If your paid search manager is still using a fully manual bid management system, then your campaigns probably aren’t achieving the level of success they could be if they were using an automated strategy that leverages the power of machine learning. The days of manual bid management have come and gone. Managing bids manually is an inefficient use of your paid search manager’s time and your client’s budget, as Google has bid management options that help advertisers achieve optimal success even on shoe-string budgets. These smart bidding features use advanced machine learning to update bids in real time, analyzing a wide range of signals including location, device type, time of day, remarketing lists and other audience signals. Smart bidding and automation give advertisers management assistance and analysis that can’t be matched by a human’s manual management. Managers should be able to rely on automation to deliver performance, while focusing their time and energy on strategy and the bigger picture for their clients.

The following smart bidding strategies are currently available in Google Ads for advertisers who meet minimum conversion requirements within 30 days:

Maximize Conversions: Automatically sets bids to help get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget.

Target CPA: Sets bids to help get as many conversions as possible at a set target cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

Target ROAS: Target more conversion value or revenue based on a target return-on-ad-spend (ROAS).

Enhanced CPC: Looks for ad auctions that are more likely to lead to conversions, and then raises your max CPC bid automatically.

We have been testing Google’s smart bidding strategies on our clients’ SEM campaigns during this past quarter, and the results have shown noticeable performance improvements. A lead-generation client improved their cost-per-lead by 10% while increasing lead volume using a Target CPA strategy. Another client saw a 7% improvement in cost-per-lead using the same strategy.

Automation and smart bidding strategies should be in place if you want your paid search campaign to succeed. If your campaigns are still not employing these features, it might be time to clear away the cobwebs.