There may be more to achieving a good return from Google's AdWords programme than the quality score suggests, it has been claimed.

Ian Feavearyear, author of the AW4P marketing blog, notes that in its lesson on Ad Distribution on the AdWords Learning Center, Google advises that its ranking of advertisements is based on the quality score.

This score is calculated based on the relevance of the commercial and the click-through rate which is achieved over an extended period of time.

However, Mr Feavearyear argues that the advice conflicts with Google AdSense documentation, which states that the amount bid on a given keyword is the deciding factor in which advertisements are shown.

He adds that the lesson also describes commercials being restricted from certain websites if no results are obtained after a number of appearances.

"Thus, there is much more going on here than a simple AdWords 'bid x quality score' auction," Mr Feavearyear reasons.

The author says that he developed an interest in online law while researching for a website detailing "the legal legacy of Elvis Presley".