Google AdWords Archives

I reported this later last night at Search Engine Land but this is very important news for Google AdWords advertisers. Google will be introducing into the quality score component of your ad rank, the speed at which your landing pages load. If you have a slow page load time, your AdWords ads will cost your more.

Last night Google AdWords began showing your landing page load time, on each keyword level, in your Google AdWords keyword diagnostic section. Here is a screen capture from one of my test campaigns:

Right now, Google is showing you this data so that if your page load time is poor, you have time to make changes to speed things up and improve your quality score. Because starting sometime in mid-June, the landing page load time score will impact your overall quality score and may cost you a lot of money. So be prepared. How do you look up your landing page load time scores?

(1) Sign in to your account at https://adwords.google.com.
(2) Click a campaign.
(3) Click an ad group.
(4) Click the 'Keywords' tab above the Ad Group Details table.
(5) Click the magnifying glass icon beside any keyword and then the 'Details and recommendations' link to launch the Keyword Analysis page. You can also see an overview of your Quality Score and ad visibility by pointing your cursor over the icon.

Here are our past articles on the Google AdWords landing page load time factor:

• Landing Page Load Time Will Impact Google AdWords Quality Score
• Google Confirms Page Load Time As Future Factor in AdWords Quality Score
• Test Your Page Load Time Before Google Tests it For You

Overall, most Google AdWords advertisers are excited about this change. The true winner are the searchers. But there is some backlash about the change.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and Search Engine Watch Forums.

An older Google Groups thread was just updated by Jeff Posnick the AdWords API Advisor, an official Google representative in charge of the AdWords API development and support. The Googler explains that the API Sandbox should now support the creation of video ads.

Now, simulating the addition of video ads may be supported in the AdWords Sandbox environment. Jeff Posnick explained:

Could you try your attempt to create a video ad in the Sandbox environment again? The engineering team made a config change that *should* have enabled folks for it.

So it should work, may not, but should. We know Google is at least working on making it work.

Also, Google released the NET Client Library 1.0.0 for the AdWords API v11 and v12.

Forum discussion at Google Groups.

Starting at about 5am (EST) yesterday, I have been noticing reports in the forums about Google being slow to update both the AdSense reports and the AdWords reports. The two largest threads discussing the issues can be found at WebmasterWorld and Google Groups, but there are plenty of other threads throughout the forums with complaints.

Again, first reports came in at about 5am (EST) yesterday and the issues have still not been resolved. We do have reassurance from Google in the WebmasterWorld and Google Groups threads that the issue is only reporting related and all the data is being tracked. When the reporting issues are fixed, it will show correct data.

AdSenseAdvisor posted at WebmasterWorld saying:

Thanks for your comments and your patience, and apologies for the delay. Our engineering team is working to address this issue as soon as possible. Please be assured that your account statistics have still been tracked, and we are working on displaying them in your account.

I will be sure to post with any additional updates.

AdSensePro Stephanie posted twice in the Google Groups thread (and other Google Groups threads) saying:

I've escalated your reports to our engineers, and they're currently investigating the issue. I'll be sure to update this thread as soon as I have any more info -- thanks for your patience in the meantime.

She then added a little bit later:

I've just received an update from our engineers: they're still working on resolving the issue, but they have confirmed that no statistics or data have been lost from your accounts. I'll let you know when I have more info about when you might expect to see updated stats. Again, we appreciate your patience.

The WebmasterWorld thread has over a 130 posts, and the Google Groups thread has almost a 100 posts.

In addition, you can see the brand new AdSense Known Issues page for an update that shows the issue is still not resolved, as of 7:45am (EST) today.

Forum discussion on both the AdWords and AdSense side at the following threads:

• Google Groups - AdSense
• WebmasterWorld - AdWords
• WebmasterWorld - AdSense
• Search Engine Watch Forums - AdSense
• DigitalPoint Forums - AdSense
• DigitalPoint - AdSense

Since early February we were warning Google AdWords advertisers that Google would be enforcing the display URL policy, where the display URL must match the destination URL. The policy enforcement was suppose to begin on April 1st. On April 10th, we asked why Google wasn't enforcing this new policy? But we had no answer.

That all changed this weekend. A WebmasterWorld thread has reports from several AdWords advertisers reporting that Google has finally begun enforcing the policy. One advertiser said the automated method of detecting and penalizing ads for breaking the display URL policy is fairly accurate, for the most part. He said:

The software has made the odd false negative, but otherwise doing great.

Other advertisers have confirmed the new policy has been enforced for them. We have yet to see a major backlash from advertisers who are upset about this policy - yet.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Last night, the big news was again Microsoft/Yahoo/Google business dealings. You can see all the headlines at Techmeme, including (1) Microsoft might start the hostile takeover today (tomorrow) and (2) Yahoo might announce they will continue to carry Google ads on the Yahoo search network. Greg Sterling has a post on that news at Search Engine Land.

I know that many advertisers would be delighted if Yahoo used Google's AdWords network as their ad base. We have positive feedback from when Google powered Yahoo's ads just a couple weeks ago. So, if Yahoo continued this test and made it a full deal, I know many advertisers who would be delighted.

I am sure there would be many who would be upset, but I think more would be happy. Out of curiosity, let's poll our readers on this. Would you be happy if Google powered Yahoo's search ads in the future?

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

Google's AdWords blog announced that all US based advertisers should now be able to participate in Google's TV Ads.

Honestly, I think Google opened this up to all US advertisers on April 11th or the day before and just announced it today. Personally, I am a US advertiser and I still don't see the option, maybe something on my account is flagged as not liking TV. I do have clients that clearly have the TV ad option.

To entice advertisers to try TV ads, Google is offering a promotion that will cover the cost of producing a commercial - up to $2,000.

In any event, here is a screen shot of the start page:

Forum discussion at DigitalPoint Forums.

A WebmasterWorld thread has discussion around one advertiser noticing Google displaying three scores directly under a Google Netherlands ad. Here is a picture of the ad with the scores underneath the ad:

So I began to do some research and it seems someone else saw the score for a different search today as well, on Google.de. Here is a screen capture, but even though the webmaster highlighted the score with the middle ad, I have a feeling the score is associated with the top ad:

Here is another:

So what does the scores mean?
- Pscore: 0.00101
- mCPC: 10.0000
- thresh: 0.0001

mCPC, seems logical, the minimum cost-per-click for the ad is $10? The Pscore and thresh, I am not sure about.

It seems like many folks are spotting this in Google's international search engines.

We have forum discussion at WebmasterWorld and at Abakus German Forum.

A recent WebmasterWorld thread is complaining that Google seems to have changed the yellow background color of the Google sponsored ads to a color just a bit different then the white background.

Tedster explains that the color he sees now for the top ads are #FFF9DD, which he said, "is very close to a pure #FFFFFF." On my screen they look different, but on a typical PC monitor, it may look very similar to white. Here are the two colors, side by side - so you make the call.

Google first changed the background color for the top ads to yellow back about a year ago. Based on my screen capture then, the color was #FFF9DD, so I am not sure why we are hearing complaints now? Maybe what I am seeing and what others are seeing are something else? Maybe Google is testing something even closer to white?

Tedster is strong about this, saying:

#FFF9DD is just a cop-out. If Google is going to blur the line between paid ads and organic results, they should just go all the way and use #FFFFFF for the whole page. Somehow, this near-match sends an even worse message, to my sensibilities.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

A Sphinn thread has discussion about a new AdWords experiment where Google flipped the URL location in the ad from the bottom of the ad to above the description line of the ad. The Get Elastic Blog has a screen shot, which I used here to show you the difference, side by side:

The ads on the left are typical AdWords ads, that I see now, and have the URL at the bottom of the ad, under the ad description. The ads on the right are the new format, which seems be being tested in some parts of the UK. These ads move the display URL from the bottom, up above the ad description.

Very interesting test, which seems way off to me, since I am used to seeing the URL under the ad description for years now. So I am too accustomed to seeing it the other way, which makes this new test seem wrong. But it can be right, it depends on how this impacts CTR and ROI for advertisers.

Forum discussion at Sphinn.

InformationWeek discusses a recent lawsuit that Google is facing over some ambiguity in an ad.

(Photo courtesy of Valleywag)

More specifically, from the image above, you see that there are 2 boxes. If you leave the second one blank, it doesn't imply that the amount is zero. Google implies that you're using the Default CPC bid for the second box if left empty.

Understandably, some forum members are thinking that Google is in the wrong here. It may not warrant a class action suit, but it still warrants something. In general, Google's CPC input boxes have been a problem before -- one forum members says that if you miss a decimal point (e.g. you set your ad to $015 instead of 0.15), you could end up paying a LOT more than you intended to.

Other forum members believe that this is linkbait at its best and that Google AdWords has help documents explaining all of these fields. If you don't read the fine print, you shouldn't hold Google liable that you've lost money. You should also not "test and forget" your ads; if something looks fishy, stop it before you lose money inadvertently.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

WebmasterWorld members are reporting strangeness when using the Google AdWords Editor to retrieve statistics. According to some, the editor tool is pulling information, but "not all of it."

Google is aware of the problem according to the user. At this point, however, there is no solution and users report that they are still having difficulty getting all the data.

In the meantime, the suggestion is to use the online interface rather than the Google AdWords Editor. Forum members also believe that using the online interface is just better. netmeg puts it nicely:

I don't use the AdWords Editor for stats anymore; too often it doesn't match the online console. I've been given various reasons by Google as to why this might be (connecting to different servers that aren't completely in sync, console can see today's numbers while the AE can't, I'm making it up, etc etc) but the bottom line is, if I need to get stats, I have to log in.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Search Engine Watch Forums moderator, abbottsys, posted detailed feedback on Google Ads Being on Yahoo Search. The Search Engine Watch Forums thread has only one post but deserves a lot more participation, in my opinion.

Normally, I would summarize, but I am not feeling so well and abbottsys does a great job, so let me quote him:

1) My ad was subscribed to Google Search and the Google Search Partner Network, but it was not subscribed to the Content Network

2) I bid high so I could be sure of seeing the ad. I also shut down all my native Yahoo campaigns. As soon as I shut them down my adwords ad took over on Yahoo.

3) My ad appeared at the top of Google and Yahoo. My ad ranking on Yahoo was slightly better than on Google.

4) Changes to the ad were reflected with equal speed on both Google and Yahoo.

5) I found it *very* convenient that I could manage my Yahoo campaigns from AdWords. I've always been a big fan of the AdWords management interface, which I feel is *far* superior to Panama, AdCenter, or any others out there. In fact, I was surprised how refeshing it was not having to mess with multiple ad management platforms.

6) As regards ad performance (CTR, conversions) I was very happy. Of course, since this was a Yahoo test I have no idea if these clicks were charged or even reported in my AdWords account. But the ad did perform well.

7) I've been doing this PPC stuff since 1998. My overall comment on this particular experience is that it was great. I really liked it from all aspects.

8) If this test leads to a full ad distribution agreement between Yahoo and Google my only additional request would be that my AdWords ads show up on the Yahoo Content Network. Currently ad distribution on this network is a mess, and needs to be upgraded. Yahoo clearly has infrastructure problems with ad delivery on their Content Network. Letting AdWords handle this would be a much needed upgrade!!!!

9) Bottom line. As an advertiser I simply loved this! Two thumbs up!!!!!!!!

In the meantime, the DOJ is investigating the Google/Yahoo ad test. So even though some advertisers might love to see Google provide the search ads for Yahoo, the DOJ might prevent that from happening.

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

A Google Groups thread asks if one can transfer their Google Advertising Professional exam scores from their old company to their new company. The Google Advertising Professional program was launched in 2004 to help Google give certification to professionals selling AdWords services. Part of the certification is completing an exam to earn rights to show the Google Advertising Professional Certification Logo on your site.

So when employees move from company to company, they may bring along their individual certification status. But if the company has not received the certification on the company level, it seems like when an employee with the certification leaves, it goes with the individual.

But in cases where the company earned the certification, it cannot be transferred from an old company to a new one.

According to AdWordsPro.Jordan, an official Google AdWords representation, in a Google Groups thread, you cannot transfer the certification:

At this point, it's actually not possible to transfer Google Advertising Professional Exam scores between companies or their My Client Centers. Instead, we'd suggest that your former employee re-take the exam and associate her score with her new company's My Client Center.

Forum discussion at Google Groups.

Loren Baker reports at Search Engine Journal that copy that stands out from the crowd gets higher click through rates. He explains that a campaign which utilized ASCII art (e.g. //~vw^v^vw~\\ and the like) got a 50% higher CTR than without the art.

Barry mentioned in January over at Search Engine Land that such a practice can "spice up your ads," but that Google may filter out such art because it obviously gives one an unfair advantage over the other. Loren says that Google has been doing the same thing to the individual who reported the findings.

Meanwhile, it'd be interesting to discover if the CTRs are yielding higher conversions or if there's a higher bounce rate than previously as well. The data there is lacking.

Forum discussion continues at Sphinn.

Guess what? After forever (it seems), Google has taken Google Website Optimizer out of beta. Now, anyone can access the Google Website Optimizer to increase your site's conversion rate. (Previously, you had to open a free AdWords account to use the product.)

If you haven't used Google Website Optimizer yet, perhaps the benefits of A/B Split & Multivariable Testing and Intuitive Reports will woo you. The goals, of course, are to increase sales, improve landing pages, get more leads, determine cost per acquisition (CPA), increase time spent on site, estimate guesswork from your site design, and more.

Forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums.

AdWordsAPI Advisor posted in a Google Groups thread that Google is now able to drop the prices they charge for using the AdWords API. How can they do this now? Debbie Leight, Product Marketing at Google, said because Google was able to enhance the API system to "drive greater efficiencies." Those new efficiencies are now represented in a new lower rate.

Here is the revised rate chart:

Service Name, Former Rate (in API units), New Rate
* addAds: 125 -> 50 per item
* addCriteria: 25 -> 20 per item
* updateCriteria: 10 -> 3 per item
* getKeywordVariations: 25 -> 20
* getKeywordsFromSite: 25 -> 20
* estimateAdGroupList: 25 -> 20 per item
* estimateCampaignList: 25 -> 20 per item
* estimateKeywordList: 25 -> 20 per item
* scheduleReportJob: 1000 -> 500

Debbie ends by explaining:

API units will continue to be charged at a cost of US$0.25 (or local currency equivalent) per thousand units consumed; but these per-service rate reductions will bring substantial savings.

Forum discussion at Google Groups.

Note: This article was written the week prior and scheduled to be posted April 21st.

Yesterday I reported that Google stopped running the Yahoo ads test that they started a week earlier and then asked why. I asked why would they stop the test early?

Well, the answer is that they did not. The individual we are tracking to see if the Google ads are live or not on Yahoo, saw that they went down. But now he is reported at Search Engine Watch Forums that the ads are currently showing again.

So I was premature in reporting that Google stopped testing the ads. They have continued the test and outlooks are continuing to look positive for advertisers and Yahoo, with this test.

Forum discussion continued at Search Engine Watch Forums.

In March, we reported that Google AdWordsPro was getting inundated with questions and feedback, and two new representatives were added. Well, it's a month later and it seems that the trend is continuing.

AdWordsPro announced Tuesday on Google Groups that three new staff members have been added. They are AdWordsPro.Jordan, AdWordsPro.Sarah and AdWordsPro.Steph.

The new staff members will be checking the forums about an hour a day to read and respond to concerns. Since issues can arise at various times of day, there will be staff members checking in the morning and later in the day. The goal here is to have "no unanswered questions remaining" by the end of each business day. High aspirations but I think it's doable. :)

Forum discussion continues at Google Groups.

Yahoo told us they were Search Engine Watch Forums by abbottsys states that his Google ads are now no longer showing up in the Yahoo Search ad slots. He also helped us break the news on when Yahoo started showing Google ads back on April 11th. But, as of April 16th, the Google ads no longer show on Yahoo.

That test was only one week. Did the test go really bad quickly? Was Yahoo not happy with the Google ads? Was Google not happy with Yahoo? Or is it simply that they both have enough data to make a decision going forward?

Maybe Yahoo decided to pull the Google ads in anticipation of earning more money through their new minimum bid prices that are suppose to go into effect any time now?

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

Update: There is related news at the WSJ on this:

Yahoo Inc. moved closer to outsourcing its search advertising to Google Inc. after an initial test of the system yielded what the two firms deemed positive results, people familiar with the matter said. — A partnership could give Yahoo some needed leverage …

Something is up, for sure. More coverage can be found at Techmeme.

Update: Yahoo Ad Test on Google Continues...

A WebmasterWorld member is having difficulty understanding how and why she's seeing an overlap of broad match terms within her campaigns overall. She explains that broad match is "kick[ing] in for a more generic term, when the specific term is included in another campaign/ad group, at the same bid price."

Why is this happening? It looks like broad match is confusing advertisers in a big way. As moderator skibum points out, the ad that gives Google the most money is the one that is displayed. Also, if one of your campaigns has exhausted its daily budget but there are still users performing pertinent and another campaign has not reached its budget, you may see some "overlap" on the other campaign to even out the budget.

One way to get around this is to split the match types into separate groups. Applying negative keywords to the campaign can ultimately yield higher results.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

There are a few early reports that some Google AdWords advertisers received what is called a Google Slap, basically a spike in their minimum CPCs due to Google's quality score.

A WebmasterWorld thread has two confirmed reports over the weekend that their cost-per-click (CPC) prices have skyrocketed overnight. Here are quotes of the two reports:

Well, I got around 8,000 keywords with a bid of $10.00 today, which most where on $0.15 and $0.30.

We had exactly the same problem! On Fri 11th we got slapped hard by Google. Our bids which were normally 5c-10c cpc with a great QS jumped to $10 for a min bid. This was on a site that had been doing extremely well for the past few months then with no warning Bam!~

This site had a similar set up to what you described: lots of campaigns all leading to different landing pages for different products.

Have tried several things to revamp the campaigns but nothing seems to be working.

The first report comes from a very senior member with 1,524 posts and a join date of January 2005 at WebmasterWorld. Now, this could have impacted just a few people, but it seems like it might be more widespread. We will see if the thread takes off today, being Monday and all.

Note, this week, likely today or tomorrow, Yahoo's is changing how they handle minimum bids. They too will be having a quality score factor that can impact one's minimum bids. Soon to be labelled the Yahoo Slap, I guess. I have more details on that, over here.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

We all have to make website updates some time or another. Sometimes it's an easy fix that you can do within the scheme of your web design. In other cases, a 301 must be implemented. How does this impact other activities?

Well, if you have a Google AdWords campaign and you just established a permanent 301 redirect to the landing pages, is that enough? Will that cause an extra load time? Is it better to update all the URLs in the campaign so that it bypasses the .htaccess with your 301 redirect and goes straight to the new URL? Sometimes, there's a fear that this will kill the good-established history on the account.

Justifiably so. And there should be no severe slowness if you keep your 301s intact, according to forum members.

Got anything to add? Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

A report from Search Engine Watch Forums says that all of a sudden, the option for Google TV ads appeared for him when he logged into his AdWords account.

Just logged into my AdWords account and was greeted by a message announcing that TV Ads are now available. Not yet checked out the details.

I don't see the option myself, but it appears Google may be doing an additional push to test their TV ad distribution system. Google has been sending out beta invites in the past, in fact, you can read most of our coverage on Google TV ads here.

Here is some screen shots of what it looks like to set up a TV ad in Google AdWords:

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

Yesterday I reported that one of the many Yahoo announcements were that Yahoo was going to test running Google ads on Yahoo Search USA.

According to a Search Engine Watch Forums thread, the Google ads are now live on Yahoo. Note, if you don't want your Google ads to show on Yahoo, you need to opt your ads out on showing on third party search providers. In any event, some advertisers are noticing that their Google ads are showing up in Yahoo sponsored results.

As expected, the ads don't appear as AdSense ads - they simply look like Yahoo ads. SEW moderator explains, "Yahoo seems to be configured as a Google Search Partner, not as an AdSense publisher." In addition, he adds, "Initially (i.e. earlier today) I was only seeing my ad a small percent of the time (i.e. Yahoo was only including it on a fraction of the SRPs for a given search), but now I'm seeing my ad 100% of the time." But the ad is only showing when he stopped showing his native Yahoo ad, i.e. the Google ad won't show for him until he tells Yahoo to stop showing his Yahoo ad.

His conclusion so far?

The net effect is like a pooled ad resource, where Google and Yahoo have pooled ads to run on Yahoo (and maybe soon on both engines?)

Note, this is supposedly only suppose to impact 3% of Yahoo's search ads in the US. It is also suppose to run only for about two weeks.

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

Since mid-February we have been reporting that Google to Lay Down the Law on AdWords Display URL Policy. We have issued reminder after reminder, heck, even Google posted reminders all over the place - sometimes in big red backgrounds:

But it appears, from what I am hearing in the forums and from back channels, that Google has not yet enforced this rule. Advertisers are reportedly still getting away with having their display URLs not match their destination URLs. What happened to the strict enforcement of this rule?

Here are some reports from Sphinn and WebmasterWorld. What seriously shows a sign that nothing is happening are the few complaints in the forums. Actually, I haven't seen anyone impacted or complaining about being hit by this rule. I have seen people complain that this rule is not being enforced.

From the Sphinn thread, Bill Hartzer said:

We have received word that ReachLocal is not affected by the new Google AdWords display URL policy. More coming soon...

ReachLocal has a huge client base, so if true - and I believe it is true - then what is going on?

From the WebmasterWorld thread:

Absolutely no changes whatsoever. I'm still seeing old ads with violations. New ads with violations are also being created. When I report yet another keyword with three ads going to the same website, the CSRs hum and haw and then say they'll escalate it to the "specialists"....then nothing gets done about it.

And my test ad that I launched a few days ago is still running. Nobody has visited the destination URL since a few minutes after I launched it, so either ads are not reviewed or they're reviewed by monkeys that don't understand English.

I'm normally fairly respectful, but at this point I'm convinced that idiots are working in the AdWords team. Did everyone with half a brain cash in their stock options and flee to Facebook?!

Ouch!

Google, are you going to enforce the display URL rule or not?

Forum discussion at Sphinn and WebmasterWorld.

The UK PPC Blog reports that Google AdWords UK has changed their AdWords trademark policy to be more aligned with the US policy. An email sent to him said:

If you’ve submitted a complaint letter requesting that we prevent advertisers from using certain trademark terms anywhere in their ad text, we will continue our efforts to support your request. However, from May 5, 2008, our trademark complaint investigations will no longer result in Google monitoring or restricting keywords for ads served to users in the UK and Ireland. This will bring our procedure in line with the approach taken in the US and Canada. Complaints received on or after today will be processed under our revised procedure.

In short, UK advertisers can now bid on trademark terms for their ads to show up. They cannot, in most cases, display the trademarked term in the advertisement. But the term can be use to trigger the display of the ad in Google.co.uk.

You can read the details of the policy change at Google, but here are some key points:

• Beginning May 5, 2008, keywords that were disabled as a result of a trademark investigation will no longer be restricted in the UK and Ireland.
• Complaints received prior to April 4, 2008: Google will be investigate complaints against trademark use in ad text and keywords. Complaints will be processed according to the current policy.
• Complaints received on or after April 4, 2008: If the complaint requests that we prevent use of the trademark in ad text, we will continue our efforts to support this request. Complaints will be processed under our revised procedure.
• All Complaints: Beginning in May 2008, keywords that were disabled as a result of a trademark complaint and investigation will no longer be restricted in the UK and Ireland.

Forum discussion at Search Engine Roundtable Forums.

A WebmasterWorld thread has an advertiser complaining that Google's AdWords spider appears to be lowercasing the destination URLs they have. The thing is, the lowercase URLs for this webmaster don't work with the site and they don't have the time right now to implement 301 redirects for each URL.

jdMorgan, WebmasterWorld's AdWords moderator, asked:

Are you sure that's AdwordsBot, and not a scraper crawling through a Google proxy?

I've seen abuse from those "ff-in-fNN.google.com" hosts, and my impression is that they're not addresses used internally by Google. No, I'm not sure, but googlebots normally identify themselves as such, and not as browsers.

The advertiser seems convinced that it is AdWords and not a rogue spider.

The thread is actually turning out to be pretty good with some great details and deeper insight into AdWords crawling behaviors.

Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.

Google renders their ads on an Apple iPhone almost exactly like they would on a normal web browser, but with a few changes.

(1) It appears that Google will not show as on the right hand side of the search results. I am not sure why, there appears to be plenty of space to show those ads.

(2) The max number of ads they will show at the top appear to be three ads. This might change in the future.

(3) Apple will automatically convert the phone numbers in the ads to click to dial (this is an Apple thing, I believe).

Here is a picture of a search for ipod via Google on the iPhone versus a normal Safari web browser:

Apple iPhone:

Safari Web Browser:

Forum discussion at Search Engine Watch Forums.

A Google AdWords advertiser at WebmasterWorld reports that he used to pay $0.15 per click on his ads but recently his quality score forced him to up the price of his AdWords ads to $10. He'd like to know if there's any way to recover from such a high jump.

An interesting discussion has emerged as a result of this question. Some people believe it's not possible, but it also depends on what kind of site you are hosting. If, for example, it's an ebook site, a "get rich quickly" site, comparison shopping engines, travel aggregators, or data collection sites, you're probably out of luck.

Others speak from experience: one has had 2 of 4 sites recovered from what he believes to be a quality score algorithm change. And some others believe that it impacts the entire account and that you need to fix the entire account before proceeding with the actual problematic keyword.

One person has circumvented this by migrating his data to another brand new campaign. He then waits to get slapped again with high CPCs at which point he moves to another brand new campaign.

Other suggestions speak from experience and users trying to make sense of it all. They call it AdWords Engine Optimization.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.

Google has announced that it has launched the newest version of the AdWords API: version 12. Release notes are here, but include the following new features:

• Conversion Optimizer support
• CPC bidding for placement-targeted ads
• Expanded code sample library

Version 11 will be discontinued on July 26, 2008, so if you're an AdWords API developer: upgrade soon rather than later.

Forum discussion continues at Google Groups.

Let's say you're performing a campaign on Google AdWords and you have similar search terms -- for example, some with broad match and some with exact match for particular queries. Say, for example, that one of your searches is for [blue widgets] and the other is for blue widgets (broad match, no quotes). The question is -- which one does Google choose to trigger the ad?

A Google AdWords help document discusses this question in more depth. Depending on the criteria, different things may occur.

For example:

If there are multiple eligible keywords and one identical keyword, the common denominator keyword will trigger an ad.

On the other hand, if there are multiple eligible keywords in the same ad group (but no identical keyword), the keyword "that contains the most words" will trigger the ad.

Finally, if there are multiple eligible keywords across ad groups (but again, no identical keyword), the keyword with the highest combined Quality Score and CPC bid will trigger the ad.

Additional criteria for how Google chooses which keyword triggers which ad is included in the help document, and forum discussion continues at DigitalPoint Forums.

In February, we reported Google intends to change the AdWords URL policy, where the display URL must match the landing URL. Now, if you log onto your Google AdWords account, you'll likely see this in your dashboard:

There are still a number of WebmasterWorld members who are baffled by this announcement. They thought this was the rule the entire time. The difference, really, is that it's going to be enforced as of April 1st. Basically, the TLD of the landing page has to match the domain listed in the ad, and there's not much else to it. Hopefully, that will alleviate some concerns many people have had regarding the "new" AdWords rule.

Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.