Client’s Best Interests
One day we noticed one of our clients was being billed for two clicks on the same keyword at more or less the same time. It seemed a little suspicious as it was a real technical keyword and we had noticed this kind of thing happening before.
Add up a few dollars here and there and it’s a nice little earner for Google!
[As I write there is a class action being filed against Google with regards to them exceeding their customer's set daily budgets,but that's another story].
So we contacted Google customer support for a refund. This was a new Google account so they assumed we were novices. At clickoholics we pay attention to the little details and will always do whatever possible to represent our clients best interests.
Do you think most agencies would have even noticed this? Let alone follow it up. That’s the reason I have reproduced all this as it proves a whole lot about what we at clickoholics stand for. Oh and that the World Wide Web is a two way ‘information superhighway’!
Here is the correspondence and their response below. You couldn’t make it up if you tried!
We thought you might find the exchange somewhat amusing:
———————————
From: garysamuels@clickoholics.com
Subject: Payment Options – None of the Above
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 03:08:43 +0000
> 29-09-2010
> “h.264 dvr” Eligible $5.50 2 1 200.00%
> How can I be billed for 2 clicks with only 1 impression?
> 200% CTR ?????
> Please refund this click
> —–Original Message—–
> From: AdWords Support [mailto:adwords-support@google.com]
> Sent: 30 September 2010 6:02 AM
> To: garysamuels@clickoholics.com
> Subject: Re: [#697334912] Payment Options – None of the Above
> Hello Gary,
>Thank you for your email. I apologize for the confusion that you are going through as you see two clicks but one impression in your account. Though it isn’t actually possible to have more clicks than impressions, at times, your account reports may reflect more clicks than impressions, or a clickthrough rate (CTR) of more than 100%. Let me explain why this happens.
> As a browsers cache the search results and ads on search results pages, Google registers only one ad impression per search. However, your reports will show multiple clicks if a Google user clicks on your ad more than once in a cached browser session. Due to this reason, the clicks that you see in your account are legitimate. We are not able to offer you a refund for legitimate clicks.
> You may see a certain amount of multiple clicks in your weblogs. These clicks represent legitimate users accessing your advertisement in expected ways. It’s possible that a user legitimately clicks on your ad more than once. For example, the user may be comparison shopping or returning to your site for more information. Additionally, some Internet Service Providers assign a single IP address to more than one user. In this case, multiple clicks from the same IP address don’t mean that someone is clicking multiple times on your ad.
> Sincerely,
> *******
> The Google AdWords Welcome Team
Original Message Follows:
———————————
From: “Gary Samuels” <garysamuels@clickoholics.com>
Subject: RE: [#697334912] Payment Options – None of the Above
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:44:42 -0400
> What a load of drivel. I thought the skype customer support people were fantasists. I quote from your answer – “Though it isn’t actually possible to have more clicks than impressions” if it is not possible then charging me defies the basic laws of physics. You are just stealing from me. Your answer will be published on blogs let the people decide……….
> —-Original Message—–
> From: AdWords Support [mailto:adwords-support@google.com]
> Sent: 01 October 2010 1:33 AM
> To: Gary Samuels
> Subject: Re: [#697334912] Payment Options – None of the Above
> Hello Gary,
> Thank you for your email. I am sorry for the frustration that you are going through. I understand that being in your place, I would have reacted the same way if I was new to AdWords and I felt like I was being cheated, however, if you read through my answer patiently, you will see a very legitimate reason why you see 2 clicks but 1 impression.
> Your browser caches search results and also the ads that appear on search results pages, because of this Google registers only one ad impression per search. However, your reports will show multiple clicks if a Google user clicks on your ad more than once in a cached browser session. Due to this reason, the clicks that you see in your account are legitimate.
> If you find this confusing, let me explain it in simpler terms. If an users searches on your keywords and clicks on your ad it is registered as 1 impression and 1 click. However, after clicking on your ad, if he hits the back button of the browser to go back to your ad again (usually comparison shoppers do this), and clicks on your ad again, it will not be registered as an additional impression, because the user didn’t search for your ad. However, as he clicked on your ad twice, it will be registered as two clicks.
> Sincerely,
> *******
> The Google AdWords Welcome Team
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