practical bid modifier strategies
TRANSCRIPT
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Recommended Location Bidding Strategy:
Location-Based Bidding
Set different bid modifiers for each geographic location to maximize aggregate performance efficiency
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Location Bidding Strategy Location-Based Bidding
Geography Modifier
Sacramento, CA +5%
Redding, CA -3%
Oakland, CA +6%
Monterrey, CA -3%
Los Angeles, CA +4%
Klamath Falls, CA -4%
Daly City, CA -1%
Calculate the demand efficiency of each geographic location.
Value = Revenue / Click Example:
Geography Value
Sacramento, CA 1.05
Redding, CA 0.97
Oakland, CA 1.06
Monterrey, CA 0.97
Los Angeles, CA 1.04
Klamath Falls, CA 0.96
Daly City, CA 0.99
Express it as a Bid Modifier to make it ready for upload to AdWords
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Where to Find Geo Data Location-Based Bidding
Source Example
Your own paid search performance AdWords, search mgmt. platforms
3rd party geographic overlays Household income data from Equifax
Data from your client Customer penetration per market
Site analytics conversion rate Adobe SiteCatalyst, Google Analytics, etc.
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Quick Tips on Geography Location-Based Bidding
• Cap the maximum Bid Modifier at a certain amount (e.g. +/- 20%) to avoid losing visibility in the auction entirely
• Set a new location bidding strategy for search season of the year (approx. 4 per yr)
• Set different location bidding landscapes for each high-volume campaign
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Recommended Daily & Hourly Strategy:
Daily & Hourly Bidding
Set different bid modifiers for each hour of the day and day of the week to maximize aggregate
performance efficiency
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Hourly Bidding Strategy Daily & Hourly Bidding
Hour Per Day
Click V
alu
e
Calculate the demand efficiency of each our of the day
Value = Revenue / Click Example:
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Hourly Bidding Strategy Daily & Hourly Bidding
Calculate the demand efficiency of each our of the day
Value = Revenue / Click Example:
Express it as a Bid Modifier to make it ready for upload to AdWords
Click V
alu
e
Hour Per Day
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Where to Find Hourly Data Daily & Hourly Bidding
AdWords > Dimensions
Your Search Management Platform
OR
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
• Don’t assume an hour has low efficiency just because it has low volume
• Use reporting ‘By Click Date’ instead of ‘By Conversion Date’ (To raise bids when the click happens, not when the conversion happens)
• Set hourly bids to zero on Phone Extension campaigns when call center is closed
• As an advanced tactic, set bids for each of the 168 hours of the week (7 days x 24 hours)
Quick Tips on Hourly Bidding Daily & Hourly Bidding
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Recommended Device Bidding Strategy:
Device Bidding
Set different bid modifiers per device based on the difference in
performance
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
• Acknowledge that smartphones are probably driving more than you are tracking (phone sales, in-store sales, etc.)
• Use the bid recommendations provided in several major search management platforms for guidance
• Take advantage of Bing’s special benefit over Google: ability to set tablet-level bids
Quick Tips for Device Bidding Device Bidding
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Recommended RLSA Bidding Strategy:
RLSA Bidding
Set different bid modifiers per remarketing list
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Favorite Bidding Tactics:
Remarketing Lists in Search
Bid higher on searchers that have visited your site because they’ve expressed intent 1
Client X Avg. Rank Cost-Per-Click Conversion Rate Cost-Per-Order ROAS
New 3.4 $0.70 1.1% $64.92 1.64
Returning 1.9 $0.87 2.1% $41.84 2.40
Like many advertisers, this travel client found that return visitors
tend to have far stronger conversion rates than new site visitors
TRAVEL BRAND
RLSA Bidding
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Save media spend by blocking ads from showing to previous buyers
2
(If you’re a one-time-purchase brand)
TELCO BRAND
TV Service Sign-Up
Exclude from future TV Service ads
Favorite Bidding Tactics:
Remarketing Lists in Search RLSA Bidding
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
Drive repeat purchases from previous buyers by raising bids in the future
3 (If you’re a repeat purchase brand)
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
RETAIL BRAND
Favorite Bidding Tactics:
Remarketing Lists in Search RLSA Bidding
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Ty Martin #SMX #23B
• Start with the low-hanging fruit: Raise bids for anybody who has visited your site in the past
• Implement AdWords Conversion Tracking to see the difference in performance without requiring duplicating campaigns
• Don’t forget to apply it to Shopping Campaigns too!
Quick Tips RLSA Bidding RLSA Bidding