The automated bidding or Smart Bidding is the kind of bidding strategy in which google advanced machine learning is used to optimize bids according to the past data, user behavior, interest, and many other factors. Automated bidding strategy is a very useful strategy, if you use it properly, you can earn a good ROAS on your campaign.
In this guide, we will briefly explain to you how to efficiently utilize an automated bidding strategy.
Automated Bidding
Automated bidding is a bid strategy in which an AI works for you to get maximum results within the same budget. In this strategy, Google automatically adjusts bids for you to get the best performance and results. Google Automated bidding strategy is only profitable when you have old historical data. This data helps Google to understand and get more business within the budget. The automated bidding strategy depends upon your keywords, demographics, audience targeting, ad-copies, goal type, age, landing page experience. If an advertiser wants to successfully run an automated bid strategy then they may have to take note of these points in mind to get most of the automated bidding strategy.
In general bidding strategy the advertisers have two main concerns about their ads:
- Whether their bids are high enough to beat other advertisers during the auction.
- Whether the ads are shown to the right audience or not.
These two main concerns can be easily solved by automated bidding strategies. If you’re using automated bidding strategies then you don’t need to update bids as google will adjust bid automatically in the auction as per your goal. On the other side, automated bidding strategies have their drawbacks also, you cannot use automated bidding strategy for following ads recent events, media coverage, weather, or flash sales, all of which can affect ad performance (e.g., increased brand recognition because your company name was mentioned in the news).
You can use an automated bidding strategy for Search, Display and Shopping Campaign.
Smart Bidding
Smart bidding or Automated bidding are the same, these bidding strategies use machine learning, campaign historical data to optimize the campaign and get results accordingly.
Smart bidding uses machine learning to get the maximum result in the proposed budget by tracking and analyzing data. The bid increases or decreases depending upon the user. For example: If the user is highly interested in the ad and most likely to convert then google increases the bid.
Requirements and recommendations
To run a campaign with smart bidding, you will require historical data depending upon which type of bidding you are using. For target CPA or target ROAS, you have at least 30-60 conversions in the last 20 days.
Note: Before implementing all of it, it is important to ensure your conversion tracking is working properly so that your smart bidding strategy gives you the desired results.
There are six different automated bid strategies:
- Target CPA
- Target ROAS
- Maximize Conversions
- Maximize Conversion Value
- Target Impression Share
- Maximize Clicks
1. Maximize clicks
- Goal: Increase site visits, phone calls, and traffic.
- Available In: Search campaigns, Display, and Shopping campaign.
- Description: The strategy aims to improve and increase the traffic to your website. Maximize click uses automated bidding strategy on campaign level in which a user can decide the maximum CPC(optional) or it can ignore it. Google will automatically set a bid according to the user and historical data.
Best Used When: To get maximum out of it, use maximize click when you are getting a conversion and tracking accurately and want to scale more. This bidding strategy leads you to get maximum visitors to your website.
Note: Avoid using maximize click strategy for your fresh campaign as you will not get a fruitful result.
2. Target cost-per-acquisition (CPA)
- Goal: Increase your conversion with target CPA
- Available In: Campaigns and ad group level.
- Description: Target CPA automated bidding strategy is used to improve the CPA and increase the number of conversion at the target CPA. In the automated bidding strategy, you have more control as you can set your bidding strategy at the ad-group level.
Best Used When: Target CPA helps to maintain cost per conversion, if you are getting conversions, but your CPA is high and you want to decrease the CPA then target CPA bidding strategy comes handy and helps to decrease in CPA and maintain the conversion flow. You can use the target CPA bidding strategy if you are getting 30-40 conversion in the last 30 Days. If you are using a target CPA in your fresh account then it will only eat your budget without giving you the desired result.
3. Maximize Conversions
- Goal: Get maximum conversion in your Budget
- Available In: Campaigns, ad groups, keywords
- Description: With a maximum conversion bidding strategy, Google automatically adjusts your manual bids to help you generate more conversions at the same cost-per-conversion.It helps to maintain the cost and get maximum conversion out from the budget
Best Used When: you are getting a few conversions after optimizing your campaign and the conversion is not increasing, then you can use maximize conversion bidding strategy which helps you to get an increase in conversion.
Note: Only use when you have 40-60 conversions in the last 30 days.
4. Target return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Goal: Get target ROAS with this bidding strategy
- Available In: Search Campaigns, Shopping campaign
- Description: It’s a very useful bidding strategy and a very effective one. In this bidding strategy, you can target your desired ROAS and google will adjust your campaign and get conversion accordingly.
Best Used When: Target ROAS is a very useful and most effective bidding strategy as it maintains your target ROAs without increasing the cost or CPA. If you want to get maximum out from this bidding strategy then use when you are getting 60-70 conversion in the last 30 days.
5. Target Impression Share
- Goal: Get top impression share with this bidding strategy
- Available In: Search Campaigns
- Description: This bidding strategy is useful if you want are targeting only to get maximum impression share in google ads. There are sub-choices to select in this bidding strategy i.e Absolute top of the result page, Anywhere on the result page, and top of the result page. You can select according to your needs or use of purpose.
Best Used When: This strategy comes in handy in many ways, one of which is if you’re targeting your cold audience about your products or services. In this bidding, strategy google optimizes your bids according to your targeted impression share and get you maximum impression reach.
As you go through the guide it seems automated bidding strategy is very easy and useful to use, that’s right but we all know there are pros and cons. Before implementing the strategy read must this is very important so that“Your ad-spend counts in investment, not in expense”.
Automated bid strategies in Google Ads are a fantastic way to save time while utilizing algorithms to optimize an account, but only when evaluated and chosen wisely.
Each of the automated bidding strategies we’ve talked about in this guide – bidding, ads, and keywords, or other settings– can have its place in any account, but only if it’s the right fit. They’re not a one-size-fits-all solution, but there’s also no excuse for “set it and forget it.” Once these strategies are being implemented in an account, keep a reminder to check in on them to ensure they’re still accomplishing the goals they set out to hit.
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