My ad billing went from $75/month to $292 in a single month for "display network" ads.
The following is Google adword's response to me and my response to them after over a month of complaints regarding inaccurate clicks and overcharging: The seemingly only purpose of their response was to get me to re-enable my account, so they could keep extracting money from me.
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Hello Rohit,
Thank you for the note.
I want to make sure that I have my facts and history accurate:
1. In Nov. Of my account cost tripled from an average of well under $100/month to $292.84
2. Nov. 30: I inspected the clicks and found that the bulk of that was due to "display network" ads on some obscure site that had nothing to do with my product or industry
3. Nov. 30: I called Google and was told by a rude person that all the clicks were legitimate.
4. Dec. 15: I sent a message to Google adwords in early Dec. Discussing the situation indicating that I was very disappointed in Google actions
5. Dec. 16: I received a note from Vivian indicating that she was going to have a "click quality specialist" investigate.
6. Dec. 16: I submitted a complaint to http://usashameboard.com describing google's actions and attitudes.
7. Dec. 19: I received a note from Vivian professing that this issue would be handled with the "utmost care"
8. Dec. 19: I responded to Vivian letting her know that my review of of other complaints about Google Adwords showed similar behavior on the part of Google.
9. Dec. 20 Vivian Responded with continued "apologies"
10. Dec. 22 Vivian Responded letting me know that there were in fact "invalid clicks" on the "display network"
And that my account would be credited $48.62 (applied to Nov. 23)
11. Dec. 23 I responded indicating that my bill went from an average of $75/month to almost $300.
I resubmitted an additional complaint to http://usashameboard.com, describing the status of the situation.
12. Dec. 26 Vivian replied again, attempting to placate me with some nonsense about clicks and ad positions.
At no point indicating how it was that in a single month (and mostly in a single week in Nov.), these analytics rose so astoundingly. She stated there was an improvement in "ad position" but neglects to indicate on which sites or how it came to be. (it was certainly not due to anything that I did)
13. Jan 15. You responded encouraging me to re-enable my account. Suggesting that you understand "my frustration"
And that the account billing is arrived at mechanically... (meaning...???)
14. Jan 15. In summary
Prior to Nov. my account average was $75/month
Nov. 2011 My account bill rose to $292.84
I was credited $48.62 for "invalid clicks" after making a big stink.
Invalid clicks?
The first guy said they were all valid. Some other guy says that some are "invalid"
And just what would "some other guy" say?
Looks pretty arbitrary to me. (read: see if we can placate this guy, and minimize how much money we have to give back to shut him up and get him to re-enable his account)
Rohit, How is it that I'm supposed to feel good about this, and place any trust in Google adwords?
From my point of view, I was robbed of $200 by google.
They gave me back $50 to appease me.
???
Googles latest response:
Thank you for your patience and kind cooperation. This is Rohit here
From
Google AdWords. Since Vivian is out of office, I am looking at your
Issue.
I went through the entire chain of communication and understood the
Issue.
I would like to apologize once again for all the frustration and
Inconvenience that you had to go through. Our technical experts
Investigated your account once again and concluded that the credit
Applied
Was indeed correct. Randy, please note that the credit amount is not
Decided manually, there is a mechanism to arrive at the correct amount
And
Entire process is taken care by our system.
Having said that, I see that currently you have paused your campaign.
Well, I completely understand your frustration but, I sincerely urge
You
To enable your campaign. I would like to assure you that your
Account is continuously being monitored and any suspicious activity is
Immediately dealt with. I have also got the confirmation that the
Credit
Amount of $48.62 is already being applied to your account and will
Appear
Very soon in billing summary page.
Additionally I would like to share some valuable resources with you
Which
Would help to succeed in AdWords advertising.
http://support. Google.com/adwords/bin/static. Py? Hl=en&page=tips.html
I would also like to assure you all possible support regarding the
Performance of the account and would request you to give me an
Opportunity
To work with you.
I would like to thank you once again and wish you a very good day!
Your opinion counts! You may receive a satisfaction survey in the next
24
Hours—if you do, please fill it out. It's a very short survey (we
Promise!) and your feedback will help us improve our customer service.
Sincerely,
Rohit P
The Google AdWords Team
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