Search Engine Journal

Inside Adwords announces that it will be introducing a new way for advertisers to control top placement for their ad soon. Currently, top ad placement in Google search results is determined by quality score and actual cost-per-click (CPC). Top ad is the most sought after placement in Google search results as it is the highest performing ads in Google search results page. Quality score as explained in the Adwords Help Center is:

a dynamic variable assigned to each of your keywords. It’s calculated using a variety of factors and measures how relevant your keyword is to your ad group and to a user’s search query

Quality score is used for calculating keyword-targeted ad’s position on search result page in combination with the matched keyword’s CTR, relevance of the keyword and ad to the search query and other relevance factors.

In the new formula, instead of using actual CPC, Adwords will consider an ad’s maximum CPC. Maximum CPC compared to actual CPC, is set by advertisers themselves on their respective ads. Allowing advertisers to set their own maximum CPC would increase the number of high quality ads which Google will consider for top placement.

This announcement would seem good news for advertisers especially for those who have been wanting to get their ads placed on the most coveted ad spot on Google search result. Just imagine the number of advertisers who will start raising up their maximum CPC as soon as the new Adwords formula gets rolling. As Barry Schwartz of Search Engine Land noted, this new system will certainly affect advertisers who have been occupying the top ad position.

But we will see as soon as this new system is rolled out if there will really be a considerable impact on the current top advertisers or if other non-high performing ads get into the top spots as well.