AdWords Updates Its Ad Rotation Settings (Again)

Anne Garcia - October 9, 2012

In May, Google AdWords announced it was updating its ad rotation settings to give advertisers three different options: 1) to show ads expected to provide more clicks, 2) to show ads expected to deliver more conversions and 3) to rotate ads evenly for a 30-day period.

A month later, the search engine updated its ad rotation settings again due to the number of concerns from advertisers regarding the change in May. Google expanded the 30-day period to 90 days to give advertisers a longer window to test new ads. In addition, AdWords implemented an opt-out option of the ad rotation change where advertisers could fill out a form for their account.

Now, Google is providing the option for ads to rotate indefinitely.  The network said that less than one percent of AdWords accounts opted out of the ad rotation changes, but has decided to provide this latest change, regardless. In addition, the form to opt out of the June rotation setting changes is no longer available, nor is it necessary.

By choosing to rotate ads indefinitely, Google will show lower-performing ads as frequently as higher-performing ads. The search engine said that this may result in fewer, more costly clicks and a lower average position and does not recommend the rotate indefinitely option.

Below is a screenshot of the new ad rotation setting options in the Settings tab of AdWords.