Improve Your Ad Rank Without Increasing Bids

Whether we’re talking about websites or ads, placing higher on the search engine results page (SERP) becomes an important goal of any SEO or PPC campaign. After all, a higher rank means a higher click-through rate (CTR). Hence, gaining better visibility and potential leads.

When it comes to Google Ads Ranking, the search engine takes a few key factors into consideration in order to determine your ads’ position. Eventually, everything comes down to the quality and relevance of the ad.

Google Ads Auction & How It Works

Every search query users make triggers an immediate process - the Google Ads Auction. According to Google, the eligible ads will show in a specific order on the results page based on:

#1 Cost Per Click 

Or how much you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad. Keep in mind that a higher bid doesn’t necessarily guarantee a higher rank.

#2 Quality Score

A value meant to estimate how relevant your ads, keywords and links are. The quality score of your ads becomes an important factor in ranking, since it determines the relevance these ads would have for a user.

#3 Ad Extensions

More specific information about your ads, such as phone number and location.

#4 Ad Rank

Determines where your ads will be placed on the SERP and whether or not they are eligible at all.

#5 Context

Google considers certain aspects, such as the location of the person who made the search query, the time, the keywords used before showing a specific ad.

The Formula Behind Google Ads Ranking

Getting a higher ad rank takes dedication since Google takes into consideration multiple factors in determining its value. The main formula used for calculating the rank looked like a combination between the maximum cost per click an advertiser was willing to bid and the overall quality score of the ad, or Ad Rank = MAX CPC X Quality Score. Following a couple of updates made by Google, the ads ranking system also considers aspects such as ad extensions, formats, search context, auction competitiveness and ad rank thresholds.

Although it appears that spending more will bring better results, that’s not necessarily the case. Let’s say a person is bidding 5$ for a click, while their quality score has a value of 4, and another person is bidding 3$, while their quality score is 8. The second person is most likely to obtain a higher position for their ad, since their Ad Rank would be 24, while the first’s only 20.

The maximum bid, however, is relevant for the ads ranking system, even if you may actually end up paying less than the initial price set in the auction. Google uses a second price auction model which means that the highest bidder will pay based on the rank of the second highest bidder per their quality score, to which it adds 0.01$. 

Best Practices for a Higher Ad Rank

Determining the perfect combination of CPC values and quality score is a nearly impossible goal, considering how many other factors are measured in the Google Ads Ranking System. However, as seen above, Google values quality and relevance, which ultimately become important metrics that influence the rank of your ad and the overall performance of your PPC campaign.

Leaving the bidding aside, optimizing the ads as well as possible boosts your chances of gaining more exposure by higher on the results page. Here are a few aspects to keep in mind when trying to reach a higher rank for your ads:

1. Ad Relevance & On Point Ad Extensions

Ad Relevance is one of the components of the quality score mentioned above. The more the ad’s text matches the user’s intent, the higher the relevance of the ad itself becomes. Hence, the ad’s copy should include keywords that are likely to be used as search terms, which could ultimately increase the chances of reaching a higher ad rank.

Very specific ad extensions also play an important role in the overall relevance of the ad. The user should be able to gather as much information as possible the first time they see your ad in order to actually click on it. Extensions such as location, sitelinks, ratings and phone number bring value to your ads and improve its ranking.

2. Website Experience

Once the users choose your ad, what kind of experience will they get? Even when it comes to PPC campaigns, landing pages should be easy to navigate and provide useful information. An ad acts as a sneak peak of your website and services, therefore there’s no use in having amazing ad copy and extensions if the attached landing page doesn’t match.

Going back to keywords, they should be mentioned in the headline and the body text of the page, at least once. Such SEO practices tend to be disregarded in PPC campaigns since one needs to pay in order to have their ad displayed. However, combining SEO and PPC could improve the success of a marketing campaign and, in our case, result in reaching a higher ad rank. On that note, remember that a landing page should:

• Be easy to navigate
• Prove mobile friendly and intuitive even on desktop
• Load fast enough

3. Distinct Ad Groups for Each Service

An easy way of creating very specific ads according to user intent is Google’s keyword match types:

• Broad Match
• Phrase Match
• Exact Match

Quality is essential in a PPC campaign

As you probably figured, Google Ads Ranking System is more than a formula and an auction. It takes rather more determination than money to reach the top ad ranks for your PPC campaign. The good news is, however, that working on the quality of your ad may considerably improve your ad rank, without having to bid more.

Reach out to one of our senior PPC consultants if you need help in improving your PPC campaign or your PPC strategy (and, of course, increasing your ad rank).