2023 is officially here.
Like any resolution, the beginning of the year is always a good time to take a step back as a marketer, review your advertising strategy, and consider what you can do to improve it in the year ahead.
If you aren’t already using Google Ads Smart Bidding, that would be a good place to start.
Read on as we explain how it works and what you should know about Smart Bidding in 2023.
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What is Google Ads Smart Bidding?
Google Ads Smart Bidding relies on machine learning to optimize for your advertising goal — be it increasing leads or increasing profit — for each auction in real-time. Also known as “auction-time bidding,” with Smart Bidding, you can trust Google to optimize for your campaign goal in each and every auction, rather than having to make a best guess yourself (which is humanly impossible at that kind of scale, anyway).
In Google Ads, you can choose from four Smart Bidding strategies:
- Maximize conversions
- Target CPA
- Target ROAS
- Maximize conversion value
The key benefits of Smart Bidding are improved performance and efficiency. Since you’re relying on algorithms to do the optimizations — algorithms which are trained on massive amounts of data — and Smart Bidding works in real-time, you can trust that your bids are optimized down to each individual auction.
That’s something that simply isn’t achievable by any individual marketer. As a result, you get back more of your time, and your ads perform better. It’s a win-win.
Why you should use Google Ads Smart Bidding in 2023
The benefits of Smart Bidding are clear — improved campaign performance, increased efficiency, and more time savings for you. These benefits alone are a good reason to start using Google Ads Smart Bidding in 2023.
But, there’s more.
Starting in May 2023, Google will no longer support similar audiences, also known as “similar segments,” in ad targeting and reporting.
Google’s decision to make this change is in response to the trend to move away from relying on third-party data for advertising purposes. Strategies that leverage automation, like Smart Bidding, enable you to be just as relevant and targeted in your campaigns — if not more so, thanks to the real-time nature of their optimizations.
Google also argues that automation-first strategies, like Google Ads Smart Bidding, are more future-proof, since they “help you reach relevant audiences…in privacy-centric ways.” In other words, Smart Bidding will not only help you optimize your campaigns today, but it’s more likely to continue to be a viable advertising strategy in the future as well.
How to start using Google Ads Smart Bidding
You can start using Google Ads Smart Bidding by opting in when you create a new campaign, or by changing the bid strategy for your existing campaigns. You can find instructions here.
Google Ads Smart Bidding is just one way you can optimize your campaigns for better performance. Whether you’re looking to reach more people, optimize your ad spend, or expand your advertising channels, there are a number of tips, tricks, and tools of the trade you can use. Stay on top of them by partnering with the experts at Your Marketing People.
Our advertising experts can help your team achieve your goals, from improved ROI to increased ROAS. Contact us today to learn more.
