Adwords - has it gone downhill?

[directmarketingadvice]

Hey folks,

There are a couple of trends in Google Adwords that I feel are damaging to the small business owner.

(1) The ever-broadening of broad match

I've written about this before. Many people have the notion that broad match means you get shown when people search on something that contains your keywords.

So, for example, if your broad match keyword is red shoes, you can get shown for any search that contains both "red" and "shoes" (or their plurals).

Google themselves encourage people to believe this:

# Broad match is the default setting for all keywords. All searches made using your keyword (in any order or combination) might display your ad.

(from "Getting Started with AdWords"

This isn't true... and it's becoming less and less true every month that goes by.

The way things are now, Google could quite easily show your ad to someone searching for "purple trousers".

A real life example from this week is a client who is advertising on 10" TVs. Now, you can't use " in your keyword, so we have things like 10 TV.

This week, his ad for that was shown to someone searching for "BMW7 series".

I'm guessing google "related" the "10" and the "7" and the "TV" and "series".
However, we had no keywords with "7", "BMW", "BMW7" or "series".

Any human would know we weren't interested in that searcher, but Google will show whatever ad they can get away with.

(2) The increasing importance of on-page SEO

This week I had a new client (new adwords advertiser) whose quality scores quickly got knocked back to "4". But, when we did some on-page SEO to theme the page for his main keywords, the quality scores went back up to 7.

To give an idea of how much of an impact this had, it's about the same as a 42% reduction in cost per click.

Again, any human could see what his page was about, but google punished him for not having his SEO right.

(and I'm talking about technical stuff like H1 tags and the outgoing links on his landing page)

These two trends - both of these things are becoming worse as time goes on - mean the D-I-Y adwords person...

(a) needs to closely manage broad match campaigns... or give up on a huge amount of potential visitors

and

(b) needs to know on-page SEO - and some inside tricks about what google are looking for on landing pages... or pay through the nose for clicks.

IMO, this is just bull****. Both these things bleed advertisers dry - the first by having them pay for untargeted visitors, the second by having them pay more per click without helping them understand why.

Adwords was always a "skill" activity - just like all forms of advertising - but the change over the last year or so is that Google have gone from being on the same side as the advertiser to being an adversary.

They've gone from being transparent to punishing advertisers who fail to conform to a mysterious set of rules Google won't even explain.

While I understand that people like me - who have the time to specialise in this - benefit from this, I feel it isn't morally right.

And, as usual, it's the little guy - with the small campaign who can't justify professional management - who ends up getting hit.

Steve

 

[360interactive]

Interesting Steve, and I have indeed noticed this.

Not so much on my own campaigns (maybe because you set it up and know your stuff!) but when searching for other products or services, I am increasingly getting the most random ads appearing.

Surely this damages the users experience too? Poor show in my opinion, but I guess it's making Google big bucks...

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Google has IMO COMPLETELY lost the plot. I will this week when i get a chacne remove ALL traces of everything Google from my machines. This includes Gmail.

I am sick of Google rewriting my settings with its software. As of this week, all cookies from Google will also be refused when browsing.

Google have in the last 12 months become all that is bad about the Corporate world.

 

[mattsaw]

As of this week, all cookies from Google will also be refused when browsing.

I'm already doing this - largely out of neccessity, but it's really getting the the point where even for the average person Google holds far too much data about us with a real lack of transparancy of who this is being stored and used.

 

[J-Wholesale]

Do people really use broad matching?

I'd always assumed that only new advertisers starting out used broad matching, and then only until they got their phrase and exact matching sorted out.

 

[webpromoterservice]

I don't think much has changed on google adwords in the last 4 years except the interface and keyword search tools.
I have always discouraged my clients from using broad match for many keywords.This is one of the major reasons why many new adwords clients fail.

 

Google has IMO COMPLETELY lost the plot. I will this week when i get a chacne remove ALL traces of everything Google from my machines. This includes Gmail.

I am sick of Google rewriting my settings with its software. As of this week, all cookies from Google will also be refused when browsing.

Google have in the last 12 months become all that is bad about the Corporate world.

totally agree along with the inaccuracies of there programs.I think you are better off to be as anonymous as possible as far as they are concerned.

Earl

 

[OldWelshGuy]

And another thing, why doesn't Analytics etc support Opera?

 

[J-Wholesale]

totally agree along with the inaccuracies of there programs.I think you are better off to be as anonymous as possible as far as they are concerned.

Earl

That does beg the question: Should you be using Analytics on sites that you run Adwords campaigns for? Analytics contains enough information to show how valuable certain phrases and words really are to a business.

With Analytics, I've always taken the view that just because Google may not be using the information to milk you dry today, doesn't mean that they won't in a few years.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Sadly, I no longer trust Google with anything. I really believe their 'don't be evil' mantra has flown the nest and that they are now as evil as the next man. With any luck, Microsoft might be able to smite them. They are doing some aggressive stuf to cut Google out of the market.

back to Steves original point, YEP. absolutely agree that google will serve anything that is remotely semantically related to the words you bid on.

e.g. childs bedding could well trigger an advert for a furniture courier, as they carry beds, and bedding goes on beds! rearrange these letters to make an apt description of how google currently work.

carp btu greeyd wlli teka yuor mnoey adn beeld yuo dyr

 

[KM-Tiger]

I think that one can see the result of this in searches. More and more one is seeing totally irrelevant ads, many laughably so, to the point where Google's credibility is starting to suffer.

What's the point in using them if what you get is garbage? Often both in the organic results and the ads.

A great opportunity for someone.

 

[Tin]

Good thread, I couldn't agree more that Google has lost the plot entirely!

I'm tired of seeing usa results for searches conducted under a UK IP address when my search is looking for UK based data. Equally tired of seeing really wild (sorry Google, I can't honestly say that they're in any way relevant) broad match ads being triggered for absolutely non-relevant keywords and this has been going on for some time now.

I've never trusted Google as far as data collection goes which is why I don't use Chrome or Gmail and their preference to show by default web history results in serps is really cheesing me off.

It's rapidly becoming a victim of it's own success and getting very greedy in the process. Roll on a successor!

Ray

 

[MASSEY]

It is interesting how you can recieve clicks from foreign countries when they obviously are not looking for your services, top and tail of it is there out to make a fortune. As for a successor i cant really see that happening unless microsoft deside to go to war.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Do people really use broad matching?

I'd always assumed that only new advertisers starting out used broad matching, and then only until they got their phrase and exact matching sorted out.

The thing is, it can be very profitable. And there's a ton of traffic.

My beef with it is twofold:

(1) It's not what it says on the tin. People read Google's description of it (see my quote in my original post) and get suckered into thinking it's something that can be set up and will produce only proper matches.

(2) Google keep widening the net. Every month they're matching more and more irrelevant stuff. OK, it's part of my job and I've developed ways of blocking them, but a lot of it has to be reactive (after the clicks and impressions). But what chance does the average business owner have?

Google have in the last 12 months become all that is bad about the Corporate world.

I used to like Google. They had a long term view that revolved around giving the best experience to their customers (searchers).

Now, unfortunately, they've become just another big, dumb company that's over-focused on short-term profit.

(And they've disappeared up their own backsides, dictating to businesses what is and isn't the "proper" way of doing things)

Steve

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I'm tired of seeing usa results for searches conducted under a UK IP address when my search is looking for UK based data.

Yeah, what's that all about?

A couple of years ago, this didn't seem to be a problem. Now it is.

Are Google the only people in the world that think that's improved things?

Steve

 

[Tin]

Yeah, what's that all about?

Relevance perhaps??? Nah, maybe not but it's about time they sorted the geo's out and married the users IP address to match the query. I wonder if Google will remain to be the "housewife's choice" of search in 5 years time?

Ray

 

[directmarketingadvice]

I wonder if Google will remain to be the "housewife's choice" of search in 5 years time?

They're doing a good job of throwing that question into the air.

Steve

 

seems to me such a conflict of interest for google as its in there own interest commercially to show poor results in the organics.?

Hence why I tend to take Matt cutts little gems with a pinch of salt.

Earl

 

[awebapart.com]

A real life example from this week is a client who is advertising on 10" TVs. Now, you can't use " in your keyword, so we have things like 10 TV.

This week, his ad for that was shown to someone searching for "BMW7 series".

Wouldn't a BMW 7 Series ad cost a lot more than a 10 inch tv ad? Unless the motor industry in general is seriously cutting back on its advertising spend due to the economic problems in the motor industry.

I remember this subject of seemingly unrelated adword searches cropped up back in September too (possibly with the same client), with the dvd player vs windows media player issue, and back then one of the possible explanations was that google was using similar functionality to its "searches related to" feature in normal search.

I'm guessing google "related" the "10" and the "7" and the "TV" and "series". However, we had no keywords with "7", "BMW", "BMW7" or "series".

Again, when you perform normal searches, for say just series, there is an awful lot of TV coming back in the results, including a "see results for tv series" near the top, so google definitely sees TV and series as closely related. There might be more subtle relations too, like BMW Series 7 cars having in car passenger mobile lcd tvs or lcd satnavs.

Perhaps even the google default of personalised search is becoming more of a factor with these less related adword searches too.

But it is issues like these new issues, and the older more simple issues with broad match, that makes broad match less appealing now.

 

[Codefixer]

Sometimes Google will show Adwords related to the last post a user makes, not necessarily the current query.

Maybe that could explain such unrelated keywords.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Again, when you perform normal searches, for say just series, there is an awful lot of TV coming back in the results

But if you do a search for "BMW7 series", EVERYTHING in the organic listings is to do with BMW cars.

(9 are to do with the BMW 7 series and one is the BMW UK homepage)

The idea that google doesn't know what that search means - based on the language of these top 10 pages - doesn't stand up.

The idea that they don't know my client's page is to do with TVs, also doesn't hold.

So, they knew they were running a TV ad for a car search term.

Steve

PS Interestingly, I don't see any ads for "BMW7 series". When I change it to "BMW 7 series", ads start showing up.

Is this a sign that advertisers are giving up on broad match?

Or is adwords failing to understand "BMW7 series " and "BMW 7 series" are the same thing?

(despite the fact the former search says "Did you mean: bmw 7 series")

 

[awebapart.com]

And another thing, why doesn't Analytics etc support Opera?

Which version of Opera are you referring to and what features of google analytics (basic defaults stuff or more advanced stuff) ? If anything I would have said that Opera Mini might have issues, with its lack of client-side javascript support and remote proxy server rendering of pages? Opera Mini is the Java version of the browser for mobile phones and uses proxy servers for rendering and running Javascript. But my old company site, one of the few I use Analytics with, has the basic Analytics set up and it reports quite a few visitors from both Opera Mini (because the site provides mobile phone games) and Opera.

 

[awebapart.com]

And another thing, why doesn't Analytics etc support Opera?

One other possible reason, for some sites, might be the site in question. Is it browser sniffing using http user agent and returning a cut-down non-javascript mobile version of the site when it detects either Opera Mini or Opera Mobile, or even just Opera?

 

[awebapart.com]

PS Interestingly, I don't see any ads for "BMW7 series". When I change it to "BMW 7 series", ads start showing up.

After reading your first post earlier, I decided to find an adsense site that might be targeting "BMW7 series". The first time I visited this page today:

autositenews.com/category/bmw7-series/

the site's adsense was littered with TV related ads, which I thought was strange. Unfortunately I cannot recreate this anymore (at least not today), since it has resorted to displaying BMW related ads.

 

[awebapart.com]

My beef with it is twofold:

(1) It's not what it says on the tin. People read Google's description of it (see my quote in my original post) and get suckered into thinking it's something that can be set up and will produce only proper matches.

In general, Google rarely say exactly what they do on the tin, and it is this worldwide confusion over what they do, that helps make them so much money.

Even the google adwords search volume stats are confusing and misleading, the stats you are first presented with before placing any ads. The description of what these stats are based on is open to different interpretations. Do they include content network adsense too or just simple google searches? It is not clear, but I suspect there is some content network adsense included too to bolster up the stats.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

After reading your first post earlier, I decided to find an adsense site that might be targeting "BMW7 series". The first time I visited this page today:

autositenews.com/category/bmw7-series/

the site's adsense was littered with TV related ads, which I thought was strange. Unfortunately I cannot recreate this anymore (at least not today), since it has resorted to displaying BMW related ads.

I see nothing but car ads. I also looked at 3 articles about "BMW 7 series" on ezinearticles and they all had car ads.

Steve

 

[360interactive]

Sometimes Google will show Adwords related to the last post a user makes, not necessarily the current query.

Maybe that could explain such unrelated keywords.

That is exactly what I have been experiencing. So they do that deliberately?

 

[directmarketingadvice]

Sometimes Google will show Adwords related to the last post a user makes, not necessarily the current query..

On google search?

There's a broad match they refer to as "session based", but it's not that prevalent.

(also, when they do it, they don't tend to go too far outside of the normal broad match)

Steve

 

[awebapart.com]

After reading your first post earlier, I decided to find an adsense site that might be targeting "BMW7 series". The first time I visited this page today:

autositenews.com/category/bmw7-series/

the site's adsense was littered with TV related ads, which I thought was strange. Unfortunately I cannot recreate this anymore (at least not today), since it has resorted to displaying BMW related ads.

I see nothing but car ads. I also looked at 3 articles about "BMW 7 series" on ezinearticles and they all had car ads.

I finally managed to get the glitch to happen again, this time on a different machine. I have set up an adsense glitch article so you can see the photos of the glitch.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Which version of Opera are you referring to and what features of google analytics (basic defaults stuff or more advanced stuff) ? If anything I would have said that Opera Mini might have issues, with its lack of client-side javascript support and remote proxy server rendering of pages? Opera Mini is the Java version of the browser for mobile phones and uses proxy servers for rendering and running Javascript. But my old company site, one of the few I use Analytics with, has the basic Analytics set up and it reports quite a few visitors from both Opera Mini (because the site provides mobile phone games) and Opera.

Version
9.26
Build
8835
Platform
Win32
System
Windows NT 6.0
Java
Sun Java Runtime Environment version 1.6


I get a Google message saying 'sorry we do not support Opera, we suggest you use Chrome or Firefox!

 

[Colin Parker]

Good post and thread Steve.

As you know one of the first threads I started when I joined this forum c12 months ago was about broadmatch - which I called Google's 'license to print money'.

Broadmatch is exactly the opposite of what most new advertisers believe ie., it is not Google 'helping' them easily find keywords - it is helping Google easily take their advertising budget.

As for where Google Adwords is heading ...

I think Google's big picture has always been to charge 'what the market will bear' .. and charge it as quickly as possible. They are a public company - responsible to shareholders - and any 'morals' they had in their infancy are long gone.

The days of Adwords being an easy goldmine for small advertisers are also long gone - only the very experienced and knowledgable + those with deep pockets will prosper.

Plus ... you either adhere to Google's rules and tolerate them - or you take your business elsewhere. Or ... Google will close down your account - as they have already done to 12,000+ advertisers in the last few months.

Many of the big US internet marketers reckon Facebook ads are like Google was years ago - and they say they are sticking two fingers up at Google and going there.

Me? I'm still doing well out of Adwords - but I have just restarted one campaign after pausing it for 4 months - and my average CTR is up c40% to achieve my old positions.

Google applying a 40% price increase in a recession - can't be bad!

Colin Parker

 

[awebapart.com]

And another thing, why doesn't Analytics etc support Opera?

I get a Google message saying 'sorry we do not support Opera, we suggest you use Chrome or Firefox!

Sorry, my misunderstanding. I thought you meant that analytics wasn't working, logging visits, for normal website visitors using Opera, rather than the analytics admin interface not supporting Opera, for the site owner.

 

[OldWelshGuy]

ah i see. I should have been more clear

 

[directmarketingadvice]

As for where Google Adwords is heading ...

I think Google's big picture has always been to charge 'what the market will bear' .. and charge it as quickly as possible. They are a public company - responsible to shareholders - and any 'morals' they had in their infancy are long gone.

I think a lot of that is just the market.

If you were spending £50 to make a sale worth £100 (net) and you're in position 7, wouldn't you just decide to spend £75 to make 3 x £100 in position 4?

Then, when you shuffle competitors down the page, why wouldn't they just up their bids, too?

Perry Marshall said something interesting a few years ago. He said that the cost of paid advertising tends towards breakeven. That's where adwords is going and the difference between profit and loss is down to how well you turn impressions into money.

(which controls how much you can bid)

Many of the big US internet marketers reckon Facebook ads are like Google was years ago - and they say they are sticking two fingers up at Google and going there.

And then that'll tend towards breakeven, too.

I reckon they're in love with facebook for two reasons:

(1) They sort of affiliate marketing they recommended in the past - including things like fake blogs - is exactly the sort of stuff google doesn't like.

(2) By moving to facebook, they can create more courses to flog to their email lists.

There's nothing wrong with facebook advertising and it's DEFINITELY a good idea to have traffic streams that have nothing to do with Google, but I feel a lot of their "sack Google" etc. comments should be seen for what they are.

Steve

 

[OldWelshGuy]

Perry Marshall said something interesting a few years ago. He said that the cost of paid advertising tends towards breakeven.

Agreed, and what some don't realise is they look at overall spend over the lifetime of the aquisition as well, rather than the single transaction model that most work on.

e.g. there might be £1 profit, or even £100 loss in the initial aquisition, but as long as they can screw the required amount on average to make back the initial loss and then some profit, they will continue doing so.

This is why post aquisition marketing is so damned important, and getting more important by the day.

 

[ryan4444]

Sorry im a complete beginner in web marketing, i was wondering if you write a very specific description then only people interested in your website will click on the link?

I'm a bit confused i am just starting out in business and was going to use the google local business centre as i have a small budget at the minute, but would everyone recommend i dont use google? if so what would be the best thing to do to achieve 1st page ranking on my keywords?

 

[Colin Parker]

Perry Marshall said something interesting a few years ago. He said that the cost of paid advertising tends towards breakeven. That's where adwords is going and the difference between profit and loss is down to how well you turn impressions into money.

(which controls how much you can bid)

Breakeven is effectively 'what the market will bear' - but the smart advertisers will always do better than breakeven.

I reckon they're in love with facebook for two reasons:

(1) They sort of affiliate marketing they recommended in the past - including things like fake blogs - is exactly the sort of stuff google doesn't like.

(2) By moving to facebook, they can create more courses to flog to their email lists.

There's nothing wrong with facebook advertising and it's DEFINITELY a good idea to have traffic streams that have nothing to do with Google, but I feel a lot of their "sack Google" etc. comments should be seen for what they are.

Steve

The 'sack Google' might be part hype - but many small advertisers will not up their total spend, they will just swop out of Google.

Colin Parker

 

[mattsaw]

Perry Marshall said something interesting a few years ago. He said that the cost of paid advertising tends towards breakeven. That's where adwords is going and the difference between profit and loss is down to how well you turn impressions into money.

You don't think it's already there? I know of several clients spending serious money on adwords (six figures per month) that look on it purely as a customer aquisition tool. The entire cost of an average first sale is spent on adwords, repeat sales is where the profit lies.

Granted this is going to be prevelant in some industries more than other, but in most industries there are always going to be companies that are willing to shave their margins to dump or turn over their stock quicker.

 

[directmarketingadvice]

You don't think it's already there?

To be honest, I've no idea.

It's one of those hypothetical questions about "an average campaign for an average site in an average market". And I've no idea what that is.

The good news is that the vast majority of sites have weak conversion. So people who are willing to invest in good copy and website split-testing still have the opportunity to buy clicks at a healthy profit.

(especially if they combine that with good PPC campaign management)

Steve

 

[omnivore]

Perry Marshall said something interesting a few years ago. He said that the cost of paid advertising tends towards breakeven. That's where adwords is going and the difference between profit and loss is down to how well you turn impressions into money.
(which controls how much you can bid)
And then that'll tend towards breakeven, too.

i have been heavily involved in the mobile content market (selling videos and ringtones) for the last 5 years and in that market there is very little differentiation between sites and product offerings and that adwords market was absolutely operating at close to break even. it was characterised by a large number of small operators (1-3 bodies per company) who could make a business out of high volumes with very tiny margins and nearly all the profits were in the 2nd/3rd phase sell.

basically, only the hyper efficient sites or the players with the lowest costs (ie one man bands working at home) made money