a welcome google update: new and improved bidding strategies
In May 2019, a welcome update came from Google in the form of new bidding strategies. At the annual Google Marketing Live event, Director of Product Management in Google Ads, Anthony Chavez, made many advertisers and marketeers rejoice when he outlined the capabilities of these new strategies. So, what are they, what do they do and how do they affect you?
What are Google’s new bidding strategies?
As consumer journeys increase in complexity, it’s more important than ever to take advantage of automated solutions. Machine learning continues to be a hot topic for discussion in the digital world and Google has implemented machine learning across many of its advertising services. One of the most popular of these being smart bidding which sees Google Ads’ use machine learning to optimise your bids for conversions.
With more than 70% of all advertisers using Google Ads automated bidding, the plea from advertisers for improved bidding strategies to meet specific campaign goals has been answered. These new bidding innovations include:
Campaign-level conversion setting: This strategy allows advertisers to set conversion goals at campaign level. Conversion rates can be calculated based on various details including competition, exposure and where in the funnel you are targeting. As these factors vary for every campaign, it makes sense to map conversion goals at campaign as opposed to account level. This new bidding capability is ideal for accounts who have campaigns with different goals or multiple conversion actions.
Seasonality adjustments: Advertisers had open issues with Google Ads’ seasonality features as more control was needed over ad hoc events such as one-off promotions. Previously, smart bidding would automatically adjust based on historical conversion data for every season. However, the new update allows advertisers to set an adjustment for a specific period of time when conversion rates are expected to spike such as an upcoming sale or event. Bids will be optimised for that period only and return to normal afterwards, empowering advertisers to maximise performance and generate better results.
Maximise conversion value: Building upon machine learning, this strategy allows advertisers to optimise campaigns for the most significant conversion value within a specified budget. Until now, bidding strategies have been focused on efficiency whereas many advertisers want to focus on volume and growth. This bidding strategy helps to prioritise campaign goals and saves advertisers time.
Conversion value rules: Expected to roll out in the coming months, not all conversions carry equal value but a value rules update will allow advertisers to change conversion values based on specific customer characteristics such as location, audience and device. Smart bidding will adjust based on the conversion value rules you set up to accurately and efficiently optimise the Ad for valuable conversions. This new feature will give advertisers further conversion insight.
Although machine learning is still evolving, these updates to Google’s bidding strategies are a step in the right direction and show significant progress. Within the busy world of digital marketing, time is precious and making use of Google’s automated capabilities is an not only an efficient way for advertisers to work, it is also effective.
If you'd like to discuss Google’s latest smart bidding capabilities, contact our team of paid media experts. We have the PPC skills and expertise to help you best utilise these new and improved updates.
