Why Should I Not Search For My Own Ads?

Watch our 2 minute explainer video to discover the pitfalls of searching for your own ads on Google. #

After setting up an impressive ad campaign, one of the first temptations you may have is to immediately begin searching for your own ad. As harmless as this may seem, it is in fact one of the last things you should be doing. Searching and clicking your own ad can have a negative impact on your campaign results, skewing insights and ultimately costing your business money.

We’ve put together a list of the reasons why you shouldn’t be searching for your own ad, and you certainly shouldn’t be clicking your own ad.

Clicking your own ads wastes your budget #

This is one of the main reasons why you shouldn’t be searching for your own ad and clicking on it. PPC ads use a pay-per-click model which means that you will be charged every time a user clicks on your ad, including your own clicks!

Google will also record how long a user stays on the ad, and whether they convert. So, if you click on your own ad and immediately leave, it will be recorded as a bounce, which can damage your quality score. The lower your quality score gets, the more expensive it will be to display your ads, and they will show less often. All of this adds up to a lower click through rate, less traffic and a lower conversion rate.

It impacts daily budget restrictions #

You may be thinking, I can search for my own ad, but not click on it? This is also a bad idea. When setting up a campaign, the majority of advertisers will set their ad delivery to standard. This means that Google will spread out your daily budget over the course of the day. So, if you search for your ad a couple of times in the morning, users who may search for a relevant keyword may not see your ad, as Google will be trying to save up the budget to last the full day.

On the other hand, if you have your settings on accelerated delivery, Google will attempt to spend your daily budget as fast as possible, which means you will have used up part of it. Lastly, if you have your settings on default delivery and begin searching for your own ad, if it shows you may be taking an impression away from a potential customer.

Searching can negatively affect your data #

Another reason why you shouldn’t be searching for your own ad is the negative impact it can have on your campaign data. By searching for relevant keywords, you are artificially inflating your impressions, which will lead to inaccurate campaign data. It can also negatively affect your quality score, as Google will see that your ad is being viewed, but not clicked on. This means your relevancy score will drop and your ad will be displayed less often.

Your click through rate will decline #

As mentioned above, if you continue searching for your own ad, but don’t click it, Google will assume it is not relevant to you, and stop displaying it. As well as skewing your data and lowering your quality score, it will also cause your click through rate to decline. The higher your click through rate, the less you will pay per click. This means you could start paying more per click due to a decline in click through rate.

Your ad won’t always show #

No matter how good your PPC campaign is, when you are searching for your own ad, it won’t always show. This is because there are many factors that determine when and where your ad will be displayed, such as time, day, device, etc. On the other hand, if you are continuously searching for your own ad and clicking it, Google may block your IP address as it could be seen as malicious activity.

The correct way to view your ads #

To view your ads in a safe environment that won’t negatively affect your campaign results, use Google’s Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool. It enables you to search for your keyword and see a preview of the Google search results page. This will help you see exactly which of your ads is displayed for your keyword, and whether it is eligible to appear. It can also help you diagnose why your ad may not be displayed.

We all know it’s tempting to begin searching for your own ad, but as you can see, doing this can really damage your campaign, overspend your budget, skew your data and decrease your quality score. It’s always best to stick to using the Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool when reviewing and previewing your