Do Manual Adjustments Still Make Sense With Automated Bidding? via @sejournal, @navahf

Automated bidding doesn't always mean better. Learn when to apply manual adjustments in this month's Ask The PPC with Navah Hopkins. The post Do Manual Adjustments Still Make Sense With Automated Bidding? appeared first on Search Engine Journal.

Apr 4, 2022 - 21:04

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Do Manual Adjustments Still Make Sense With Automated Bidding? via @sejournal, @navahf

Navah Hopkins shares advice for marketers unsure of which bidding strategy is best for their ad platform in this 'Ask the PPC.'

Do Manual Adjustments Still Make Sense With Automated Bidding?

Every ad platform has some degree of automated bidding.

The decision to lean into giving ad platforms control over bids has gone from a hard no to “it depends.”

When implemented correctly, automated bidding can outperform human governed bids.

Goals that don’t align with the budget can doom automated bidding.

Additionally, automated bidding will block some settings from influencing the campaign.

So it makes sense that Caterina from Oslo wants to know:

“Does it still make sense to adjust locations, time, segments, and device bid with Google’s automated bidding strategies?”

In this installment of Ask the PPC, we’ll go over:

The difference between manual, smart, and automated bidding. Which bidding strategies allow for manual adjustments. When it makes sense to go manual vs. automated.

What’s The Difference Between Manual, Smart & Automated Bidding?

Manual bidding is the most straightforward: The advertiser sets the bid and uses bid adjustments to direct budget toward or away from people, places, times, and devices.

Advertisers can choose to use scripts to automate manual bidding, so it’s closer to the real-time bidding found in automated/smart bidding.

Smart bidding focuses on a “smart” goal like conversions or return on ad spend (ROAS).

These bidding strategies only allow advertisers to adjust the budget and the goal parameters (target cost per acquisition and ROAS).

While you can still adjust some settings, they will not focus budget toward or away from people, places, times, and devices.

Automated bidding focuses on all other goals, such as target impression share and clicks.

These bidding strategies allow advertisers to adjust budgets and add bid caps.

Other than that, they have the same manual adjustment limitations as Smart bidding.

Which Bidding Strategies Allow For Manual Adjustments?

It can be tough to track exactly which adjustments are possible for all bidding strategies.

Here is a breakdown of what each does:

Manual (ecpc)

Positive Bid Adjustments (increases bid): device, location, audiences, and schedule. Partial Negative Bid Adjustment (lowers bid): device, location, audiences, and schedule. Full Negative Bid Adjustment (exclusion): device, location, audiences, and schedule.

Maximize Clicks

Positive Bid Adjustments: none. Partial Negative Bid Adjustment: none. Full Negative Bid Adjustment (exclusion): device, location, audiences, and schedule.

Target Impression Share

Positive Bid Adjustments: none. Partial Negative Bid Adjustment: none. Full Negative Bid Adjustment (exclusion): device, location, audiences, and schedule.

Maximize Conversion Value

Positive Bid Adjustments: none. Partial Negative Bid Adjustment: none. Full Negative Bid Adjustment (exclusion): device, location, audiences, and schedule.

Maximize Conversions

Positive Bid Adjustments: device, location, audiences, and schedule will allow for a higher Target CPA goal. Partial Negative Bid Adjustment: device, location, audiences, and schedule will allow for a lower Target CPA goal. Full Negative Bid Adjustment (exclusion): device, location, audiences, and schedule.