Search for "news" on google. Their ad is on top.

I was advertising my own news site yesterday and today.

Yesterday, my ad was removed because the click rate wasn't high enough. I edited it, raised the bid, and resubmitted it.

Over the course of the night, my ad was served 46 times (according to their statistics), and clicked on 2 times. Their own stats say it had a click through rate of 4.3%.

They have disabled the ad dispite the click through rate. They now want me to alter my ad, or raise my bid to $0.40 per click. That still places my ad directly under their ad.

Does anyone else see a problem with google competing in their own ppc search results? They pay nothing, and reap all the rewards, while other advertisers pay through the nose for search terms that would normally be much cheaper.

It really seems like artificial inflation to me.

What do you guys and gals think?

I have emailed them about it. I asked in my email that they remove their ad from "news". I expect a politely worded email that will tell me:
"We are doing everything just as it should be, and screw you for trying to challenge almighty google." Of course it would probably be very polite.

mmhmmmm switch to yahoo :P (i really have no idea)

I would advise to use Yahoo too, I'm happy since I switched!

I love Big G's section on smartpricing. Their stupid little robot decides if you generated a converted click(By your keywords no less) or just a click for the advertiser. They "paid" me for one out of every five clicks.

I got a reply back from them.

With respect to your inquiry about AdWords ads for Google products
competing with your ads, please know that the AdWords ads you see for
Google products are subject to the same performance requirements as every
other AdWords advertiser. We do not manipulate the search results or
rankings in any way.

They didn't answer my question. How can they get away with this? Has anyone else had this trouble? Would anyone else be willing to join a lawsuit against google to stop them from doing this?

Originally Posted by neorunner

I got a reply back from them.



They didn't answer my question. How can they get away with this? Has anyone else had this trouble? Would anyone else be willing to join a lawsuit against google to stop them from doing this?

Maybe the news department on google is paying the adwords department for the advert?

Google is going downhill when it comes to ads. Their new pricing system just feels greedy to me.

For example, I wanted to run some ads about a Narnia Web site. I placed the ads at 21 cents/click. I created very, very targeted keywords and about 15 custom-tailored ads. The ads got thousands of views and maintained a good high clickthrough rate. But they were shut down less than 12 hours after starting, with a message that I must increase my bids to $1/click to reinstate the ads.

At first I thought my ads must have been placed really low, and Google wanted me to place the ads higher. But when I checked, all the ads were #1 or #2 in placement. Got that? The ad was placed #1 at only 21 cents, but to run ANY Narnia ad, I had to pony up $1. There was no one ahead of me! It was just Google forcing a very high minimum bid. Ugh.

-Tony

did you ever pay the $1 though?

With some of my keywords I have a high cost per click, but I never actually pay that much.

I am drafting a letter to Google, delivered via USPS that will demand they stop advertising their own services in Adwords.

I doubt it will change anything. However, if it ever comes up in court, it will certainly look nice for me if I can prove I sent them this letter. I think I'll send it certified with return receipt.

Are there any other advertisers who have been taken advantage of by Google in this way? If so, I am interested in getting in touch.

I am still praying that Google is still a good company. I hope they will listen to reason, before attorneys have to get involved.

Ok, I have posted a poll at the url below.
http://www.webmaster-talk.com/google...vertisers.html

Make your voice heard on this question. I want to see if I am making a big deal out of nothing, or if others feel the same way. I would also like to be able to present Google with some statistics in my letter.

It's their service, why can't they advertise in it? You know you'd be doing the same if you owned adwords ;P

Because they are cheating advertisers into paying higher prices for these search terms. Thats why.