How many ways are there to pay less for clicks?

There are only two ways to pay less for Google adWords clicks.

1. Lower the bid
2. Improve the ad rank

Lower The Bid

This gives immediate results. You pay less for each click in the short term. It can seem like the only viable option especially if the campaign isn’t giving a positive return.

It will also have the effect of lowering the ad position. The most likely effect of lowering the ad position is to lower the click through rate which over time will lower the quality score which will then cause an even lower ad position.

Improve the Ad Rank

The quickest and easiest way to improve the ad rank is to raise the bid. This is very counter-intuitive when the goal is to pay less for clicks. However, paying for a higher ad position will almost certainly improve the CTR which will increase the quality score which will result in an higher ad position. At this point you can lower the bid and still retain a spot in the top few positions.

Raising the bid isn’t the only way to improve the ad rank. Ad rank is max bid * quality score so improving the quality score will also achieve this goal. CTR is the predominant factor in quality score. Ad position makes a big difference but so too does effective, relevant ad copy.

Conclusions

• Beware short term fixes that can have a negative effect on longer term success
• Give a campaign time to improve. Click through history must be established before results of changes can be measured.
• Be aware of all the variables and test to get the optimum combination
• Keep in mind that although it’s good to pay less for clicks, its only one part of the profit equation.