We reported last month that Google was making some changes to ad rotation in AdWords. The change essentially made it so that ads wouldn’t rotate indefinitely, but that it would pick out the best performing ads after a 30 day period. Users apparently had a problem with that and Google is adding some changes to appease those users.
Google first wants to explain their position first, however, in hopes that you see their side of the argument. They felt that their new ad rotation method would make it so that they could “provide you with more valuable traffic in an automated, efficient manner.” Ads were found to perform better under the new rotation system and Google has the data to back it up.
The data showed two ads with one having a CTR of three percent while the other had a CTR of one percent. When moving to the old rotation settings, the CTR settled at an average of two percent. Under the new rotation settings, it brought the average to around three percent which they found was a 50 percent increase.
Regardless of what they think, the user will have a choice. Starting June 11, the rotation period will be extended from 30 days to 90 days. This will give advertisers even more time to test new ads to see which ones perform well. If you still don’t like Google’s new ad rotation method, you can opt-out of the program entirely. All you have to do is fill out this simple form.
Interestingly enough, Google will add the opt-out option directly into the AdWords interface if there is enough demand for it. It seems odd that they would offer an opt-out option directly in AdWords after the fact when the company is only giving people a few weeks to opt-out of Google Drive in favor of the old Google Docs. They are very different services where one can impact a business while the other is just annoying to users. Regardless, the option should be there for all of Google’s services.
