KW Bidding in YSM

[SteveL]

I'm totally new with YSM, I have pass experience with Google Content Network only. See if anyone can give me some advice on kw "bidding" in YSM.

In Google Content Network, I used to "bid high" and "lowering bids" by 0.01-0.02 over time ( normally I bid down 2 times in 24 hours ), till I see a loss on impression, I bid higher to get back the impression I want and stay there.

I read YSM doesn't work this way...

I read lowering bids don't work in YSM, if you try to lower CPC, you will lower CTR, which will lower QS and thus your impression.

Can someone give me some idea on YSM bidding "strategy"?

[artarmon42]

Bid 1/3 of eCPC.
A/B test adcopy, until you get good enough CTR to get 5 bars quality.
Lower bid away from position 1 (which still maintaining good CTR to keep 5 quality).

[bon300187]

Bid 1/3 of eCPC.
A/B test adcopy, until you get good enough CTR to get 5 bars quality.
Lower bid away from position 1 (which still maintaining good CTR to keep 5 quality).

Does that mean say I am bidding .55 for a single keyword, the adgroup has 1 ad that had 5 bar QS. the average CPC is .51, should I reduce it down to above the ecpc or below?

That .55 bid (avg cpc .51) gives me a position of 1.8 for it but I feel its getting so many blind clicks which is affecting my ROI. I'm aiming for about 3rd-8th position right?

Also how long does it normally take to see if the bid change had a better or worse effect.

[SteveL]

Bid 1/3 of eCPC.
A/B test adcopy, until you get good enough CTR to get 5 bars quality.
Lower bid away from position 1 (which still maintaining good CTR to keep 5 quality).

Great! that helps. Thanks Ian.

I plan to use one keyword per adgroup in YSM, that will give me more precise result in adcopy A/B test. Does that sound like a plan for YSM? or do I just group similar kw in an adgroup like what you've shown us in your YSM campaign kick-off technique?

[artarmon42]

Answered here: http://www.clickconsultants.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2137

[bon300187]

Answered here: http://www.clickconsultants.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2137

Could you explain my situation please as I'm not sure how to do it successfully without screwing it up instantly :)

[keliix06]

That thread answers Steve's question. For yours I would back off the bid 1 cent at a time, as long as you keep the 5 bars, until you're in a position you're comfortable with.

[SteveL]

Yes, the thread does help me.

thanks Ian.

[artarmon42]

Could you explain my situation please as I'm not sure how to do it successfully without screwing it up instantly :)

Sorry, I must have missed your original post.
But Keliix gave you the same answer I would have :)

[bon300187]

Sorry, I must have missed your original post.
But Keliix gave you the same answer I would have :)

No probs, how long does it take roughly to see the update in QS, ctr, etc to find out whether I took it too low or can lower it further.

[artarmon42]

As far as I can tell, the QS update is based on the number of impressions you get.
So ad that see less impressions (e.g. lower volume keywords, high volume keywords with alot of A/B adcopies, campaigns throttled by low budget, etc) will take longer.

Generally, with "reasonable" volume ads should get a QS change in 1 week.

FWIW, it seems like YSM only updates QS once a week. So if you don't reach the necessary volume by that end-of-week, you'll have to wait until the following week(s).

If you're looking for an exact number, there isn't one. I think it's based on the keywords and your competitors.