Google Ads is a powerful platform that can be used to promote your business in different ways. With all these options, it’s important for you as the advertiser or campaign manager not only know how best use them but also set up an effective advertisement so results are maximised and budget management goes smoothly.
Google Ads bidding is a crucial element to consider when managing your advertising spend. This guide will help you set the right bids and optimise where that money goes in order to achieve the highest ROI possible.
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What Is Google Ads Bidding?
Google runs an auction every time there is a space available in their ad network. You can choose your preferred audience and keywords (or phrases) which will help match what you need, but since it is likely multiple businesses have similar requirements then all matches go through this process too.
The auctions will decide which ads will actually show up before the user, and your bid will place you in the fighting ring. There are different focuses when it comes to bidding:
- Clicks – when your goal is to have people visit your website. Here, you will pay per click;
- Impressions – when you want to increase brand visibility, and you will pay per impressions;
- Conversions – when your goal is to sell, get leads or other actions, and you pay per each action;
- Views – for video ads run on the Display Network.
The type of bidding you want to use is dependent upon your goal. If increasing traffic sounds like a priority, then cost-per-click may be best for achieving that goal and ensuring efficiency with budget spending.
Bidding Setup and Basics
Setting budgets and bids can be done easily in your Google Ads account as you’re designing the ad. The budget refers to the total amount of money that will ultimately be spent on this campaign, while the bid is a measure for how much one could potentially spend per click – or CPM (cost-per-thousand impressions).
Choosing the bid amount is a bit tricky, as it really depends on:
- Your type of campaign
- The cost of your keywords
- How relevant your keywords are in terms of chosen audience, target placement, user intent, etc.
Cost-per-click bidding is a great way to start running ads on the search network. You can choose how much you want each click and never go over your maximum bid because they’re automated!
Google Smart Campaigns are a new type of default campaign designed to help businesses promote their products and services. These smart campaigns can be set up in just two minutes, with no account required – you only pay when someone clicks or calls from your ad. The bidding is dynamic so it will vary depending on ad quality.
How Smart Bidding Works
Smart bidding is an innovative way to reduce your advertising costs by using user behaviour trends. When the ads system predicts a conversion, it will try and repeat this success with larger bids at appropriate times during each campaign cycle rather than just waiting for something big like an auction ending or max bid amount that may never happen in real life (or even worse – unexpectedly).
You can even run Smart Campaigns that have smart bidding enabled. For instance, you can run a verified calls ad to promote your business phone number and generate more direct contacts from potential customers. This means that on top of getting phone calls, you can also trace how many calls have come directly from your campaign.
And once you figure out a campaign budget, you can enable the smart bidding function and let Google ads streamline bidding for you, based on data it accumulated over time. This strategy works best if you plan on running long-term campaigns to give the system enough time to perfect its bidding.
Australian Internet Advertising Is Here to Help
If you’re not sure how to optimise your bidding strategy, set an appropriate budget or even understand why Google Ad campaigns aren’t delivering then it’s time for a free 30-minute session with the experts. Book now and find out what it takes!
