Are you looking for more control and flexibility over your online advertising campaigns? Do you want to optimize your ad performance and maximize your return on investment? If so, you might want to consider manual ad bidding.
What is Manual Ad Bidding?
Manual ad bidding is a method of setting and adjusting the amount you are willing to pay for each click, impression, or conversion on your ads. Unlike automated ad bidding, where the platform decides the optimal bid for you based on your goals and budget, manual ad bidding gives you the power to decide how much each ad is worth to you.
Why Choose Manual Ad Bidding?
Manual ad bidding has several advantages over automated ad bidding, such as:
#1.More control:
You can set your own bids for each ad group, keyword, or placement, and change them anytime you want. You can also use bid modifiers to adjust your bids based on factors such as device, location, time of day, and audience.
#2. More flexibility:
You can experiment with different bidding strategies and test what works best for your campaigns. You can also react quickly to changes in the market, competitors, or your own goals and budget.
#3. More insight:
You can gain a deeper understanding of your ad performance and the factors that affect it. You can also use analytics and reports to measure your results and optimize your bids accordingly.
How to Set Bidding Strategy Manually?
To set your bidding strategy manually, you need to follow these steps:
#1. Define your goals:
What are you trying to achieve with your ads? Do you want to increase traffic, conversions, sales, or brand awareness? How do you measure your success?
#2. Set your budget:
How much are you willing to spend on your ads? How do you allocate your budget across your campaigns, ad groups, and keywords?
#3. Research your market:
Who are your target audience, competitors, and industry trends? What are the average costs and returns for your niche and keywords?
#4. Choose your bid type:
What are you paying for? Do you want to pay for clicks (CPC), impressions (CPM), or conversions (CPA)?
#6. Set your initial bids:
Based on your goals, budget, and market research, what are the optimal bids for your ad groups, keywords, or placements? You can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Bing Ads Intelligence, or Facebook Audience Network to get estimates and suggestions for your bids.
#7. Launch your campaigns:
After setting your bids, you can start running your ads and monitor their performance.
What Factors Influence Manual Ad Bidding Decisions?
Manual ad bidding decisions are influenced by various factors, such as:
#1. Your goals and budget:
Your bids should reflect your objectives and constraints. For example, if your goal is to maximize conversions, you might want to bid higher for keywords or placements that have a higher conversion rate. If your budget is limited, you might want to bid lower for keywords or placements that have a lower cost per conversion.
#2. Your competitors:
Your bids should take into account your competitors’ bids and strategies. For example, if your competitors are bidding aggressively for certain keywords or placements, you might want to bid higher to outrank them or lower to avoid bidding wars. You can use tools such as Google Auction Insights, Bing Ads Auction Insights, or Facebook Ad Library to see your competitors’ bids and ad performance.
#3. Your performance:
Your bids should be based on your actual results and feedback. For example, if your ads are performing well and generating a high return on investment, you might want to bid higher to increase your exposure and profits. If your ads are performing poorly and generating a low return on investment, you might want to bid lower to reduce your losses and improve your efficiency. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, Bing Ads Performance Reports, or Facebook Ads Manager to track and analyze your ad performance.
How to Determine the Right Bid Amount?
Determining the right bid amount is a process of trial and error, as there is no one-size-fits-all formula for manual ad bidding. However, there are some general guidelines and best practices that can help you find the optimal bid amount for your campaigns, such as:
#1. Start with a conservative bid:
When launching a new campaign, ad group, or keyword, it is advisable to start with a low to moderate bid that is within your budget and market average. This way, you can test the waters and collect data without overspending or underperforming.
#2. Adjust your bid gradually:
After running your ads for a while, you can review your performance and adjust your bid accordingly. You can increase your bid if your ads are generating a high return on investment, or decrease your bid if your ads are generating a low return on investment. You can also use bid modifiers to fine-tune your bids based on factors such as device, location, time of day, and audience. However, you should avoid making drastic changes to your bids, as this can cause fluctuations and instability in your ad performance.
#3. Use the break-even point as a reference:
The break-even point is the bid amount that makes your profit equal to zero, or your revenue equal to your cost. It is calculated by dividing your cost per conversion by your conversion rate. For example, if your cost per conversion is $10 and your conversion rate is 5%, your break-even point is $10 / 0.05 = $200. This means that if you bid more than $200, you will lose money, and if you bid less than $200, you will make money. You can use the break-even point as a reference to set your bid amount, depending on your goals and risk tolerance. For example, if your goal is to maximize profits, you might want to bid slightly below the break-even point. If your goal is to maximize conversions, you might want to bid slightly above the break-even point.
What Metrics to Monitor with Manual Ad Bidding?
Monitoring your metrics is essential for manual ad bidding, as it allows you to measure your results and optimize your bids. Some of the key metrics to monitor with manual ad bidding are:
#1. Click-through rate (CTR):
The percentage of people who click on your ads after seeing them. It indicates how relevant and attractive your ads are to your target audience.
#2. Cost per click (CPC):
The average amount you pay for each click on your ads. It indicates how competitive and efficient your bids are in the auction.
#3. Conversion rate (CR):
The percentage of people who complete a desired action (such as a purchase, a sign-up, or a download) after clicking on your ads. It indicates how effective and persuasive your ads are in driving conversions.
#4. Cost per conversion (CPA):
The average amount you pay for each conversion on your ads. It indicates how profitable and sustainable your campaigns are in terms of return on investment.
#5. Quality score (QS):
A rating from 1 to 10 that measures how relevant and useful your ads, keywords, and landing pages are to your target audience. It affects your ad rank and cost per click in the auction.
#6. Impression share (IS):
The percentage of impressions that your ads receive out of the total number of impressions that you are eligible to receive. It indicates how visible and competitive your ads are in the market.
What Challenges Arise with Manual Ad Bidding?
Manual ad bidding is not without its challenges, such as:
#1. Time-consuming:
Manual ad bidding requires a lot of time and effort to set and adjust your bids, as well as to monitor and analyze your performance. You need to constantly keep an eye on your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize your results.
#2. Complex:
Manual ad bidding involves a lot of factors and variables that affect your ad performance and bidding decisions. You need to have a good understanding of your goals, budget, market, competitors, performance, and metrics to make informed and effective bids.
#3. Risky:
Manual ad bidding exposes you to more risks and uncertainties, as you are responsible for your own bids and outcomes. You might overbid or underbid, overspend or underspend, overperform or underperform, depending on your bidding strategy and market conditions.
Are There Best Practices for Manual Ad Bidding?
Manual ad bidding is not a one-time task, but a continuous process of testing, learning, and improving. To succeed with manual ad bidding, you need to follow some best practices, such as:
#1. Set clear and realistic goals and budget:
Before you start bidding, you need to define what you want to achieve with your ads and how much you are willing to spend on them. Your goals and budget should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
#2. Research your market and competitors:
Before you set your bids, you need to understand your target audience, industry trends, and competitive landscape. You need to know who you are competing with, what they are bidding on, and how they are performing. You can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner, Bing Ads Intelligence, or Facebook Audience Network to get insights and suggestions for your bids.
#3. Choose the right bid type and strategy:
Depending on your goals and budget, you need to choose the appropriate bid type and strategy for your campaigns. You can choose between cost per click (CPC), cost per impression (CPM), or cost per conversion (CPA) as your bid type, and between manual cost per click (Manual CPC), enhanced cost per click (ECPC), or target cost per acquisition (tCPA) as your bid strategy. You can also use bid modifiers to adjust your bids based on factors such as device, location, time of day, and audience.
#4. Start with a conservative bid and adjust gradually:
When launching a new campaign, ad group, or keyword, it is advisable to start with a low to moderate bid that is within your budget and market average. This way, you can test the waters and collect data without overspending or underperforming. After running your ads for a while, you can review your performance and adjust your bid accordingly. You can increase your bid if your ads are generating a high return on investment, or decrease your bid if your ads are generating a low return on investment. You can also use bid modifiers to fine-tune your bids based on factors such as device, location, time of day, and audience. However, you should avoid making drastic changes to your bids, as this can cause fluctuations and instability in your ad performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Manual ad bidding is a method of setting and adjusting the amount you are willing to pay for each click, impression, or conversion on your ads. It gives you more control, flexibility, and insight over your online advertising campaigns, but it also requires more time, effort, and risk management. To succeed with manual ad bidding, you need to follow some best practices, such as setting clear and realistic goals and budget, researching your market and competitors, choosing the right bid type and strategy, starting with a conservative bid and adjusting gradually, using the break-even point as a reference, monitoring your metrics, and optimizing your bids accordingly. Learning and implementing this manual ad bidding can help you align your ads with your overall marketing goals and achieve better results and return on investment.
