Google Hiding Queries, AdWords Impressions

Transparency into Google called into question, again

Jeremy Chatfield has a question for Google about AdWords, and why the search advertising giant appears to be concealing impressions.


Chatfield isn't a run of the mill search marketer. He's rated as an AdWords Qualified Individual by Google. Apogee's Richard Ball called him the "best PPC advertising blogger in Europe."

But Chatfield has a question for Google, one that he can't find an answer for despite his prowess at delving into data: where did 99 impressions come from for one of his ad groups in AdWords?

He first began looking into that oddity in September 2007. A Search Query report showed 29 impressions, and 24 clicks. None of those impressions gave him any useful data.

"For all 29 impressions reported, there is not a single search query. Everything has been aggregated as 'other unique queries'. That’s really not helpful," he said. Google does not pass along details on what generated the impression.

It gets more complicated when looking at another part of AdWords reporting for the same ad group. 24 clicks again, but against 128 impressions instead of 29. Chatfield said it wasn't a problem with content match, which could cause the 99 impression discrepancy.

But a downloaded Placement Report showed no impressions. Google Analytics with Tracking tags enabled showed two clicks for the ad group. "If I knew less about AdWords I might become concerned at this point about whether i was getting the clicks that I’d paid for," said Chatfield.

He then cited Ball's mention of Broad Match impressions not affecting click-through rate history. The non-search impressions seem to be the cause of the difference in what Chatfield saw:


Google guys, this is not right. You can’t expect to be treated as a respectable advertising channel when you conceal what you do, set expectations that you don’t deliver, and fail to explain why you consider what you are doing as fair and reasonable.

If you deliver impressions to sites that you are embarrassed to reveal - that sends its own message.
Fast forward to 2008, where Chatfield reveals his continued look at Google's content matching. He is concerned that advertisements may be served alongside search results where an advertiser would not want to be displayed.

Google doesn't tell in its reports where the ads appear. "This makes it look as though advertisers are not given the right to determine that they don’t wish to appear on hate sites or on sites by other ethically challenging content publishers," Chatfield wrote.

Concealing these "unique queries" generating ad impressions could be a public relations nightmare for a company in a given circumstance. A company has no way of knowing if this is happening, thanks to Google opaqueness on the issue.

"Eric Schmidt is on record as saying that Google won’t be an obstacle to people finding out what Google knows about themselves. Why aren’t the businesses that fund Google’s growth, treated with the same respect?" Chatfield asked.