Over $1 per click (adwords) for a keyword that has zero competition

4 replies
Hello everyone,

I have a local ad with AdWords express for a business I'm managing. What I'm confused about is it's charging over $1 per click, but there is no competition. None of my competitors even have a website. I checked keyword planner and the suggested bid is blank. So I'm a little puzzled why Google is charging me so much. I'm not very experienced with Adwords so maybe this is normal?

Thanks
#adwords #click #competition #keyword
Avatar of Unregistered
  • Profile picture of the author Darrel Wilson
    i woudlnt use adwords in my opinion, its very expensive. I would only use the true video ads for adwords
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11178552].message }}
  • Let's start with the easy part. The suggested bid is blank because Google simply does not have enough data to do an estimate. I assume you set the targeting in the planner to your location, which makes sense. But since this is a smaller area, less population than say national and thus less search volume, there's no data. To get a better idea, set it to national and see what it says.

    Note however that it's an suggested bid. It assumes a couple of things, one that you want the top positions and two that your QS is average. Both are reasonable assumptions. A better QS will do wonders to your actual CPC.

    You may not know how your ads are ranked and how CPC is calculated. Ads are ranked based on the formula bid x QS. It's a bit more complicated than that but that's the basic formula and good enough for demonstration purposes.

    CPC is calculated by taking the ad rank of the competitor below you divided by your QS. So your CPC is affected by that competitor's own bid and QS as well as your QS. Note that QS is not the single digit number you see but has many decimals and it is recalculated after every auction. It therefore is not static not to mention that competitors are not static.

    A common fallacy is thinking that if you see no competitors, that you should be paying one cent. There really is no such thing as having no competitors in the online world. Google likely uses national data and that's how it comes up with the $1 CPC you paid.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11179089].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Isaack101
    This is normal. Don't select automatic bidding. You have to lower your bid maybe to 10 cents and then wait to see if you are getting clicks. wait for about 12 hours and if you are not getting any clicks, increase the bid by 10 cents and wait again. Keep doing this until you get clicks and then when you are getting clicks, stop.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11179214].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
    Personally I would go have a look at Bing and Facebook. You can usually get a much lower CPC and the quality is quite good.
    Signature
    Free eBook =>
    The Secret To Success In Any Business
    Yes, Any Business!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11179223].message }}
Avatar of Unregistered

Trending Topics