Imagine you run Google AdWords ads, either yourself or through a Search Engine Marketing Agency and you want to check if your ads appear...
1. Scenario.
This is what happens in 99% of the cases. You want to check if your ads are showing and if they are high in the rankings so you search a keyword you know is in your keyword list. Your ad appears and you are happy...
what happens in the background though is:
Your ad gets impressions but no clicks. This lowers the CTR (Click through rate) artificially, which in turn lowers the Quality Score (QS). A lower Quality Score will result in higher av. CPCs (Cost per Click). In other words you make your own ads more expensive ! And in the worst case Google might stop showing your ad totally as the system might think "a lot of impressions but no clicks = irrelevant ad".
2. Scenario
You search your keyword, see your ad and you click the ad. This is different, you pay for the click but it may increase the Quality Score. If you do it too often it will count as click spam though..
So, the correct way is:
If you want to check if your Google AdWords ads are showing, do not perform a live search, use the Google AdWords Ad Preview Tool.
This Google tool simulates the search, you see exactly what you would see in a live search but it does not affect the Quality Score in any way. Another advantage is that you can simulate being in different countries.
Further recommendations are:
Setup IP filters in the Google Adwords system (Settings) for your office IPs and even e.g. supplier companies' IPs.
1. Scenario.
This is what happens in 99% of the cases. You want to check if your ads are showing and if they are high in the rankings so you search a keyword you know is in your keyword list. Your ad appears and you are happy...
what happens in the background though is:
Your ad gets impressions but no clicks. This lowers the CTR (Click through rate) artificially, which in turn lowers the Quality Score (QS). A lower Quality Score will result in higher av. CPCs (Cost per Click). In other words you make your own ads more expensive ! And in the worst case Google might stop showing your ad totally as the system might think "a lot of impressions but no clicks = irrelevant ad".
2. Scenario
You search your keyword, see your ad and you click the ad. This is different, you pay for the click but it may increase the Quality Score. If you do it too often it will count as click spam though..
So, the correct way is:
If you want to check if your Google AdWords ads are showing, do not perform a live search, use the Google AdWords Ad Preview Tool.
This Google tool simulates the search, you see exactly what you would see in a live search but it does not affect the Quality Score in any way. Another advantage is that you can simulate being in different countries.
Further recommendations are:
Setup IP filters in the Google Adwords system (Settings) for your office IPs and even e.g. supplier companies' IPs.
