Another modification was introduced by Google concerning maybe the two things that arise a lot of questions and dilemmas:
Changes to the AdWords Quality Score calculations
Changes to the calculations of ad positions above search results
Quality Score
Current Quality Score calculation is a bit unsuited when it comes to the bidding for ‘strong’ keyword and your budget is insufficient (common case for English-speaking countries). In fact, without the first 3 or 4 positions it would be very hard to count on the lower CPC rate, no matter how thematical your keyword is or its correlation to ad quality, landing page…
With this new modification, Quality Score will be calculated according to the more fair system (even though, normalization was already available, obviously they had decided to tweak it a bit) – the ad position will also be taken into consideration when Quality Score is calculated.
Displaying ads above organic search results
The second modification refers to displaying ads directly above the search results (ads in the yellow box); one of the frequently asked questions(demands) is: — How to place an ad on this position?
To sum up, the whole story could be explained by saying that this position is determined by certain criteria — well known Ad Rank. The ad with the highest AdRank would be positioned above the search results.
With this new modification, it will be possible for ads to display in this position-even though their position is insufficient for that. For example, an ad in the first position on the right side doesn’t have adequate Quality Score to be placed above the search results, and the ad on the second position meets the requirements. In this case, it would be possible for an ad from the second position to ‘jump over’ the first ad and be placed above the search results.
What are the expectations of this modifications?
First modification should place a smile on those faces who are making extra effort to improve their ad quality, landing pages and targeted keywords. One of the most frustrating things is the inability to boost quality score due to major competition and overbidding- it should be ‘neutralized’ to some extent by this modification.
Second modification is also focused towards the boosting of ad quality and according to this, it could be beneficial for those who focus their strenght on optimization of their campaigns.
