Manual bidding is a rather controversial issue in the realm of pay-per-click. Indeed, the traditional hands-on method is really effective. Although automated bidding systems like Smart Bidding are all the rage—and for good reason—there are still some situations when rolling up your sleeves and doing it yourself may actually surpass those elegant algorithms. Startling, right? Let’s dissect it.
What then is the deal with manual bidding?
Now, imagine yourself launching what is sometimes referred to as a “throw-all campaign.” Here is where hand bids truly excel. Consider it as casting a super-wide net, but instead of pursuing high-value clicks costing an arm and a leg, you are bidding far lower than the typical CPC (cost-per-click). Like in a discount basement low.
The trade-off is that you will receive less clicks, and those clicks might not quite shout “ready to buy now.” But, and this is important, you are also spending noticeably less each click. Therefore, this approach might be surprisingly successful if your objective is to send visitors to an instructional page or merely get individuals into your funnel on the off chance they would convert later. It’s about augmenting, not about replacing your main efforts. Consider it as the side project of your PPC approach.
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Why Wouldn’t This Work?
Alright, here’s the thing: Google’s Smart Bidding is fantastic at forecasting who’s most likely to convert and bidding fiercely for those individuals. Realistically, though, Google does not always get it right. People fluctuate. One minute you’re Googling “best pizza near me,” and the next you’re shopping for a $300 air fryer since, why not? Human action is strange like that.
Manual bidding enters the picture there—that unpredictability. Super-low bids allow you to grab those “low-likelihood” clicks Google might otherwise overlook. And also guess what? A few of those clicks may really convert. Like discovering a $20 note in your old jeans—unexpected but nevertheless very nice.
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A Real-Life Illustration (Because Who Not Love Those?)
Allow me to offer a brief narrative. As we were conducting a campaign for Adventure Academy, I went into the ad groups and found something fascinating. With a daily budget of $130 for this campaign, we arranged it as a wide, catch-all effort with a super-low target CPA (cost-per-acquisition). Though the idea was cheap bids, broad net, it was not manual bidding specifically.
Here is where it gets insane now. Among the stopped keywords in this campaign was “best PPC companies.” Usually, in our previous campaigns—yikes, right—this term costs us $30 to $40 a hit. But in a catch-all arrangement like this? We were receiving clicks for 1.66 bucks. You did indeed read correctly: $1.66. Also, the click-through rate? an amazing 13%. That’s crazy for a term usually so costly.
Why is the great pricing disparity? It revolves mostly on Google’s bidding forecasts. Google bids heavily and considers this term is high-value in our major ads. Google’s like, ” Eh, let’s throw them a bone,” in the catch-all campaign, with a lower goal CPA, and suddenly we’re receiving inexpensive clicks. Wild is it.
Manual Bidding for New Campaigns
Let me now discuss another situation where manual bidding makes sense: starting a brand-new campaign without any conversion information. You know, Google has no idea what’s going on yet and you start from nothing. For these situations, some individuals swear by beginning with hand CPC bidding. Before using a Smart Bidding approach such as target CPA or target ROAS (return on ad spend), some preliminary conversion data is necessary to be obtained.
Is this the required strategy? Not exactly. With Smart Bidding, even without past conversion data, we have seen plenty of campaigns destroy it right out of the start. Hey, if you’re the cautious kind—or simply curious—it’s not bad to try hand bidding in these circumstances. Under worse circumstances, you revert to automatic later. Not harmful, not nasty.
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When should one get aggressive with manual bidding?
Another view is that occasionally manual bidding is about going large rather than low. Assume your search phrase or keyword is absolutely related to your goods. You know this term is gold, and you want nothing to chance. In this situation, a very aggressive manual CPC bid will enable you to control the auction and grab those highly intended clicks. Like saying, “Google, take my money.” Just hit those clicks.
The Act of Juggling
Manual bidding is ultimately about enhancing Smart Bidding, not about substituting it. Consider it as even another instrument in your PPC toolkit. Manual bidding provides you flexibility in ways that automated tactics simply cannot whether your campaign is a catch-all one meant to gather inexpensive traffic, you are starting a fresh campaign without any data, or you are aggressively targeting a high-value term.
Not least of all, Google’s algorithms are strong but not flawless. People are erratic, hence occasionally the best approach to negotiate this volatility is to drive yourself.
For further reading on PPC strategies, check out Search Engine Journal.
What then is next?
Alright; we have addressed the case for hand bidding. We next will be delving into the competition—how knowing what your rivals are up to will enable you to control expenses and beat them in the PPC game. Stay tuned; this one seems to be excellent.