Google introduce bid management service

Google’s Conversion Optimiser is now out of beta stage. This service allows users to set a maximum cost per acquisition (CPA) for their Adwords account. Based on conversion history such as keyword, region, ad position etc Google will auto manage your CPC bids in the aim of getting the lowest average CPA. You have to have at least 200 conversions per month to register.

How good is the service?

What is not clear is whether Google will take into account user journeys. The CPA of generic keywords are almost always higher than on the brand terms. But many conversions on the brand terms may have started on more generic keywords. Will Google blindly bid lower bids on generic terms as it sees they have a higher CPA? Also consider that Google have focused solely on the CPA, when most clients overriding concern in the ROI. This is probably because this service is synchronising with the very basic Adwords tracking which only measures sales volume not sales revenue.

Why have Google introduced this?

In theory because they want more advertisers to make a success of their Adwords account so they continue to spend or increase spending on Google. Another theory could be that they are attempting to make it unnecessary for advertisers to use an SEM agency to handle their Adwords account? This is unlikely as you would need a fairly well organised Adwords account in the first place for the optimiser to be a success. However if uptake is big on this could Google bring in more bid management tools? Seeing as they own Doubleclick’s DART search platform (advance bid management software) it seems unlikely that they would give away something for free that previously people had to pay for. But then they did launch Google Analytics did n’t they.

Simon
Campaign Executive