Paid Search

With more than 70% of advertisers opting for automated bidding over manual bidding, Google is unveiling new smart bidding strategies by placing more emphasis on improving the automated bidding algorithm. In the coming months, these enhancements will give advertisers more options and control over their paid search bidding strategies.

 1.  Campaign-level conversion settings. Currently, marketers are only limited to setting conversion goals at the account level. This new feature will allow advertisers to set conversion goals at the campaign level. Having this flexibility means that advertisers will be able to set up, analyze and optimize conversions based on specific individual campaign goals and calls-to-action. This will also provide even more control over budget, spend caps and bid adjustments based on conversion-based smart bidding strategies.

2.  Seasonality adjustments. With a lot of buzz around customer journey, Google now makes it easier for brands to promote their products and services to consumers when they need it the most.  Advertisers will have the capability to schedule these seasonal bid adjustments as they set up their campaigns. Using seasonality adjustments as a bid strategy could make a big difference in sales and revenue for a lot of brands. The ability to schedule or automate these specific seasonal adjustments around promotional events or peak seasons takes the work out of manual adjustments for most advertisers.

3.  Maximize conversion value. After rolling out maximize conversions a few years ago, Google is making additional adjustments in the coming months by adding maximize conversion value.  Marketers will have the ability to optimize campaigns for the most conversion value within a specific budget. Until now, bidding strategies have been focused on efficiency.

4.  Conversion value rules. This new smart bidding feature will provide advertisers the flexibility to assign value to their calls-to-action or conversion goals. This can also be based on different conversion values such as location, device and audience type. With this rule, advertisers can customize conversion values so they align more closely with their business goals.

How we use automated bidding

Automation is quickly becoming the way of the future and by utilizing smart bidding we reap the benefits of better performance while saving time on manually adjusting bids.  But before you automate, you should test the waters. At mediate.ly, part of our optimization strategy for under-performing tactics is to test the waters before making any major shifts. Looking at information such as keyword performance, quality score, competition, impression share are all ways to glean insight before jumping into any automated bid strategy.  Testing is an easy way to gather data to make an informed decision prior to making any major adjustments to the campaign. Using automated bid strategies allows our team to gather useful insights that we can then use to improve the campaign, inform expansion or optimize on other channels.

Google said these smart bidding strategies will roll out in the next few weeks for Paid Search and Display, and in the coming months for other channels.

Prior to implementing these smart bidding strategies, you may need to adjust your current campaign bid settings or structure to accommodate these strategies.

If your brand is not taking advantage of the latest trends in paid search, we would love to help.  Send us an email at hello@mediate.ly, call 561.868.9080 or contact us.