Up until yesterday, Google has only provided first page bid estimates for your AdWords account.
First page bid estimates are what Google approximates you would have to pay to be visible on the first page of search results when the search query matches your keyword. This first page bid estimate (FPBE) relies on your quality score. Considering that the formula for ad rank is CPC Bid X Quality Score… if your keyword quality score is low then you will have a higher FPBE than if your Quality Score was low.
So the FPBE metric was valuable in its own right. You could use it to identify areas for improvement, developing a bidding strategy, and take advantage of keywords in your account that have low cost but potentially high traffic (and using them in the interim whilst you improve your quality scores on the other keywords). However. The difference between the first page bid estimate and achieving the coveted top three spots could be wildly different due to competitor bids and competitor quality scores.
Google has finally provided a new metric, top of page bid estimates (TPBE), to “provide additional assistance in optimizing your ads to show above the search results”. TPBE approximates the cost per click bid needed for your ad to appear regularly in top positions.
This feature complements the Top vs. Side Report Segment which allows you to see how your ads perform in the top spots compared to their performance in the positions down the side. This report and the TPBE helps you better optimise your search campaigns by more deeply examining the relationship between your ads’ locations and their clicks and conversions and developing a bidding strategy to exploit these relationships. On average, ads that appear above the search results get substantially more clicks, and have a higher click through rate, then ads that appear on the side.
Remember, the TPBE is just an estimate, and it does not guarantee those are the precise costs for achieving top spots. You still have to take into account changing competitor behaviour, changing quality scores, and so forth.
Want to access the information? Here’s how:
- Go to the Keywords
- Click the Columns button
- Click Customise Columns from the drop-down menu
- Click the Est. Top Of Page Bid box and click Save
