Google Ads Positioning: The Most Significant Google Ads Ad Position Myths

Google Ad Positioning is important, but is it everything?

When it comes to learning about Google Ads Positioning, there are a few persistent myths that may mislead many newcomers in PPC advertising.

This is a misunderstood concept that has a significant influence on your traffic, which makes it one worth keeping an eye on. However, you need to understand just how to analyze it, and also how to put everything in perspective with the data you find.
It’s time you learned the truth.

4 Myths about Google Ads Ad Position:

In PPC advertising, data insights provide marketers with valuable information about their ideal customer. This information helps them develop expert knowledge on which they make key decisions about their campaigns.

But what if we told you that this entire strategy was built on rocky foundations?

For many marketers, it is. The reason being that they are under some illusions about the ad position metric. Here are the most common misconceptions about ad position that you need to know:

i. I Need to Show Up All the Time for this Keyword

By setting a low maximum cost-per-click (CPC), it will probably result in a low impression share. Without impressions, you won’t get clicks.

Some marketers panic here and start throwing money away in attempts to solve the issue. However, instead of driving impressions, it just drains your budget as a higher impression share doesn’t always equate to a higher conversion rate, especially if your ads aren’t relevant.

ii. I Need to Be In the Top 4 Ad Positions or I Will Never Be Seen

While it’s undeniable that volume drops off on lower ad positions, your ad doesn’t fall into a black void after position #4. People do click on Google Ads in lower positions.

The more important thing to understand is that having an ad position of 4 doesn’t mean you are always there. Sometimes your ad is higher up.

To put things in perspective, consider your niche. If it is a high volume space like travel, then you will still get plenty of attention. Conversely, a low volume space such as local dentist businesses may only get a few clicks in a lower ad position.

So, what do you do?

First of all, stop listening to your ego. Don’t bid to position as that’s just throwing money away. Instead, bid to profitability based on the information you garner from your campaign data.

iii. If I Bid Higher, I’ll Surely Improve My Ad Position

If this was true, then Google’s search results would be dominated by those with the deepest pockets (e.g. Amazon and Walmart). You can’t just bid higher until and expect to climb the ranks. The quality of your ads genuinely matters, and Google makes sure that it is the most relevant and helpful ads that get displayed for customer’s search queries.

iv. It’s too Expensive to Compete in Those Top Positions with the Big Boys

Businesses with small budgets usually believe that the top positions are expensive, and they curb their ambitions as a result. While it is a little challenging to compete with huge competitors, there are other factors than just money.

By choosing the right keywords and crafting compelling copy, your ads can connect with a large audience, even on a small budget.

It is important to note that such a strategy requires analytics, which PPCexpo can help you with. With some smart thinking, you can compensate for a smaller budget, ultimately maximizing the potential of your finances. Smart thinking can help a small budget win.

The Biggest Myth of Them All — Top Position Is the Best

When it comes to Google ad positioning myths, this one fools virtually every marketer that ever tries PPC advertising.

The reality is being a top is not always the best in PPC advertising.

Being in Position #1 May Not Be Profitable for Your Business

Large corporations with massive budgets can easily lodge high bids without care. For smaller businesses, you need to savvier with your finances. Trying to beat the fat cats to the top spot could quickly bankrupt your business.

Considering that top positions are expensive, it may make more sense for your business to spend just enough on paid ads to secure an ad position of #2, #3, or even #4.

Remember how we said don’t bid to the position? Many marketers are focused on getting the top spot, often to their detriment. Instead, you should work on optimizing your budget for a greater return on investment (ROI).

You Might Not Meet Your Business Targets in Ad Position #1

You don’t have any control over the bids of your competitors, only your own. Conversion rates may actually be higher when your ads are in positions #3 or #4, compared to in first place.

Remember that other factors like your quality score and the conversion rate of your site come into play as well, so don’t drop a fortune trying to correct problems by targeting a higher ad rank.

Position #1 Attracts Some Unqualified Traffic

When people enter a search query, there is a tendency to equate the top result with the most relevant answer. In PPC advertising, this isn’t always the case.

Searchers trends indicate that when several ads are shown in search results, the user will open more than one before making any decisions. Therefore, being up top won’t matter, as you’ll still get clicks in the lower positions.

It’s been discovered that 7% of people click on ads in position #1 without reading all the text, or even if the ad doesn’t match what they are looking for.

It’s only after they scroll down that they begin to read the ads and try to find the best match. As a result, the bounce rates, visit time, and conversion rates tend to improve in positions #2, #3, and #4.

As such, you can expect some blind clicks and irrelevant traffic to flow in when you are on top. Ultimately, these are expensive, low-qualified clicks that will often leave quickly, posing new problems like a higher bounce rate and higher CPC.

Digital marketers should rely on analytics instead of their gut feeling. Remember that analytics is not a set and forget task — constant tweaking is essential. By making changes and analyzing the outcomes, you can fine-tune your ads for greater success.

Focus on Quality Score to Earn More ROI

Ad Position is important, but it misleads many digital marketers, fooling them into believing they should shoot for the top spot. Worse still, they try to get there by spending more money.

The real metric to focus on is your quality score. By doing that, you can develop more relevant ads that generate more clicks, and higher conversion rates.

Wrap Up:

Don’t bid to position, bid to profitability.

By switching your mindset to look for the best cost per conversion instead, you can generate a better ROI in a lower ad position. In effect, lowering your bids and sacrificing the top position can make your ads more profitable.