Google SEM Mystery

[edsnopse]

We've been bidding on the same keyword for years (and only that keyword). We've ranked consistently around #2 - up until recently. With the bad economy, some new competitors have cropped up and are bidding aggressively.

Our ad is rated as Great.
We have years of high CTR.
Our daily budget is not being met.
Our bid is not being met.

Yet we're now in a lower position than before. Are our competitors cranking up their bids and daily budget even though there's probably no real demand to justify it?

Thanks for any thoughts.

[webzenstar]

You're probably aware that Google's advertising logic isn't fully disclosed so nobody knows for sure what happens behind the curtain.

My humble guess is that some geotargeting issue is affecting your performance. For instance, you might have more trouble getting seen in California than, let's say, Alaska — have you given any further thought to this kind of scenario?

[bayboss]

its called competition

[HostingITrust]

This is bound to happen my friend. That is why it is called a bidding system. It is not because of low economy but because of greater awareness that more people are using these tools. Everybody wants to be on the first page of Google Adwords and so prices are bound to go up. This has been the general trend for each and every keyword since Adwords launched.

[swapw]

Originally Posted by edsnopse

We've been bidding on the same keyword for years (and only that keyword). We've ranked consistently around #2 - up until recently. With the bad economy, some new competitors have cropped up and are bidding aggressively.

Our ad is rated as Great.
We have years of high CTR.
Our daily budget is not being met.
Our bid is not being met.

Yet we're now in a lower position than before. Are our competitors cranking up their bids and daily budget even though there's probably no real demand to justify it?

Thanks for any thoughts.

Simply means the market of your niche is rising and everyone is hopping into your niche that's all. Might look into optimizing your site with search engines instead of paying for them.

- Swapw

[shoaeeb]

Ya its the real world competition.

[edsnopse]

I've concluded that competition is indeed the answer.

After checking our Google vitals (quality score, ad to content relevancy, etc.), I played with the bid / budget. I was able to get into position 1 - for a price.

In short, bids eventually trump quality.

[searchbliss]

Great things never last.
It's time to revirew your strategies and make changes.

[vacuity]

its called competition