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Google wants to automate advertising campaigns, but you must be careful to find a happy medium between automation and user control.
The most-common forms of automation are bidding strategies. To maximize ad effectiveness, Google’s “Smart Bidding” uses machine learning.
From Google’s Ads Help, here’s the phraseology or terms for budgeting:
- Target CPA – budget your preferred cost per acquisition.
- Target ROAS – know your preferred return on ad spend is similar to Target CPA.
- Maximize Conversions Bidding – Based on data and consumer behavior, Google will show your ads to people who are most-likely to convert.
- Maximize Conversion Value – This process, which is similar to Maximize Conversion Bidding, is focused on attracting clicks in order to produce the highest conversion value.
- Maximize Clicks – Within your budget, Google will do its best to attract the most-possible clicks.
- Target Impression – Higher budgets influence more impressions. Google will set the percentage of search impressions for targeting phrases.
There’s a myriad of things to keep in mind to best-manage automated bids:
Determine your ad group-level Target CPAs
Realize that Target CPAs are established at the campaign level. The trouble is Google doesn’t always understand the differences in each product category.
Products in a category can be priced at different levels. Your cost of materials can differ among products. One product doesn’t have the same value as another.
You can help the process, if you have adequate historical data. Then, Google can better anticipate the consummation of Target CPAs.
Determine your cost-per-click (CPC) bid limits
In your cost-per-click bidding strategies, figure out the highest amount you’re willing to pay. It isn’t important for Maximize Clicks, but it is for Target Impression share.
This will help you acquire more profits.
For instance, hypothetically, by setting your maximum CPC to $1 for your budget of $100, you’ll likely get 100 clicks. If you don’t set the highest CPC amount, you risk paying more for each click but get one-third fewer clicks.
Select your most-likely conversion approach
Naturally, you’ll want the most optimal results. So, optimize your most-effective actions, which is important in Maximize Conversions Bidding and Maximize Conversions Value.
They both lead to conversions. However, neither of them consider maximum CPC caps.
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Bear in mind that keywords with an average CPC of $4 could possibly jump to $8, if Google believes the prospect will more likely convert.
You see, the problem isn’t whether you’ll pay more for the click. You must be certain about which you’re optimizing – user behavior differs depending on the type of product.
Utilize portfolio bid strategies
Google’s portfolio bid strategies will automatically determine bids so that you attain your goals for performance.
Similar to ad extensions and negative keywords, you can use the bid strategies on a variety of campaigns.
For example, across the different campaigns you can maximize conversions or target impressions. And, with portfolio bid strategies, you can designate each tactic to all campaigns.
Regularly evaluate bid strategies
Bid strategies can vary with different circumstances or in subsequent months. A campaign’s ad group or Target CPA can easily change.
Depending on the time of year, the first quarter vis-à-vis the fourth quarter warrants different approaches.
Efficiency with a lower cost is more vital in the less-profitable first quarter. A high Target CPA is justified for the holiday selling season.
So, efficiency and volume considerations are important.
In addition, note Google’s Smart Bidding’s system of measurement, or metric, can change.
To attract more business, you could use the Maximize Clicks blueprint at first but then focus on Target ROAS.
On the other hand, you might want to optimize for Maximize Conversions but you soon might think a higher Target Impression Share would be more profitable.
The moral? You must always be prepared to refine your approaches with Google’s automated bid strategies.
Good luck!
(Disclosure: This site employs Google AdSense; however, this did not influence the writing of this article in any way.)
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“The secret of all effective advertising is not the creation of new and tricky words and pictures, but one of putting familiar words and pictures into new relationships.”
-Leo Burnett
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