How does Google decide which ad is shown where?

Have you ever wondered how Google decides which ads show up where and in which order? I know as an avid google user I had never given it much thought and honestly thought that the ad order was completely random. WOW was I wrong!

Maximum Bid & Quality Score

The way the order is actually decided is through bidding. The two factors that are taken into consideration is your maximum bid and your quality score.

Maximum Bid: The maximum bid you specify for your keyword

Quality Score: This is a metric used to determine how relevant and useful your ad is to the user. The higher this score the better!

By multiplying these scores you are given an Ad rank score which is the deciding score on which ad goes first.

So all I need for my ad to be ranked first is a lot of money right? WRONG!

Although having a large budget to get the highest bid can help you, it won’t always guarantee you first. Even if you bid hundreds of dollars, your website needs to be engaging to receive a good quality score.

What does quality score include? 

1. Expected click-through rate

2. Landing page experience

3. Ad relevance

SEM can be a very helpful tool for businesses to allow consumers to find their products and/or website. But to be helpful it must be used correctly or you will find yourself paying and waiting a lot with very little in return. Make sure to always make your keywords relevant, make your website engaging to increase CTR, and make your ad appealing. If you do these things you are ready to take advantage of SEM bidding!