IndustryAdWords Adds Position Preference Feature; Opt-Out For Positions You Don’t Like

AdWords Adds Position Preference Feature; Opt-Out For Positions You Don't Like

News
from
our Search Engine Watch Forums that Google is rolling out a new
“Position Preference” feature allowing advertisers more ability to control where
exactly their ads will appear.

Not everyone may see the new feature yet. If you have it, you’ll see the
feature within the Edit Settings screen. It will then allow you to give a
preference for where you’d like your ad to appear. For example, if you’d rather
only have your ad show up in the top two positions, Google will try not to show
your ad if it is naturally ranked to show up below those spots.

It’s important to understand that the feature doesn’t guarantee or spot or
helps get you a better chance at one. Instead, think of it as “opt out” for
positions you don’t want. If you’d prefer only to show in certain positions,
this lets you opt-out of showing up in other spots. You’ll still only show up in
your preferred spots if Google’s ad ranking system decides you meet the right
criteria for that.

Here’s what’s reported in our forums:

We have a new option within Adwords. See below. Ultimately, you can try and
determine the position of specific keywords within an account. If you go into
Edit Settings you can activate this for each or all the campaigns and then
decide at KW level.

Position preference lets you tell Google where you would prefer your ad to
show among all the AdWords ads on a given page.

Whenever you run a keyword-targeted ad, your ad is assigned a position (or
rank) based on your cost-per-click (CPC) bid, your keyword’s Quality Score,
and other relevant factors. There may be dozens of positions available for a
given keyword, spread over several pages of search results.

If you find that your ad gets the best results when it is ranked (for
example) third or fourth among all AdWords ads, you can set a position
preference for those spots. AdWords will then try to show your ad whenever it
is ranked third or fourth, and avoid showing it when it is ranked higher or
lower. If your ad is ranked higher than third for a given keyword, the system
will automatically try to lower your bid to place your ad in your preferred
position.

You can request that your ad be shown only when it is:

* Higher than a given position (such as above 7)
* Lower than a given position (such as below 4)
* Within a range of positions (such as from 2-8).
* In a single exact position (such as position 2).

You can choose any positions between 1 and 10+ (that is, 10 or any larger
number). Separate position preferences can be set for any or all of the
keywords in your campaign.

Please note that position preference does not mean that your ad will always
appear in the position you specify. The usual AdWords ranking and relevance
rules apply. If your ad doesn’t qualify for position #1, setting a position
preference of 1 will not move it there. Position preference simply means
AdWords will try to show your ad whenever it is ranked in your preferred
position, and to avoid showing it when it is not.

Position preference also does not affect the overall placement of AdWords
ad units on the left, right, top or bottom of a given page. It only affects
your ranking relative to other ads across those units.

Position preferences are not guaranteed. Your ad may still appear in other
positions, though we will make every effort to display your ad where you
prefer. Once you set new position preferences, it may take a few days for the
AdWords system to begin delivering your ad according to those preferences.

Finally, let us note that setting a position preference can sharply reduce
the number of impressions and clicks you receive for that keyword. Targeting
just one or two positions means your ad will not show at times when it
otherwise might have. We encourage you to choose as broad a range of positions
are you are comfortable with.

Want to comment or discuss? Visit our SEW Forums thread,
Position
Preference – New Feature For Google AdWords
.

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