Comments on: Cringely Questions AdWords

By: Aparaty cyfrowe

Aparaty cyfrowe — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 17:45:21 +0000

They in the Google search engine are earning when he has sie positions of one’s page high in results of searching, that is there is a space for a few web pages, wanting to be on these places is many, and for you what cannot be high must kożystać from AdWords. To be in Google high, it means at once that he will be frequenting the web page much of people.

By: viki

viki — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 10:55:56 +0000

What an extraordinarily valuable contribution to the Net, its users, and Western Culture.

By: Bob Cringely

Bob Cringely — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 18:04:00 +0000

Since this is all about my column I'm surprised nobody bothered to contact me. Maybe it is easier just to surmise. Certainly it is more fun.

The two campaigns did not point to the same URL, so they were not sharing clicks. Instead the sales web site was duplicated under a new URL.

The product being sold is also one with very little AdWords competition so ALL of the ads ALWAYS appeared on the first page of results no matter how much the bid.

I wrote more in a subsequent column: http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20051006.html and will likely follow-up even further in my next column that appears on Thursday.

You'll find that one especially fun to criticize.

By: AvengingAngel

AvengingAngel — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 02:40:08 +0000

It's not just the algorithms behind Google Adwords that can produce anomalous results for advertisers.

For the details, see:

"Google's Gag Order: An Internet Giant Threatens Free Speech."

By: dansroka

dansroka — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 13:33:28 +0000

Molly, I came up with the same conclusion as you. The newly-decreased ads for test site are now probably competing directly with the ads for the original site.

One thing the article missed is that high ad positions are very expensive because they are in high demand. People assume that a high position translates directly into ad success, and bid a lot to get them. Yet while this can contribute to an ad's success, it is only one metric out of many. As his original site shows, you can have a very successful AdWords campaign for much cheaper if you don't confuse position with success.

By: Adam

Adam — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 05:43:28 +0000

> One of my readers makes his living selling goods over the Internet, and his sole means of obtaining
> customers is through Google AdWords

Eggs. Basket. Fool.

By: Andrew Goodman

Andrew Goodman — Sat, 24 Sep 2005 00:45:56 +0000

Cringely's account is nonsense on stilts.

As a previous poster mentioned, the old account's performance history was counting in its favor, so the comparison was far from scientific.

Dropping bids from $1.00 to $0.40 dropped the new site's average ad position and thus visibility significantly - significantly enough to be the entire explanation for the drop in clicks, perhaps.

There are scientific explanations for most things, and it isn't worldly wise to say the house always wins - it's just a yawner.

Messing with the integrity of the auction by double serving ads for the same site is unfair to other advertisers and against the AdWords TOS, BTW.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 23:07:43 +0000

Did you mean “I don’t mean to be…” Not just “Don’t mean to be…”. I mean really, who is meaning to be the grammar Nazi … I am so confused.

By: joe

joe — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 23:04:18 +0000

Then don’t be a grammar Nazi. Oh by the way, not to be a capitalization Nazi but Nazi should be capitalized. (possibly gammar too, any english majors in here?)

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 20:32:44 +0000

Don’t mean to be a grammar nazi, but it doesn’t beg the question, it raises it.