The Google Bid Gap - Sometimes Less Is More

March 16th, 2007 by John Chow

Google allows up to three AdSense ad units (plus one adlink and one Google search box) on a website at any one time. In most cases, it is best to run the maximum three - the more ads you show, the higher the chance it will catch a reader’s eye. However, there are times when having less ads could make you more money. This is caused by something known as the Google Bid Gap.

What Is The Bid Gap

The bid gap is the difference in price between the Google ads. The top spot always cost the most, with each lower position costing less and less. The gaps between the top four bids are normally very close. However, once you get pass that, the gap can widen substantially. For example, the bids on a high paying keyword might be $5.00, $4.99, $4.98 and $4.97 for the top 4 spots, and then 10 cents for the fifth spot. There is only a 1-cent gap between positions 1-4 but a $4.87 gap between positions 4-5.