Do you ever wonder how those ads pop up after doing a google search? Is it just some random process or is there a formula for how those ads appear? Google has a very specific way of choosing how those ads are placed. They do a lightning fast auction every time someone searches on Google or goes to a site that shows ads. Unlike other auctions, the highest bidder does not always win. Lets take a look at how those ads are placed.

During the ad auction, there are three main components that determine the ads that appear and in what order.

• A bid- If you are participating in the auction, you set a bid that tells Google Ads the most you are willing to pay for someone to click on your ad. It does not always mean you will have to pay the maximum amount. Many times people pay less and a bid can be changed any time.
• Quality of ads- One of the main focuses of Google Ads is making sure that when someone does a search they are given results that are useful and relevant to what they are looking for. Google Ads formulate a quality score of the ad and that is a huge part of determining where the ad is placed.
• Ad extensions and ad formats- When creating an ad, you can add other information such as links to specific things on your or a phone number. This additional information is called an ad extension. Google Ads looks at the extensions and tries to figure out the expected impact they will on your ads performance.

If you have a high quality ad that has relevant key words and extensions, you have a good chance of having your ad be put in a better position than someone that pays more but their ad isn’t as good. Google Ads takes the three factors listed above to make sure that when customers do a search they are given the most relevant and useful ads.