Site in search results = no ad impressions?

Here's another question (slightly edited for clarity and length) from the AdWords Help community. We've seen this question often enough that we thought it'd be worthwhile to answer it right here in our blog:

Hi there, I have been trying google adwords now for about 2 weeks. One thing is perplexing me more than all the others. You place an ad, and a user types in your keyword - now if the company you are advertising comes up on the first page in the main listings (the ones on the left) does that mean that google won't show your ad? I have one company here where I cannot get any impressions, and I am thinking that this is the reason. Can anyone enlighten me on this please...?

We're happy to oblige. The short answer is: no, having the advertised company appear in the unpaid search results for a keyword will not prevent your ad from showing for that keyword.

Here are some additional details, which also answer a number of related questions we've heard over the years:

• Inclusion in the search results has no impact on whether or not one's ads will appear
  
• Being an advertiser has no impact on whether or not one's site appears in the search results
  
• Being an advertiser and then closing the account has no impact on one's site appearing in the search results
  
• Being an advertiser with a very large budget does not help (nor hurt) one's chances of appearing in the search results
  
• Being an advertiser with a tiny budget does not hurt (nor help) one's chances of appearing in the search results

To sum it up, Google's advertising programs are entirely independent of the unpaid search results - and one does not affect the other in any way.

Lastly, to help troubleshoot why you're ads are really not receiving impressions, check out this handy checklist from the AdWords Help Center.

Posted by Blake, Inside AdWords crew