AdWords and the Quality Score Fiction

For those who are involved in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, AdWords is the big player. It is the main advertising avenue for Google.

AdWords advice focuses on something called Quality Score. If you have a good quality score, then your ads get better placement and you pay less. One of the biggest factors in quality score is, supposedly, a high click-through rate (CTR). That's when a high percentage of people click on your ads, through to your website.

Below is a screen shot from one of my ad groups showing the top seven keywords. I've blurred the bids and the cost both to protect my bidding and to minimize offense to the folks at Google.



In my experience, 5% is a pretty good CTR. Here, four of the top seven have CTR over 10%. Despite that, the quality scores are very low. As Google describes it: "On this scale, 1 is the lowest rating, while 10 is the highest. 1-4 corresponds with Poor, 5-7 with OK, and 8-10 with Great."

So my keyword with an amazing 14% CTR has a quality score of 4 out of 10, which, in Google's description is "poor."

For those who are really into this, the shot is taken with the date range set to "all time". I've been running this campaign for about 2 months. I don't have a past bad history with the relevant keywords. To the extent that I have a history with related keywords, it's a good history. The landing page is highly relevant. The keywords are all "phrase-match" and the search term report shows more than half the clicks were "exact match", and all of those had even higher CTR.

I'm very fond of AdWords and I'll keep using it, but we're not getting the whole story about quality score.

AdWords, YouTube and Adult Content: This is funny!

As part of my campaign for Governor of New York State, I did a quick video to show why I don't fit in with typical politicians.

You can see it on YouTube as NY Politics: Top 10 List

One of the things I'm doing in the campaign is a very small amount of advertising. In particular I'm advertising this video on YouTube through Google AdWords. Last night I got a message that my ad had been "disapproved."

Investigating, I found that the disapproval was due to "adult content." So now I'm scratching my head. The ad reads like this:

NY Politics: Top 10 List
Bill Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, and
Warren Redlich? Governor?
wredlich

I don't see any adult content there.

The image accompanying it has a picture of President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, with the text: "#6: Never had cigar with intern"

So I understand the story behind that could be seen as adult content, but the image itself and the words can't.

So I contacted AdWords support (which is generally quite good). Here's what they said:

To clarify, the ad was disapproved because the landing page and video itself comment on prohibited content such as prostitution and tobacco
products. In order for this ad to be approved, please edit it so that it
complies with our policies.

Tobacco products? I almost fell out of my chair laughing when I read that.

Within the video, the only "prostitution" content is the line "Never caught with a hooker."

Is AdWords going overboard? If you do a Google search on terms like "Eliot Spitzer" or "Monica Lewinsky", with Google's "SafeSearch" set to strict, the top results are Wikipedia entries that have much more detailed descriptions of the relevant incidents.

AdWords and AdSense Customer Support: Are Dark Clouds Moving in Over Google

I've written in the past about problems with AdWords customer support, and now I'm having problems with AdSense combined with AdWords.

For those who don't know, AdWords is a service Google offers where users can put ads up on the internet. The most prominent way you see these ads is when you do a search on Google. On the right side and sometimes on the top, you see ads called "Sponsored Links." You can also have your ads display for search results from websites that use a Google search box, and on "content" pages on websites as well. Sites that wish to have such ads can host them through Google's AdSense service. We do this on our traffic court directory. When someone clicks on an ad, the advertiser pays something to Google, and the site owners gets something like half of that money.

Despite occasional complaints, I have generally been very happy with both AdWords and AdSense and recommend both. From my experience, AdWords is the most effective form of paid advertising there is. I've used TV, radio, newspapers, other print publications, and yellow pages. AdSense has been an easy way to generate revenue. For our traffic court website, it is not the most valuable advertising. Directly selling ads to attorneys is more valuable, but it takes significant effort to find advertisers. In places where we do not have advertisers, AdSense ads are somewhat easier and still generate decent revenue. Both AdWords and AdSense have some learning curve to use them effectively, but it's well worth the investment.

Years ago when I first started advertising on Google AdWords, I created an account with an old e-mail address. For no particular reason I continue to use that account for AdSense, even though I stopped using it for AdWords. Recently AdSense has been prompting me to migrate my account to a gmail address. When I try to do so, it indicates that I can't because of something related to my old e-mail address. Thus ensued a lengthy exchange with "support" for both AdSense and then AdWords. Excerpts below, supplemented by comments from me today IN ALLCAPS.

------------

From: wredlich@gmail.com
Subject: Moving to my gmail address
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:51:47 -0700

When I log into AdSense it prompts me to merge into my Google Account. I enter my gmail address and password, and then get this message:

"A user with the email you specified already exists Please select a different Google Account login to access this account."

I tried logging into AdSense with my gmail address and it says there's no account.

Help!!

---------

Hi Warren,

Thanks for your email. I'll be happy to help you update your AdSense login to wredlich@gmail.com.

As wredlich@gmail.com is associated with your AdWords account, I have created a temporary login for your AdSense account - temp+wredlich@gmail.com.

You need to use this special URL to login the first time: ...

Once you have created your password, you would be able to login to your AdSense account immediately at:

https://www.google.com/adsense/premium-login
Login: temp+wredlich@gmail.com
Password: The newly created password

Once you login to your AdSense account using this email address, you can update this temporary login to wredlich@gmail.com using the following instructions.

...

This should successfully update your AdSense login to wredlich@gmail.com.

If you are unable to access your account using your original login or have any trouble transitioning your account, please reply directly to this email.

For additional questions, I'd encourage you to visit the AdSense Help Center ( http://www.google.com/adsense_help ) or the official AdSense blog ( http://adsense.blogspot.com?utm_source=txft ). Alternatively, feel free to post your question on the AdSense Help Forum ( http://groups.google.com/group/adsense-help?utm_source=txft ).

Sincerely, Dia
The Google AdSense Team

--------
[SEEMED ODD, BUT OKAY, I TRIED]
--------

... I got a little further and then got this message:

"Sorry, a Gmail address is not allowed to be the primary address of this account. "

Could you guys find some way to make this a little easier? Look. I've got an account -- wredlich@gmail.com. I use it for lots of stuff .... Can you just make my AdSense account work with my gmail account??

Warren

---------
[HERE'S WHERE IT STARTS GOING DOWNHILL]
---------

Hi Warren,

Thanks for your email.

Please write back to us with the password that you created for your temporary login (temp+damonpace@gmail.com) and your Google account password for damonpace@gmail.com.

Once I receive your response, I'll update your AdSense login to damonpace@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Dia The Google AdSense Team

-----------

I don't have an account named damonpace@gmail.com

My account (as you should see from this message) is wredlich@gmail.com

Please confirm that you are paying attention to my situation.

Thanks, Warren

-------------
[NOW 3/17]

Hi Warren,

Thanks for your response. I apologize for the miscommunication in my previous email.

In order to help you update your AdSense login to wredlich@gmail.com, please reply to this email with the password your created for the temporary login - temp+wredlich@gmail.com, and your Google account password. I can then make the change in your AdSense account.

Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely, Dia
The Google AdSense Team

-----------
[3/19]

The password for my temp+wredlich@gmail.com account is [OMITTED]

Please change my warren - at - redlichlaw.com AdSense account over to wredlich@gmail.com.

Thanks, Warren

-----------

Hi Warren,

Thanks for your response. I've updated our system to allow you to change the login.

Please login to your AdSense account with username 'temp+wredlich@gmail.com' and password '[OMITTED]'. Once you have logged in, please follow the steps to migrate your AdSense login to wredlich@gmail.com.

If you would like me to go through this process for you, please send me your Google account password associated with wredlich@gmail.com. I will then update your account.

Sincerely, Dia
The Google AdSense Team

----------

I got this message:

"A user with the email you specified already exists Please select a different Google Account login to access this account."

This is the same problem I had in the first place. Would you please forward my problem to a supervisor?

It's very frustrating to have this problem mishandled. It's been going on for a week. My website earns Google about $X/month, and I spend around $X/month on AdWords. That puts me up around $XX,000/year or more. Maybe Google should recognize I'm worth having a $50/hour employee take a look at the problem for a half-hour.

Warren

---------
[NOW 3/20 - AND APPARENTLY BUMPED UP TO A HIGHER LEVEL]

Hi Warren,

Thanks for writing in. Dia forwarded your email to me and asked that I take a look at your account.

I've searched our system and found that you have two AdWords accounts and one AdSense account.

1. Customer ID 638...., with payee name 'The Redlich Law Firm' is associated with the email address wredlich@gmail.com. This is a separate AdWords account.
2. Customer ID 139...., with payee name Warren Redlich is associated with the email address warren - AT - redlichlaw.com. This AdWords account is also linked to an AdSense account with the same login.

I understand that you'd like us to update the login for your AdSense account to wredlich@gmail.com. However as this AdSense account is already associated with another AdWords account, we're unable to update the login to wredlich@gmail.com. Our system doesn't allow two AdWords accounts to have the same login email address.

If you'd like to close your AdWords account with customer ID 638.... or change the login for this account to a different email address, then we can update the login for your second account to wredlich@gmail.com.

Please let us know if you'd like to do this and I'll give you further instructions on how to proceed.

Sincerely, Tony
The Google AdSense Team

------------
[3/21 - TO ADWORDS CUSTOMER SUPPORT]

Please close the AdWords account associated with warren -AT- redlichlaw.com. I thought I closed that years ago. Once it's closed, please transfer my warren --AT-- redlichlaw.com AdSense account to wredlich@gmail.com.

Thanks, Warren

---------
[3/26 - FROM "THE GOOGLE ADWORDS TEAM"]

Hello Warren,

Thank you for your email. With reference to the correspondence you have had with the Google AdSense team, we are sorry to hear that you wish to close your AdWords account (login ID warren -AT- redlichlaw.com). However, I wish to inform you that we cannot cancel your AdWords account from our end. You'll have to log in to your account and cancel it yourself.

[DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS OMITTED FOR BREVITY]

-----------
[MY FRUSTRATION STARTS TO SHOW ...]

I just don't understand what is going on with Google these days. I logged into my AdWords account and it shows that it's already canceled.

"Account Cancellation This account is cancelled. Warning This account has been cancelled. The ads in this account are not running. All other account activity has been stopped. Any edits you make here will take effect only if you reactivate the account. "

Why don't you guys check my account before you send me these e-mails.

Can you please bring this issue to the attention of a supervisor? As I said before during my problems with the AdSense team:

> > It's very frustrating to have this problem mishandled. It's been going
> > on for a week. My website earns Google about $X/month, and I spend
> > around $X/month on AdWords. That puts me up around $XX,000/year or
> > more. Maybe Google should recognize I'm worth having a $50/hour
> > employee take a look at the problem for a half-hour.

We're going on 2 weeks of this nonsense. Get someone working on this who knows what they're doing and is willing to put the time in to get it right!!

Warren
------------
[3/27 - TODAY]

Hello Warren,

Thank you for writing us. I understand that you have already canceled your AdWords account (login ID warren -AT -redlichlaw.com), and I sincerely apologize for any frustration or confusion that my last email may have caused. I wish to confirm that your AdWords account associated with the login ID warren -AT- redlichlaw.com was canceled on January 3, 2006.

Your account with login ID wredlich@gmail.com is still active.

Please reply directly to this email for any further information on AdWords that you may require. Else, please reply to any email by the AdSense team or Dia to get more information on your AdSense account, and how you can link warren -AT- redlichlaw.com AdSense account to wredlich@gmail.com AdWords account.

-----------
[BACK TO ADSENSE - THIS IS THE LAST MESSAGE IN THE CHAIN]

Attn: Tony

In an e-mail on 3/20, you told me to contact AdWords to get my AdWords account for warren -AT- redlichlaw.com. I checked with Adwords support (see below) and then checked my account and found (as I thought) that I had already canceled the warren -at- redlichlaw.com AdWords account.

Since it appears you are unable to resolve this problem, please forward my message to a supervisor.

Frankly, I am disgusted by the quality of customer support on this. You should be too.

Warren

----------

THAT'S THE END OF THE MESSAGES ... NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR REPORTING ... :-)

This is just one more example of the problems in large corporations and how they treat regular people. Here I am, a regular customer, and you would think at the levels I spend, a substantial one. I know I'm not Coke or Pepsi, but if I'm generating five-figure revenue per year or more for them, isn't it worth spending $25-50 in labor to resolve the problem. Instead, they've got me bouncing back and forth for two weeks.

This doesn't mean I'm leaving for another company. Overall AdWords and AdSense are better than the alternatives, who probably have crappy customer service too. However, I am prone to some degree of customer loyalty. This experience greatly diminishes that feeling. Sooner or later I will probably find a decent banner ad provider for the website and will dump AdSense. I may reduce my spending on AdWords as well.

These negative experiences suggest that Google is losing touch with its "Don't Be Evil" motto. Not that anything here is evil, but it's still a long way from what you would think the company's founders wanted in how their company would treat people.

More problems with AdWords -- Audio Ads

Back in January I posted about a problem with AdWords, the advertising service I use for sponsored links on Google searches. I do generally like AdWords and continue to run ads. I also carry Google ads (AdSense) on our traffic court directory.

AdWords has a new feature for "Audio Ads," and I'm trying it out. Once I started with it I had some problems and requested a review. I'm not satisfied with their efforts. The e-mail conversation is down below, edited for brevity and perhaps for privacy where appropriate.

I found this "conversation" extremely frustrating. It appears to me that "Varun" did not read my e-mails or investigate my concerns in any way. The most offensive part is that some of my radio ads appear to have been static (I wonder if that station might be dead), and I raised that in my e-mail and "Varun" says he didn't find it. This guy is supposed to be a specialist and I'm just learning it, and I found it easily.
I'm also irritated that he did not understand, and did not try to understand, the difference between Pittsfield and Albany-Schenectady-Troy. You would think Google would spend some money for better customer service than what you see below.

My first message:
> > From: wredlich@gmail.com
> > Subject: Audio Ads - not really in market, not playing
> > Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 21:18:13 -0700
> >
> > I listened to a few of the ads for my Audio Ad campaigns. I then learned that apparently all of my ads are playing on Massachusetts radio stations. There appears to be some limited coverage in the very edge of New York State, but almost none of this is what I would refer to as the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area.
> > A second problem is that the "Listen" link on the "Oldies" ads are all static. It appears my ads did not actually play.
> > I would appreciate it if someone would review this and contact me. I'd like to know if any stations that are actually in Albany, Schenectady or Troy (or maybe other nearby cities/towns in New York State) are participating. I'd also like a thorough review of my ads to see if they actually played -- especially the "Oldies" ads.

----
The first response (long), with my comments in **stars**:

> On 7/16/07, AdWords Support wrote:
> > Hello Warren,
> > Thank you for your email. I understand that you are concerned with the targeting of your Audio Ads. Also, you are not able to use the 'Listen' link on the 'Oldies' ads and are not sure if your ads are playing. I have looked into your account and am happy to inform you that all your Audio Ad campaigns are active and running. They are successfully accruing impressions and Ad plays. Below, I have addressed your concerns in detail.

**The next several paragraphs explain how Audio Ads works - I already knew this and it did not address my question**
> > First, while we don't offer the ability to select specific stations on which to play your ads, we do allow you to fine-tune a number of targeting options. These options include the types of station on which to play your ad, to ensure that your ad reaches your desired audience. It's also worth noting that each station in our network is rated by Arbitron (http://www.arbitron.com), a third-party company that measures the number of listeners likely to tune in to a station at any given time. Once your ads air on the radio, the call signs for many of the stations in our network will be visible in the Report Center, accessible from the 'Reports' tab in your AdWords account.
> > Adding additional, relevant markets will increase the likelihood your ad will win a spot in the auction and air on the radio. Follow the steps below to edit your target market selections:
> > 1. Sign in to your AdWords account at https://adwords.google.com/.
> > 2. From the Audio Ads tab, check the box next to the ad group you'd like to edit, and then click 'Edit Settings.'
> > 3. Click 'Edit' next to 'Target Audience.'
> > 4. Use the search box to find additional target areas by market, state, or zip code.
> > 5. Click 'Add' next to any of the markets in which you'd like to play your ad.
> > Second, we want to make sure you know exactly how your money's being spent, so we've provided detailed, real-time reports of your ad plays in the Report Center accessible via the 'Reports' tab in your AdWords account. From the reports generated from the Reports Center, we can often provide a link to an 'air-check' - a recording of your ad as it played on the radio, including a short snippet of the surrounding broadcast for your reference.
> > There are times when we're unable to provide an air-check, either because we haven't yet placed a recorder in your market, or due to technical issues. In these cases, there will be no link from your reports, but we will have record of the exact time your ad was played.
> > For additional information about Audio Ads, please visit http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=11986
> > If you have additional questions, please visit our Help Center at https://adwords.google.com/support to find answers to many frequently asked questions. Or, try our Learning Center at http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/ for self-paced lessons that cover the scope of AdWords.
> > Please feel free to write me with any further questions. Google looks forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
> > Sincerely,
> > Varun
> > The Google AdWords Team

----
My response:

> From: "Warren Redlich"
> Subject: Re: [#174165184] Audio Ads - not really in market, not playing
> Date: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:29:01 -0400
>
> I'm sorry to say your failure to read my original message is becoming typical of AdWords customer service.
> As I said in my original message: "A second problem is that the "Listen" link on the "Oldies" ads are all static. It appears my ads did not actually play." The Listen link does work for "Oldies" ads, but unlike the other ads, when I click on it what comes up is an audio file that is just static. I don't hear my ad or anything else intelligible.
> Your message also fails to address my concern that radio stations in Pittsfield MA are not really in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy market. All three of those cities are in the State of New York, approximately 1 hour from the border with Massachusetts, and Pittsfield is not on the border. Technically it may be that Pittsfield is in the correct DMA, but I still think it's deceptive to market these stations as part of the Albany market.
> I spend a lot of money on AdWords, generally over $1000/month. If customer service continues to assume I don't know what I'm talking about when responding to my questions, my spending will drop significantly.
> Warren

-----
The next response from Google/AdWords:

On 7/17/07, AdWords Support wrote:
> Hello Warren,
> Thank you for your email. I understand that you have questions regarding your Audio Ads. I apologize for your frustration and any inconveniences caused. Below, I have answered your questions in detail.
> First, If you can't find your city in the Metro areas available list, try entering your selection in the search box just above that list. It's possible that your city isn't listed as a top-level metro area, but is instead included below a larger area.
> If you still can't find your city, it's likely because we don't have any stations available there yet. We're constantly expanding our network of Audio Ads radio stations, so keep checking back to see if we've entered your city. In the meantime, try selecting a major metro area nearby.
> Second, I have looked into your account but can't find the 'Oldies' ads that you are referring to in your email. I would be happy to assist you further if you send me more specifics about the same.
> If you have additional questions, please visit our Help Center at https://adwords.google.com/support to find answers to many frequently asked questions. Or, try our Learning Center at http://www.google.com/adwords/learningcenter/ for self-paced lessons that cover the scope of AdWords.
> Please feel free to write me with any further questions. Google looks forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
> Sincerely,
> Varun
> The Google AdWords Team

----
And my latest response to that:

Tue, Jul 17, 2007 at 11:22 AM
To: AdWords Support

Thanks for another generic response to a specific question.

Regarding the audio ad that is static, please check out the following Air Check, which shows up on my latest Audio Ad report:

Morning Drive Time n/a* Oldies Albany-Schenectady-Troy MA, NY, VT
Jul 13, 2007 8:43:00 AM EDT Jul 13, 2007 8:47:25 AM EDT Redlich -
Code Red Listen 1,800 1,800

**The above is the detailed report on one play of my ad on an unspecified Oldies station.**

The listen link points to:
http://services.dmarc.net/dbRecordings/0/1526/12507645---.wma

The file is attached.
** Readers can download the file at:
redlichlaw.com/12507645---.wma.

Warren

AdWords runaround

I've been having this odd problem with AdWords lately, and am very displeased with the folks at Google about how they've handled it so far. This isn't really lawyer stuff, so much of this will be in Greek for those who are not into SEM and PPC.

First I'll describe the problem. I run a campaign targeted to the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area of New York State. One Ad Group is for keywords related to DWI cases. The biggest keyword in that group is, not surprisingly, 'dwi' (I'm using the ' mark to indicate what keyword I'm referring to, but when I enter the keyword in a search, I do not use the quotes). A couple of other keywords that get some traffic are 'ny dwi' and 'new york dwi'.

So I noticed that my ads do not appear when I search for 'ny dwi' or 'new york dwi'. The ad from the same campaign does appear when I search for 'dwi'. The fact that the ad shows for 'dwi' indicates that the computer I'm using is seen by Google as being within the region I'm targeting. So then why doesn't the 'ny dwi' keyword work?

I should mention that my AdWords account indicates I am getting impressions and clicks on the 'ny dwi' keyword. But if they're not showing when I look for them, where are they showing?

So about a week ago I submitted a question to Google's AdWords team inquiring about this. Excerpts of the back-and-forth that ensued is down below. It does not reflect well on Google.

Since I was not satisfied, I called the number I was given in the last message. I spoke with someone at Google, apparently in the Bay Area. She was pleasant, but I still was not satisfied with her answer.

If I understand her answer, it is that Google has made New York City a special exception for AdWords. Google assumes that if someone searches for 'ny widget', the 'ny' in the search means they're looking for widgets in New York City. This ignites a long-standing frustration. For those of us from upstate New York, we often encounter people who think we're from New York City.

So here I am, in Albany, looking to display my ad to people in Albany who search for a term I've chosen, and Google has decided to circumvent my choice.

It gets worse. I still didn't understand why I was getting impressions and clicks on the 'ny dwi' keyword if the ad is suppressed here in the region I chose. She explained that if someone elsewhere searches for 'ny dwi', then my ad would show up for them because they might be looking for me. So Google is further circumventing my choice here. I want to display my ad in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area, but Google has decided that my ad should actually appear anywhere but in that area.

I don't know if this violates the "Don't Be Evil" principle, but it sure violates the "Don't Be Stupid" one.

Now, with all of that said, I should mention that overall I am very happy with both Google and AdWords. Google is still my search engine of choice, and my only online PPC ads are with AdWords. I just think this reflects poorly on the company and hope this does not signal a downward decline.

I pasted the e-mail exchange below and going through it prompted some additional thoughts. First, forgive my political incorrectness, but I'm betting Deepa is not located in the US. Good chance he's in Bangalore. Second, notice that the 'correct' answer does not come until Deepa's last message, after three apparently incorrect responses.

The thread is below, edited mostly for brevity. I've also put it in the correct chronological order, from oldest to newest:



> > > From: wredlich@gmail.com
> > > Subject: doesn't appear when I search, but shows impressions
> > > Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:39:25 -0800
> > > My ad for the term "ny dwi" doesn't show when I search, but my ad does show if I search simply for "dwi". I've checked this at various times of day on several different days, and don't understand why this is happening. Please review and advise.
> > > Thanks,
> > > Warren
-----------
> Hello Warren,
> > > Thank you for your email. I've looked at your account and found that your campaign is targeted by region. Google identifies a user's Internet Protocol (IP) address, which is assigned by a user's Internet Service Provider (ISP), to help determine the user's location. Then, we'll show ads targeted to that user's location. This means that only users with IP addresses in your targeted region usually see your ad.
> > > According to our records, the IP address you're using is either unidentifiable, or is located outside of your targeted region. As a result, you may have trouble seeing your regionally targeted or customized ads. However, our records indicate that your ad is appearing for users whose IP addresses are read as located within your targeted area.
> > > The following tips may help you to see your ads in your customized or regionally targeted campaign: [tips omitted]
…
> > > We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
> > > Sincerely,
> > > Deepa
> > > The Google AdWords Team
------------
From: "Warren Redlich" < wredlich@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [#100223937] doesn't appear when I search, but shows impressions
> > Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 07:49:44 -0500
I disagree with your analysis. My "dwi" keyword from the same Ad Group is appearing on my computer, so my IP address is within the targeted region. I have seen this from 2 or 3 different IP addresses within my region. Please review this again. – Warren
-----------
Hello Warren,
> > Thank you for your reply. When possible, Google analyzes users' search queries for location-specific information in order to show regionally targeted ads. Because the name of your region or city is clearly displayed in your keyword, the system does not show the ad as you are targeting Ontario-Quebec in Campaign 'Ontario - Quebec' and Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY in Campaign 'DWI & Traffic.' If you search for 'Albany Ny Dwi' or 'Troy Ny Dwi,' you will see your ad appearing on top of the search results. Therefore, your ad shows up for the keyword 'dwi' as it does not have a specific location assigned to it. However, for the keyword 'ny dwi,' the system recognizes that the search is for defense attorneys in New York and, so does not show the ad for specific regions in New York or Canada.
> > To learn more about targeting your ads, visit
We look forward to providing you with the most effective advertising available.
> > Sincerely,
> > Deepa
> > The Google AdWords Team
----------
Deepa,
> Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately I'm still confused. Looking at my account today, I see that there were 24 impressions and one click in the last 7 days for the keyword 'ny dwi' in my Albany-Schenectady-Troy NY targeted campaign -- DWI & Traffic ad group. So if your message is correct, I should not see any impressions or clicks at all for that keyword in that ad group. … Please take the time to review this thoroughly and give me an answer that makes sense.
> One particular question -- if I delete the 'ny dwi' keyword in the Ontario-Quebec campaign, will that make the keyword work better in the Albany-etc campaign? Warren
----------
Hello Warren,
> Thank you for your response, and for your continued patience. Let me start with an example. Lets say you have 2 campaigns relating to hotels - Campaign #1 is targeting New York and Campaign #2 is targeting Los Angeles. You have the same keywords in both campaigns - 'New York hotels' and 'hotels in new york.' When a user searches for the keyword 'New York hotels,' ads in Campaign #1 show up as it is targeting New York. The probability of ads in Campaign #2 showing up is very less as it is targeting Los Angeles. Moreover, when the user enters a location in his keyword, the system recognizes that he wants results which are specific to that area. Therefore, the ads targeted to New York will show. However, if you would want ads targeting Los Angeles to show up, then you will have to edit the keywords and do not make them location specific. For example, in Campaign #2, you can change the keyword 'New York hotels' to 'top hotels' or 'hotels in los angeles.'
This same logic applies to your account. Users may see your ad when they use location-specific search terms on Google, even if they're located outside your targeted area. For example, a user in Texas searching for 'Ny Dwi' on Google will see ads targeting New York as the system recognizes the location New York in the keyword. The reason you are getting impressions or clicks for Campaign 'DWI & Traffic' is because people are searching for your ad from Albany, Schenectady, or Troy. …
> Additionally, please note that deleting the keyword 'ny dwi' from Campaign 'Ontario - Quebec' will definitely help Campaign 'DWI & Traffic' to perform well. Also, you can use generic keywords like 'dwi' or 'dwi laws' for Campaign 'Ontario - Quebec.'
…
> Sincerely,
>
> Deepa
> The Google AdWords Team
[ A sidenote here – I did pause the Ontario-Quebec campaign and this had no effect ]
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I really don't think you're reading my question carefully and would like you to forward this problem to your supervisor.
Below you state:
"The reason you are getting impressions or clicks for Campaign 'DWI & Traffic' is because people are searching for your ad from Albany, Schenectady, or Troy."
I am in Albany, and the ad doesn't show up when I do a search for 'ny dwi'. So how am I getting impressions and clicks on this keyword on a campaign targeted to my area when I don't see the ad when I do searches for the same keyword from the same area (using 3 different IP addresses in the area).
Keep in mind that I do see ads when I search for just 'dwi'. Please forward this to someone who is better able to answer my questions in a sensible manner.
Warren
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Hello Warren,

Thank you for your email. The technical team has replied and they say that you are unable to see your ad when you search on the keyword 'ny dwi' as our system parses this query to New York City and not to parts of New York state where the your campaign is targeted to.
When possible, Google analyzes users' search queries for location-specific information in order to show regionally targeted ads. This search functionality currently shows ads targeting the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and selected cities worldwide.
If your campaign targets a location where this search functionality is supported, users may see your ad when they use location-specific search terms on Google, even if they're located outside your targeted area. For example, a user in Manchester, England, searching for 'London hotels' on Google will see ads targeting London.
[omitted is the instructions for calling for follow-up]
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This still does not explain why my Ad Group shows impressions and clicks. At this point I'm extremely dissatisfied with your handling of this. I'd like to actually get an e-mail from someone on the technical team.

Warren