It has been an ongoing debate among marketers, which between manual and automated bidding, is better. Manual bidding is only for experts, according to some, and those who work full time. Manual bidding gives the user a total control, which is why experts better use it, since there are a lot of things to consider and it would take expertise to know when to increase and decrease bids manually. On the other hand, automated bidding only requires a marketer input data and rules that the software can follow and it is almost done. Monitoring is still needed because there are times that automated rules need to be updated.
However, there are still others who say manual bidding is good for starters, while automated PPC bid management tool is for veterans. When automated bidding is used, there is a possibility that more money will be spent especially if rules are not specified and detailed. When you are just starting out, all these rules and scripts can be confusing and you might end up spending more from your budget, which is why manual bidding is recommended. While for experts, they are able to input rules without much difficulty and can identify what went wrong.
Read more for the comparison and evaluation between manual and automated bidding.
Manual vs Automated Bidding
Two ways of bidding on keywords; these are either through manual bidding or the use of third party bidding tools, such as PPC bid management tool.
Manual bidding requires marketers to directly increase or decrease bids of each keyword. Adjusting the bids depend on factors like past performance of the keywords, position of advertisements in search results pages and other metrics. Hence, many said that only by experts who have clear knowledge of the platform do manual bidding. However, this is not always the case because some people learn better on trial and error and can quickly grasp how manual bidding is done. Here are some of the advantages in using manual bidding:
- You can immediately make changes to your bids when you see a difference in the performance of the keywords. When a keyword is doing really well, you can increase the bids; likewise, when you see it doing poorly. Using manual bidding gives you the benefit of making changes to your bids instantly and at real time.
- You have the strong hold of your bids. The aggressiveness to the approach of your bidding campaign will rely solely on your decision. There will no PPC bid management software that sways or makes a decision for you.
- Manual bidding makes sure that all changes made with regard to your bid are in real time, hence, no delay and changes are done promptly.
On the other hand, automated bidding, as its name implies, is automating the bidding process. An algorithm handles how bids work at the optimum level. Unlike manual bidding, pay per click bid management tools decide how much to bid on a certain keyword. Here are some pros in using automated bidding.
- In Pay per click bid management, you have the flexibility to divide your campaigns based on their similarities. You can categorize the groups into customized folders, which the software can bid on separately.
- Using one of the the top PPC bid management tools, you can have the efficiency in bidding. Unlike manual bidding, you don’t have to do everything yourself. The software can handle the bulk of the job a time, ensuring the bids will not undergo any possible human error.
- Pay per click allows you to handle campaigns that are more complex. You can have multiple accounts because most of the bidding is done automatically. This ensures you thousands of campaigns to be done easily.
Using Automated Rules
Automated rules is used in many top PPC bid management tools, which is part of automated bidding.
- Automated rules are recommended to keep your top keywords in the top search results pages. Although many marketers strive to reach the top positon, Word Stream claims that being number one is not really the ideal ad position in pay per click. Position should never be your goal in pay per click, but rather the profit.
- Automated rules are useful if you have a tight budget. These can be customized to bid high or low, depending on the average position of the ad. The best software ensures you to always stay on your budget. If you want the best, read more reviews of PPC bid management software available at CrowdReviews.com.
- Using the automated rules allow to halt bids on keywords that are badly performing. There are keywords, no matter how good, that are not profitable. Automated rules ensure you won’t keep on spending more on these keywords.
Using Scripts
Aside from rules, you can also use scripts for your bids. Writing scripts seems like an advanced thing for you, but you can research and read reviews of hundreds of useful scripts. Koozai has some scripts that you can use for your bid management. Here are some benefits of using scripts:
- Scripts offer advanced possibilities in bid management compared to using automated rules.
- One script can handle a whole campaign; hence, no need to customize each and every ad group.
- The best script providers can give you detailed summary and report of the performance of your keyword.
Although there are many advantages in using scripts, there are also risks, which you need to know.
- You can check the results from the scripts though, and change the scripts manually. However, for some software, you cannot do manual review of the scripts of your bids.
- You need the basic knowledge in writing scripts and the skills in using handling those.
Using Third Party Platforms
There are many available PPC bid management platforms. Reading reviews of PPC bid management tools can give you more idea, which one is the best from the rest. There are not many differences between them, but admittedly, there are tools that stand out and are the best in the market. These third party platforms feature all algorithms that predict the optimum bid for your keywords depending on variables. Here are some advantages in using third party platforms to handle your bid management:
- Most platforms, other than Google, have advanced settings to provide better results. Some produce better ad placement, higher conversion and more profit margins.
- Some platforms are very detailed with parameters in handling bids.
- With automated platforms, you can save time and be more efficient in bidding management.
Nevertheless, there are also disadvantages in using third party platforms.
- Using the top PPC bid management software means a possibility of spending much. If you don’t have the budget, then using automated bidding is definitely not for you.
- Some automated bidding platforms have delays in platform changes, which cause you to lose money in campaigns where quick reactions is of importance.
Now that you have seen the difference between manual and automated bidding, with the abovementioned works, you can now make a decision on which method is better for you. Whether you are a newbie or a pro, you probably have a preference in choosing automated or manual bidding. No one can tell you which is better; so decide for yourself.
Want PPC bid management software to help you automate your bidding campaign? Check out the rankings and reviews at CrowdReviews.com for the best tool.
Jeev Trika
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