Targets the bidding can reach. Set from what the account does.
Smart Bidding is only as good as the goal and the target you give it. These 14 checks look at both: a target set before the campaign can learn, a target far from what it achieves, a ROAS that ignores margin, and strategies that buy clicks when the account needs results.
- 14 checks
- Targets from real results
- Bid changes spaced apart
The 14 checks in this area. As the app names them.
14Checks listed here
Measurement
Can the numbers be trusted
A goal Google is aiming at that has never been hit
A primary conversion action that has recorded nothing lately. Smart Bidding has nothing to learn from it, and a broken tag may be hiding real results.
A goal Google is aiming at that has never been hit: How it decides and what to doA number somebody typed, standing in for what a customer is worth
Lead or call values that are a number somebody typed, standing in for what a customer is worth. Fine as a start, but every value-based decision rests on it.
A number somebody typed, standing in for what a customer is worth: How it decides and what to doConversion value that is really a conversion count
Every action that fired uses a default value, so conversion value rises and falls with the count. Every ROAS built on it is running on a count.
Conversion value that is really a conversion count: How it decides and what to doConversions that arrive after the report is read
Conversions that keep arriving days after the click. Lag belongs to the business, from seconds for a call to weeks for a B2B lead. The fault is judging last week as finished.
Conversions that arrive after the report is read: How it decides and what to do
Structure
How it is built and set
Google is applying its own recommendations
Google's auto-applied recommendations switched on, with what the change history credits to them. Each subscription is listed.
Google is applying its own recommendations: How it decides and what to doPortfolio bid strategies nothing is using
Portfolio bid strategies nothing uses, including ones on strategies Google has retired. They cost nothing, which is why they stay, and the next campaign attached to one may get the wrong one.
Portfolio bid strategies nothing is using: How it decides and what to do
Spend
Where the money goes
A ROAS target set without knowing the margin
A ROAS target set without a known margin. Prints the margin at which that target breaks even, so you see at once whether it is ambitious or quietly losing money.
A ROAS target set without knowing the margin: How it decides and what to doA brand campaign letting Google decide what your own name is worth
Automated bidding on the account's own name. People searching for the brand have already chosen it, so Smart Bidding bids to reach its target on average, for clicks that cost far less by hand.
A brand campaign letting Google decide what your own name is worth: How it decides and what to doA device paying much more per conversion than the rest of its campaign
A device paying much more per conversion than the rest of its own campaign. The fix is a bid adjustment, not an exclusion, so the traffic and its measurement stay.
A device paying much more per conversion than the rest of its campaign: How it decides and what to doA target set a long way from what the account does
A target CPA or ROAS a long way from what the campaign achieves. Too strict throttles the campaign; too loose means someone manages a number that steers nothing.
A target set a long way from what the account does: How it decides and what to doA target set before the bidding has enough to learn from
A CPA or ROAS target set on a campaign with too few conversions a month to learn from. The bidding holds back for a cost it cannot learn yet. The usual fix is to take the target off and let Maximize conversions learn first.
A target set before the bidding has enough to learn from: How it decides and what to doA whole catalogue bid at one price
A Shopping campaign bidding the whole catalogue at one price, so a €4 item and a €400 item compete with the same bid and the cheap ones win the traffic.
A whole catalogue bid at one price: How it decides and what to doBuying clicks on an account that needs results
Maximize clicks on an account that counts calls or sales. It buys the cheapest clicks, which are the least likely to call. Judged once the account has some conversions to aim at.
Buying clicks on an account that needs results: How it decides and what to doThe same keyword bought at two very different prices
One keyword bought in two match types at two very different costs per conversion.
The same keyword bought at two very different prices: How it decides and what to do
How Oppy treats bidding.
No target too early
A campaign whose job is sales or leads stays on Maximize conversions with no target until its conversions are steady. Removing an early target keeps what the campaign learned.
Near reality, then in steps
A target far below what the campaign pays throttles it. The audit shows the gap; the usual fix is a target near the actual, tightened in steps once it holds.
One change at a time
Bid changes are spaced apart, so each one can be read before the next.
Your own name is a special case.
On brand searches, most conversions would have happened anyway: the person already chose you. Smart Bidding still bids to reach its target on average for them, so the brand campaign's cost per conversion looks excellent while it overpays.
The audit flags a brand campaign on automated bidding. It finds brand campaigns by their names, so name yours plainly.
Break-even ROAS = 1 ÷ margin
A ROAS target is only right against a margin. When none is known, the audit prints the margin at which your target breaks even. Try the break-even ROAS calculator.
Questions about bidding.
Anything else? Ask Oppy in the product, or write to the team.
Will Oppy switch my bid strategy?
Only with your approval. A strategy switch is a change Oppy proposes as a task, with the reason and the numbers behind it. It never happens on its own in either mode.
Should a small account use target CPA?
Usually not yet. Without steady conversions, a target gives the bidding a cost it cannot learn, and it holds back. Maximize conversions without a target is the better start.
Does Oppy turn off Google's auto-applied recommendations?
The audit lists every auto-apply subscription, with what the change history credits to it. Oppy can turn off Google's standing permission to change the account once you approve.
Put Oppy to work on your account.
Create your account and connect Google Ads. Your first audit arrives in minutes, your first tasks soon after. 14 days free, no card.
- Every change logged in History
- Hosted in the EU
- Any account size