When you're running a Google Ads campaign, it's natural to want to see what your ads look like in the search results.
But, very often, if you Google one of your own keywords - such as "mortgage broker london" - you'll find your ads don't show up.
There are a number of reasons why this can happen. And, in many cases, it's perfectly normal for you not to be able to see your own Google Ads.
Why Don't My Google Ads Appear in the Search Results?
Firstly, you have to bear in mind that your ad is not going to appear for every relevant search on Google, regardless of whether it's you who is doing the search or someone else. That's because:
- you might not have enough budget for your ad to be shown every time
- your quality score may not be high enough
- you may be being outbid by another advertiser in some of the auctions your ad gets entered into
Why Do Other People See My Google Ads But I Don't?
On the other hand, you may find that your ad is showing up when someone else searches for one of your keywords, but it doesn't appear when you yourself run that exact same search.
That's because Google shows different ads to different people, based on a number of factors - including your past search behaviour. And if Google detects that there's a certain ad, or a certain type of ad, that you rarely click on then it won't show you those ads again and it will try to find different ones for you instead. After all, it's in Google's interests to show you ads that you will click on because that's how they make their money!
So what often happens is that a Google Ads advertiser sets up their campaign and then starts running Google searches for their keywords to see how their ad looks.
The first few times you do this, your ad might appear. But you're probably not going to click on it because that would be a waste of your ad budget. The trouble is that the more often you do this, the more likely Google is to decide that you don't like your own ad.
Google will then start to push your ad further down the page - but only when the searcher is you - or avoid showing you your own ad altogether.
What's the Correct Way to See What My Google Ads Look Like?
Google provides a tool for advertisers who want to check out what their ads look like. It's called the Google Ads Preview Tool. And if you watch the video above, you can see a demonstration of how it works.
