The DoubleClick Search (DS) Performance Bidding Suite provides an automated system that you can use to manage your keywords' bids. Keyword bidding on search engines can be extremely complex. Bid strategies reduce the complexity of keyword bidding based on a set of rules that you provide.
This article describes how to create a bid strategy using the step-by-step process in the new UI. Once you create a bid strategy, you’ll likely want to apply it to some keywords or to a campaign or ad group:
- You’ll set default min and max bids at the bid strategy level, but you can set the bid range at the keyword level when you apply the bid strategy.
- DS will never bid below the min bid or above the max bid for a keyword.
- If you need to change a keyword’s bid quickly, you can manually override the bid.
Once your bid strategies have some keywords, you can:
- Monitor their performance through the available reporting options.
- Utilize the optional troubleshooting columns.
- See a history of bid strategy changes.
- See the target bid: the bid that DS would have used if there were no secondary constraints.
Steps to create a bid strategy
In the left nav, under the All campaigns box and Labels, click Bid strategies.
A list of existing bid strategies (if any) appears.Click + New bid strategy.
The first panel of properties for the new bid strategy appears.In the STEP 1: Goal section:
- Name your bid strategy.
- Select the engine account from which you can apply the bid strategy to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords.
- Select your bid strategy goal and click Next.
Click the links below for more information on the different goals.
In the STEP 2: Target section:
- Enter the goal-specific properties and click Next.
Click the links below for more information on these properties.
- Enter the goal-specific properties and click Next.
In the STEP 3: Constraints section:
- Enter the default min and max bids for the bid strategy. DS will bid within these values if you don’t set min/max bids at the keyword level.
Steps 6 and 7 are optional; you can save the bid strategy without setting these properties. Also, if you don’t set these properties, the Performance Bidding Suite will have more freedom to optimize against the primary settings.In the remainder of the STEP 3: Constraints section:
- For position goals: DS will take the action you choose if the keywords can't maintain a position within the desired range. Click the Position link below to learn more.
- For all other goals: You can select a position constraint. This allows you to combine a Position goal with the primary goal to help your program meet multiple objectives. DS will first ensure that the bid is within the min/max bid range, then bid to stay within the position range, and finally bid toward the primary target. For example, for a Revenue goal, use the optional Position goal if you’re trying to meet a Revenue objective, but you also want to ensure that the keyword never drops below a particular position.
In the Advanced Configuration section:
- Actions, Revenue, Transactions, and Weighted Conversions bid strategies apply a temporary position constraint to brand new keywords without performance history. Update the constraint as needed.
- For bid strategies that maximize revenue, actions, or transactions, the option to Ensure keywords with low conversion ratios will get some traffic appears and is selected by default. This setting controls how the Performance Bidding Suite deals with low-performing keywords. Learn more.
Please note that, if you select a position constraint under STEP 3: Constraints, this option will no longer apply. The Performance Bidding Suite will keep all keywords within the specified position range.
Click Save Bid Strategy.
Once the bid strategy is created, you may want to apply it to some keywords or to a campaign or ad group.
Position goal
Keep keywords at a position or within a position range.
A bid strategy with a Position goal allows you to keep a set of keywords in a particular position, or range of positions, while staying within the keywords' minimum and maximum bids. You can enter positions to one digit after the decimal point (e.g., a range of 1.7 to 3.5).
We strongly recommend that you pay close attention to the ad or keyword quality scores that the search engines provide. DoubleClick does not guarantee that you will be able to achieve any particular position using bid strategies.
Select the position range:
In the STEP 2: Target section, you can target either either a single position or a range. To target a single position, enter the same value in the Top position and Bottom position fields.
If average position cannot be reached:
In the STEP 3: Constraints section, DS will take the action you choose if the keywords can't maintain a position within the desired range:
Use maximum strategy bid: Keep the keywords at the highest position possible using the maximum bid.
Use minimum strategy bid: Leave the keywords on the search engine, but use the minimum bid.
Clicks goal
Get the most clicks while meeting a target monthly spend.
You have a fixed monthly budget, or some money left over from a quarterly budget, and you want to make sure you spend that exact amount on a group of keywords. In addition, you want to get the most clicks possible in return from your money. With the Clicks goal, you can let DS do all the thinking for you.
You just need to enter your budget for the month, set default min and max bids, and apply your bid strategy to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords, and DS will use your money to get the most number of clicks possible.
Revenue goal
Get the highest revenue while meeting a target ERS, ROAS, or monthly spend.
Monthly Spend
You have a fixed monthly budget, or some money left over from a quarterly budget, and you want to make sure you spend that exact amount on a group of keywords. In addition, you know you want to get the most revenue in return for money spent, but you’re not sure what to set as an effective revenue share (ERS) or return on advertising spend (ROAS) goal.
For a Revenue goal based on monthly spend, you just need to enter your budget for the month, set default min and max bids, and apply your bid strategy to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords, and DS will use your money to get the most revenue possible in return.
ERS (Effective Revenue Share)
A Revenue goal based on effective revenue share (ERS) allows you to set a target percentage. You're instructing DS to manage your keywords so the target is reached. To reach the ERS target percentage, DS raises or lowers the bid based on how the actual ERS compares to the target ERS.
ERS is a percentage based on the following calculation:
- ERS = (spend ÷ revenue) × 100
ROAS (Return on Advertising Spend)
Similar to the ERS option, a A Revenue goal based on return on advertising spend (ROAS) allows you to set a target percentage. You're instructing DS to manage your keywords so the target is reached. To reach the ROAS target percentage, DS raises or lowers the bid based on how the actual ROAS compares to the target ROAS.
ROAS is a percentage based on the following calculation:
- ROAS = (revenue ÷ spend) × 100
Limit to specific Floodlight activities
You have the option to select the Floodlight activities you want to include in a Revenue bid strategy. Click the x Floodlight activities button and add the desired Floodlight activities and Floodlight activity groups to the Limit to selected actions box.
Actions goal
Get the most actions while meeting a target CPA or monthly spend.
Monthly Spend
You have a fixed monthly budget, or some money left over from a quarterly budget, and you want to make sure you spend that exact amount on a group of keywords. In addition, you know you want to get the most number of actions in return for money spent, but you’re not sure what to set as a CPA goal.
For an Actions goal based on monthly spend, you just need to enter your budget for the month, set default min and max bids, and apply your bid strategy to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords, and DS will use your money to get the most possible actions in return.
CPA (Cost Per Action)
An Actions goal based on cost per action (CPA) allows you to set a target CPA. You're instructing DS to manage your keywords so the target is reached. To reach the CPA target, DS raises or lowers the bid based on how the actual CPA compares to the target CPA.
CPA is an amount based on the following calculation:
- CPA = spend ÷ actions
Limit to specific Floodlight activities
You have the option to select the Floodlight activities you want to include in an Actions bid strategy. Click the x Floodlight activities button and add the desired Floodlight activities and Floodlight activity groups to the Limit to selected actions box.
Transactions goal
Get the most transactions while meeting a target CPA or monthly spend.
Monthly Spend
You have a fixed monthly budget, or some money left over from a quarterly budget, and you want to make sure you spend that exact amount on a group of keywords. In addition, you know you want to get the most number of transactions in return for money spent, but you’re not sure what to set as a CPA goal.
For a Transactions goal based on monthly spend, you just need to enter your budget for the month, set default min and max bids, and apply your bid strategy to campaigns, ad groups, or keywords, and DS will use your money to get the most possible transactions in return.
CPA (Cost Per Action)
A Transactions goal based on cost per activity (CPA) allows you to set a target CPA. You're instructing DS to manage your keywords so the target is reached. To reach the CPA target, DS raises or lowers the bid based on how the actual CPA compares to the target CPA.
CPA is an amount based on the following calculation:
- CPA = spend ÷ transactions
Limit to specific Floodlight activities
You have the option to select the Floodlight activities you want to include in a Transactions bid strategy. Click the x Floodlight activities button and add the desired Floodlight activities and Floodlight activity groups to the Limit to selected actions box.
Weighted conversions goal
Target a CPA or ERS goal over a Floodlight activity
Weighted conversion goals address the needs of companies that offer a complex mix of products with varying profit margins. In particular, this technology was designed with retail, travel, and financial services in mind. However, the functionality is fully flexible and can be used in any industry.
Weighted conversion goals optimize your keyword program based on the type of conversion. These goals allow you to set a Cost per action (CPA) goal for each conversion type (for sales tags, you also have the option of setting an Effective revenue share (ERS) goal). For example, you can assign aggressive goals to higher margin conversion types, and assign conservative goals to lower margin conversion types.
Weighted conversion goals solve unintended conversions: With Weighted conversions, DS accounts for the various profit margins of the different types of conversions that a set of keywords produces. When you set a Weighted conversion goal, you're instructing DS to manage your keywords so the target is reached. To reach the CPA or ERs target, DS raises or lowers the bid based on how the actual CPA/ERS compares to the target CPA/ERS.
Step 1: Select Floodlight activities
You’ll first need to find the Floodlight activities you want to include in the bid strategy. You can optionally filter the Floodlight activities and groups to see only those that apply to you. The Floodlight box dynamically changes as you type in the Filter Floodlight tags field.
You can select the check boxes next to individual tags, or a group of tags. When you enter the CPA or ERS goal in the next section, DS will apply the goal to all selections.
Optional: Group by bid target: You can click the Group by bid target button to group the tags that have the same value. This makes it easy to change the CPA/ERS goal for all groups/tags with the same goal in an existing bid strategy. You can also use this feature to initially set all keywords in the bid strategy to the same goal. Just select the check box next to the No bid target group and enter your goal.
Step 2: Enter goals
Once you've selected the Floodlight tags, you can select CPA (for all tags) or ERS (only for sales tags) from the dropdown, enter the goal, and click Set bid.
DS weights the actions according to their CPA/ERS values to determine the true CPA/ERS of the keyword. This allows the keyword to be evaluated properly on performance. Is it performing accurately against the CPA/ERS goal, is it overperforming, or is it underperforming? Once this has been determined, the DS Bid Management system properly adjusts the keyword bidding to achieve its overall goal.