Being that search engine technology changes on a seemingly constant basis, it can be expected that we should implement regular and drastic changes in our visibility stratagem. Yet, even when we know it’s coming, surprises can wreak havoc on rankings… and PPC cost.

In a conversation at Search Engine Strategies, Andrew Goodman, founder of Page Zero Media, illustrates a scenario that a few of his clients recently experienced after a drop in their Google quality scores.

“You log into your account and now you’ve got a bunch of high minimum bids. So you’ve got to bid five dollars on keywords you were previously bidding five cents… or twenty cents… or fifty cents on. ”

Talk about a double take! Bid increases at magnitudes of one to ten thousand percent constitute something beyond the realm of “drastic:” they signal lunacy. However, Goodman reassures us that such preposterous scenarios are rare.

“According to Google that’s really a small percentage of accounts. From our client base we see some of them effected, not really most of them effected.”

Yet if you find yourself in a bind over quality scores, then perhaps you’ve earned it? Our own Mike McDonald addresses this notion eloquently. “In a nutshell… if quality scores are a problem for you, then quality, period, is probably a problem for you.”

It would seem (logically so) that “quality,” in this instance is carefully defined, rather than arbitrarily decided. Goodman posits that Google is searching for “nasty things that users hate.” (As it turns out, people don’t like popups.)

Leaving us with some simple and undisputed advice, Goodman adds, “It’s not just Google’s bots that are looking for these things. Humans are sitting down and writing policies that can change.”

Be ever vigilant.