If you don’t know by now Google cares about the quality of experience you provide to their users. You can bid a higher CPC than all your competitors and still not show up higher on the page.
If you follow Google’s guidelines in terms of quality you’ll end up being rewarded with a lower CPC, and potentially gain higher position on the page for a lot less than your competitors are paying for lower positions!
What’s weighed into your Ad Rank?
- Your Bid
- Expected CTR
- Landing Page Experience
- Ad relevance
- Ad Formats
Chief Economist Hal Varian at Google does a great job of explaining how the auction system works, and how you can effect your Ad Rank, and thus gain an advantage over your competition. This is the first time Google has updated their Adwords Auction and Ad Rank Video since revising their formula!