Optimise Google Ads

Are you prepared to say goodbye to the average position in Google Ads? 

Have you seen Google’s plans to phase out the average ad position? If not, then you must make yourself aware of the changes to optimise your Google Ads.

But first, for the readers that don’t know what the average ad position is!

Let’s explain.

The average ad position is a statistic that is used to describe how your ad typically ranks against other ads. This is determined by a number of different factors including the amount the person is bidding on certain keywords/search terms, quality of your ad copy and the quality of your websites landing page.

Since Google stated that the average ad position metric isn’t in fact that useful, they’re now implementing new metrics that will provide a clearer analysis of the prominence of the ads.

A Google average ad position is a statistic that describes how your ad typically ranks against other ads. This is determined by a number of different factors including the amount the person is bidding on certain keywords/search terms, quality of your ad copy and the quality of your websites landing page.

So, what does this mean? For marketers, this presents slight uncertainty, and many may be scared by the change. However, change is not always negative, in-fact this change could make marketers roles a lot easier.

Bradley McManus, MD of AM Marketing said that ‘Google’s removal of average position could be frustrating for some but shows a bold move away from the often-obsessed over metric. Position will still be measurable, if a little foggy with the new ‘top impression’ feature. As always, advertising success should be decided based on actions, sales and ROI rather than a number often related to vanity.  

Currently, the average position is reported as a decimal, e.g. position 1.0 being top, 10.0 being bottom. This system although simple on the surface is subject to flaws. For example, ads could appear in position 1.0, 90% of the time in a month, but if an ad is then shown in position 10 because the budget is low at the end of the month, this will flaw the reporting and bring that average position unfairly down. Top impressions will now be grouped and reported as a percentage. This means that if at the end of the month, marketers will now be able to report that the ad was in top position 90% of the time.

The new metrics, top impression share and absolute top impression share, will allow marketers to give their clients a clearer idea of where their ads show on the search results pages overall. This will mean that marketers can bid more effectively to achieve top ad positions.

But, what do other marketers think?

Alex Stripp, Digital Manager at AM Marketing see’s the change as a positive. Google’s decision to remove average position will surprise many, as this is a metric we’re all familiar using. However, the average position metric doesn’t always show us the full picture. Any position in the top set of results is positive, and in some cases being top of the list doesn’t provide the best results. The new metrics may even give us a better insight into how our ads are performing. There will be some bid strategy changes we’ll have to make, but overall, it’s a change we’re ready for.  

Concerned how this could affect you? If you currently use average position, we recommend that you start to use the new metrics before the 30th of September and review your reporting, bidding strategies and any other aspects of campaign management that rely on or incorporate average position, before it goes away for good.

Blog By Olivia Hyde, AM Marketing