In this video, we'll share the top tips on how to implement
and optimize value-based Smart Bidding strategies on Search,
so that you can successfully meet your business objectives.
Let's review some important points to keep in mind
when implementing value-based bidding in Search.
Tip one: Bid to what matters.
When opting into value-based bidding, the first step is to ensure
that you're setup to bid to what matters most for your business.
To do this, build a strong conversion measurement foundation
that combines consented first-party data with privacy-preserving technology,
like enhanced conversions and sitewide tagging.
Ensure that the conversions you report are aligned with your business goals.
Then, assign values to your conversions in Google Ads,
so that you can bid and optimize towards your most valuable customers.
For example, if you have historically optimized for online leads,
you can report the value of a lead in order to optimize towards
higher quality leads with value-based bidding.
If you recently started reporting conversion value
or changed the way conversion value is reported,
we recommend that you report your new values on a consistent cadence
for six weeks before enabling your value-based bid strategy.
Tip two:
Align bid strategy settings with your goals.
Now, you're ready to opt into your Smart Bidding strategy.
When choosing a value-based Smart Bidding strategy, you have two options:
Maximize conversion value, or Maximize conversion value with a target ROAS.
If you set an optional target ROAS,
your bid strategy will aim to get you as much conversion value
as possible at the return-on-ad-spend target that you have set.
This is an ideal option if you have a return-on-investment goal
that you want to achieve,
and have a flexible budget.
When using a target ROAS, keep these best practices in mind.
One: choose a target that meets your business goals,
and is aligned with your historical performance.
Overly-aggressive targets can affect your volume.
Start with targets that align with your historical ROAS.
In many cases, you may even see a target recommended
in your account that is generated based on your historical performance.
Two: avoid having a limited budget, which may prevent the strategy
from providing as much volume as possible at the target ROAS.
If you have more specific budget goals and do not have a return-on-ad-spend goal,
you can choose to Maximize conversion value without a target ROAS.
With this option, your bid strategy will aim to get you
as much conversion value as possible within your budget.
Be sure to set a budget that is aligned with your spending goals,
as this strategy will aim to spend your budget each day.
When applying your value-based bid strategy,
you can choose to opt-in at the campaign level
or, if you have multiple campaigns with the same performance goals,
you can use "Portfolio bid strategies" and "Shared budgets" to manage them together.
When using a portfolio bid strategy,
Smart Bidding will aim to maximize conversion value
while hitting an average ROAS across the portfolio,
or while spending the shared budget across the portfolio.
Tip three: Optiscore and recommendations.
Your optimization score and Recommendations page can also provide
suggestions which campaigns are a good fit for Smart Bidding,
which bid strategy to use, and what target to set.
If you are reporting conversion values in your account,
look out for these recommendations.
When enough data is available, you may also see impact
estimates surfaced alongside your Smart Bidding recommendation.
These answer the question: "If my campaign used the recommended
bid strategy and target or budget, what impact would I have seen?".
Tip four: Analyze performance.
After you've applied your value-based bid strategy,
it's time to evaluate performance.
To do this, use the "Bid strategy report" to view your bid strategy's status,
performance trends over time, and insights like conversion delay reporting.
To evaluate results accurately, we recommend measuring performance
over time periods that have at least 50 conversions, such as a month or longer.
Consider conversion delay while assessing performance.
For example,
if it typically takes seven days for users to convert,
do not include the most recent week of data when evaluating performance.
This is because your data will still be missing conversions from those seven days.
Within the bid strategy report,
you can see the top signals being used by your value-based bid strategy.
This shows some of the factors Smart Bidding is using in real-time
in order to hit your goals.
Top signals can include: Audience list, day of week,
query, location, time of day.
Tip five: Optimize.
As your business goals evolve, a great next step
is to optimize your campaigns based on changing business goals.
One way to do this
is through optimizing ROAS targets to meet your changing business objectives.
The Target simulator can help you understand how much conversion value
your ads might have received if you had set different targets.
You can also grow your value-based bidding
campaigns with broad match keywords.
Smart Bidding sets a bid for each individual auction of each query
and bids up or down, depending on how well the query is likely to perform.
Applying broad match keywords will allow you to find
additional auctions that can help you reach your growth objectives.
Ensure you are using "Responsive search ads"
to show more relevant messages to your customers.
Targeted messaging can help improve campaign performance.
In fact, advertisers that adopt responsive search ads in campaigns
that also use broad match and Smart Bidding,
see an average of 20% more conversions at a similar cost per action.
While optimizing your campaigns, continue to use Recommendations
which can surface optimization opportunities like upgrading
to broad match keywords and adding responsive search ads.
They can also use your account data to provide Smart Bidding
and budget specific optimization recommendations,
such as adjusting ROAS targets, adjusting budgets,
or reallocating budgets in order to drive more overall conversion value.