Keeping Google Honest

I recently read an article by an SEM professional who was questioning the accuracy of the Adwords accounting and tally system. He asserted that because Google reported exceeding $90 billion (with a "B") in revenues - mostly from ads - even a small amount of error could mean a significant amount of money lost for advertisers. He specifically tested the Adwords system with both his analytics system of choice as well as with GOOGLE ANALYTICS and found overbilling occurred in both cases.

Of course, Google - if you can get them to even grace this issue with a comment - defends that they are an honest, ethical provider with fair billing. They even go so far as to say that they give BACK money to advertisers by detecting click fraud.

What can you take away from this debate? Though Google may be erring toward their favor in billing - and you really just have to live with it because it's still the best thing going for advertisers - your charge is to be smart about your Adwords campaign and tactics. Don't just give even more money away by not learning the Adwords tool.

In a conversation recently, a good friend and colleague said that if businesses actually learned how to use Adwords properly, Google's revenue would be cut in HALF. I happen to agree. And even though Google offers cursory training to advertisers on how to create and maximize their ads - that smacks of the fox garding the hen house. What incentive does Google REALLY have to help advertisers get MORE for the same money?

Let's XYZ this with an illustration: if you go to Vegas and gamble - you KNOW that the house has the advantage. You overcome this by knowing the rules of the game, studying the rules and techniques and staying current on strategies and tactics that work. Ultimately, you will win some and lose some, but if you invest in knowing about the game and "playing the numbers" so to speak, you can come out ahead.