Yesterday, we discussed bid rules. But while bid rules can carry out a logic indefinitely, they do not regulate themselves. As a result, it is important to keep an eye on bid rules, and actively manage them. They are not “set it and forget it.”
For example, many an advertiser has accidentally competed against themselves in an auction, inadvertently pushing the bid on their keywords up to an obscenely high level. Others have let a bid rule prevent a keyword from showing up. Let’s discuss each case separately.
Bid Rules Can Prevent Keywords From Showing
A bid rule that has terms for reducing the bid on a keyword can be a great tool, but it can also be a hindrance. Without a position cap, it is possible that a keyword that does not perform as well by some metric can have its bid pushed down to such a degree that it no longer shows ads for the term. An example of this would be a keyword that was in position 3 at a $1.00 bid having its bid reduced to $0.10 and suddenly being in position 12.
There are times when such a strategy makes sense, but there are other times when the keyword not showing up is a crucial part of the campaign. So it is important to make sure that even if there is a bid rule running, the advertiser is aware which keywords are taking which actions. If a keyword is being bid down, and yet it is crucial to the advertisers campaign, the bid rule needs to be altered.
Bid Rules Can Cause Advertisers To Overpay
Bid rules can also bid advertisers up against themselves. Many an errant bid rule has led advertisers to pay 10x or more what they would otherwise pay for a particular keyword, by constantly bidding them up against themselves or continually raising the bid on a keyword that is already performing well. Again, check accounts regularly for any absurdly priced keyword.
Remember, bid rules are not set it and forget it. Check bid rules constantly, and be on the look out for any anomalies.