Everyone knows that Google is designed for relevancy in searching and that Adwords are subjected to a relevancy rating scheme, which determines cost-per-click for keywords. What you may not be aware of is that Google has made some recent changes to their relevancy algorithm and those changes might be costing you considerably more money for the same keywords you've always used.



Understanding the intricacies of how Google makes relevancy determinations is not a necessity. However, understanding how they affect your minimum bid price and your overall campaign success is critical to weathering the storm the recent changes have been creating.

Have you been affected by the recent changes? If you've seen the minimum bid prices for your keywords jump to high levels, you've probably been affected. Many marketers have seen this price increase and thrown up their hands in defeat. Those that stay and remain competitive adapt to the changes.

Staying Competitive Means Staying Relevant

The breakdown analysis of the change made by Google Adwords in July 2006 is that keywords, landing pages and URLs need to be even more relevant to show up in a search. All of the old rules regarding keyword relevancy apply, but there are some new twists.

Let's explore three areas you'll need to address to stay relevant with the new algorithm.

Keyword Relevance

Closely examine your ads and your landing pages to determine how targeted your keywords are. As in the past, make certain your keywords in your ads are contained in your landing pages. And additionally, don't use any keywords in your ads that are not contained in your landing pages. If Google can't tie the keyword back to the landing page, your rating will drop and your minimum bid price will soar.

Landing Pages

We all know that landing pages play a very important role in relevancy scores. You can make some very specific changes and/or additions to your landing pages and improve your quality score. Your focus keywords should be inserted in your first paragraph, as well as in your header tag. Also, make certain your keywords are included in the titles you have for your pages.

Keyword Density

When is enough too much? With keywords, you'd' be surprised. The denser your text or content is with your keywords, the higher your relevancy. According to Google guidelines, your keywords should equate to between 2% and 5% of the total word count. For an average page of 500 words, that means your keyword should show up from 10 to 25 times.

So what's the best way to implement changes and stay relevant in Google's eyes? You may want to consider just creating brand new ad campaigns, versus making changes to your old campaigns. A new campaign is more likely to be “reviewed” by the Google bots and scored accordingly. If you simply make changes to your old ads, you can't guarantee the bots will detect your changes in a timely fashion.

There is always a lot to know and it's a challenge to keep up with changes. But doing so will put you way ahead of your competitors. Find more information about Google's latest relevancy scoring changes at The Wealthy Affiliates.