I completely agree about looking to understand the quality scoring system instead of blind gripes. There are too many people out there that do bash Google for their AdWords system, without truly understanding it.

On the other hand, it does seem illogical when Google mandates high minimum bids for a keyword with no competition, or virtually no competition.

I personally feel that it could be a small “bug” in their system where Google’s algorithm takes the various quality factors (bid, ctr, ad copy, and landing page copy) and weights them too much vs. the competitive landscape.

Couldn’t Google do a better job of factoring in the number of competitors in determining quality/minimum bid requirements?

What is your take on how that currently plays in the setting of minimum bids, and how it should play?

Sure, the quality system keeps people in check by making sure that ad copy and landing page copy are aligned with the keywords (I had one client recently ask if we could bid on “Tom Brady” as a keyword because there was no competition, even though it had nothing to do with their business).

I am a big fan of the quality scoring system in general. It provides a better user experience in terms of the ads that they see. And it provides a competitive advantage for firms such as yours and ours in how we can use our expertise to help our clients get ahead of their competitors.