Google has announced it will be shutting down its AdWords Position Preference option in early May.

On Monday, Google’s chief economist Hal Varian posted an average position analysis concluding that your ad’s position on a results page has no impact on conversion rates.

Google are now trying to discourage uses from emphasising the position of their ads.

If you are still seeking to place your ad in a certain position once Position Preference is retired, there is a workaround.  You can use automated rules to achieve this.  To do so, setup an automated rule that will change your bid should your average position differ from your targeted position.

Any campaigns still using Position Preference are advised to switch it off.  You can no longer enable the option on new campaigns, and once it’s switched off you will be unable to switch it back on.  In early May, Google will begin to disable the feature for any campaigns still using it.