of stuff that is old hat. But, for things like ad rotation techniques...how to not overpay for search partner and content ads..etc..there is a lot of good information in there.

I tend to be a fairly aggressive user of adwords..all mainstream...about $190 to $300 per day. So, when I first started out, for me, some of his techniques paid off in the first day. But, if you are paying a couple bucks here and there, then yep, you have time on your side. Go over to www.jimworld.com, and you can pick up so very useful tips. (Some of them posted by me..but under a much different name. And no, I'm not about to let anyone know what it is ;))

I used to be a giant fan of Jimworld before Jim died, afterwards I started leaning a lot more towards SEW and WMW.. but that's just me.

I just emailed them, we will see what they reply....

old news...

I don't see what the big deal is.

Just place your affiliate links on landing pages, and voila.

Problem solved.

If the surfer wants to join Bang Bus, he will click on a link saying bangbus.com rather than porn-links.com/bangbus.html

and from now on, only one ad with the bangbus.com domain will be displayed

This does make the game a lot tougher to play, but there will be some big winners as well.

The problem is developing an ad that people will still click on, without being able link directly to the product you are selling, due to the one ad per domain rule. A good example would be Bel Radar Detectors, a product I used to flog back in the initial days of adwords. During my ad rotation experiments, I had the one ad that said "Bel Radar Detectors" in the heading and then their URL as my destination URL. This one got around a 6% Click thru ratio. Then, I tried another ad that went to my review site. The heading was "Radar Detector Reviews", or various incarnations of that wording. The click thru dropped to about .6, and then was continually being slowed because it would drop below the .5% ratio.

The upside, the people who clicked on the generic link had a significantly higher conversion rate. The downside, trying to keep the ad active.

Side note: Adwords Advice - If you do bid on actual company names, you have to be very skillful on how you write your copy. Otherwise, about 25 to 75% of the clickthrus will simply be from people that are already members or own the product, and put the company name in the search box instead of the url box. This, of course, varies greatly by the product.

And another point: Before you think, "well, I will still bid on a company's keyword, use their name in my heading, and all will be good"... Do your research. For many companies this is forbidden, unless the ad goes directly to their site. In this case, you will spend the money..then receive an affiliate agreement cancellation from the company...and not got paid for your earnings.

A lot of the above relates more to the mainstream industry. Luckily, much of the online adult industry is successful simply due to nature of the business, and not because of their great business minds. So they tend to be a wee bit more leniant when it comes to using their names. But the basics still apply.

Plus another side note for this industry:

If you do inadvertantly break the rules for using a company's name, this can really sting in the adult industry. Overall, the mainstream affiliate industry tends to operate with a higher degree of ethics. If they see you breaking their rules...if it is not a flagrant disregard, but instead an honest mistake - chances are they will quickly send you a warning. While on the other hand, the adult industry (yes, this includes gfy board owners for one, adult.com) will allow the traffic to keep flowing. And you won't know you are spending your money aimlessly until you notice the checks don't arrive.

Agree or not...there is a significant difference in what constitutes Good Business practices in the adult and mainstream arenas. Plan accordingly.

FYI - we (sex.com) do not have that policy. You will not see a drop in conversion and traffic from us - Hit me up if you haven't gotten started with us yet as I have a promo for you!

Email or ICQ me for more info?thanks,

Joshua

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ICQ #281-748-807
AOL IM ?JoshuaSevilla?

GOOGLE'S REPLY:

Hello .....,

Thank you for your email.

No exact date has been set for the new affiliate procedures to come into
effect but it is likely to happen sometime this week.

When the new procedures come into effect we will only display one ad for
affiliates and parent companies sharing the same URL per search query.

You are correct that it will be the best performing ad that is to be shown
on a certain keyword. If you don't have a unique Display URL, your ad will
be displayed based on its Ad Rank, which is determined by a combination of
its maximum cost-per-click (price) and clickthrough rate (performance).

The ads will rotate if one ad that isn't showing has a better predicted
CTR than the actual CTR of the ad that is showing. The ad that will be
displayed will not be the one that brings the most money, it will be the
ad with the highest Ad Rank.

We suggest that you optimize your ad to help ensure that it will appear on
search results pages. Please visit
https://adwords.google.com/select/tips.html to learn more.

I've found the same results here as well, it seems as though anything to do with "reviews" in the Adwords title seems to decrease CTR (probably because surfers don't believe in unbiased, impartial advice anymore is my guess).

Placing the title in a question format has achieved some good CTR in my case, it's all about trial and error.

Has this taken into effect yet?
I can't really tell that for sure.....

In order to inflate your CTR, couldn't you place "Free" in your title for a few days, then revert back to your original title?

I know that bidding high then backing out works for sustaining CTR, so wouldn't this method work as well?

I am God.

:bowdown


But MSN will own you :1orglaugh