Oct 31, 2008 at 8:35am ET by Barry Schwartz
The Google AdWords Blog announced that two new changes to the quality score is coming in the next few days.
The first change is to make the quality score calculation score an ad’s CTR based on the ad’s position. The second change is to help enable certain ads to be promoted to the top position.
Google is updating and improving how they normalize the CTR for when they look at an ad’s position on the page. They will use fresher and more updated data to provide a better metric for their quality score. Google said this should make the quality score more accurate, allow ads to “compete fairly” and show searchers more relevant ads.
The second part that Google changed was the formula used to promote an ad from the right side of the page to the top position, above the organic results. In the past, if an ad in the first position did not meet the promotion quality threshold requirement, but an ad in the second position did meet that threshold, ad number two would not be promoted. But with this new change, these ads will be able to jump above the ads above it and be promoted to the top position. Google said this will ensure that “quality plays an even more important role in determining the ads that show in those prominent positions.”
Postscript: Jeremy Mayes reminds me that Google has always normalized the CTR calculation based on ad position. So as Jeremy asks, what is new here? Google made this calculation better? If so, how exactly? I emailed Google to find out more information, I will update this post when I get that information.
Postscript #2: Google gave me this statement, basically saying, this is an update to how they normalize the CTR. “The first change mentioned in yesterday’s blog post simply gives advertisers advance notice that we’ll soon be making improvements to the existing technology that we’ve already been using to account for ad position. We’ll employ fresher, updated data that will help us calculate Quality Scores even more precisely,” said a Google spokesperson.
Share, Bookmark & Discuss This Article
More:
Keep Updated: News Via Email | News Via RSS Feed | News Via Twitter
See more stories like this in the Members Library! Check out the Google: AdWords sections of the Members Library where this story is filed. Members also get access to exclusive video content, a members-only weekly & monthly newsletter, plus more. Check out all the benefits!
TOP STORIES
SEARCH NEWS BRIEFS
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
RECENT COMMENTS
SearchCap is a once-per-day newsletter update:
Search Engine Land produces SMX, the Search Marketing Expo conference series. SMX events deliver the most comprehensive educational and networking experiences - whether you're just starting in search marketing or you're a seasoned expert.
SMX Web Site » | SMX Difference » | SMX News »
Join us at an upcoming SMX event:
Learn more about search marketing with our free online webcasts and webinars from our sister site, Search Marketing Now. Upcoming online events include:
Featured sites from our Blogroll
Become a premium member today and receive: