Manual CPC bidding, what?

[AdOptics]

~~Check the Users Access in the account~~. Check the Change History in the account. I bet they are using a third party too that auto optimizes CPC (like Opteo). Manual CPC can work with the algo based tools, but obviously not working here. The

[Remarkable-Air2210]

Well I sometimes use manual CPC too (focusing on conversions) when the client budget is too low!!

[johnny_quantum]

Manual CPC is absolutely still valid. Conversion-based bid models work well when you have a lot of conversion data to feed into them, but many small and medium sized businesses don’t get enough conversions per month to get good results from the algorithm. Especially if they’re a local business that only serves one or two cities.

Manual CPC is a workaround for this. It helps you get traffic that Google would otherwise suppress if you trusted their automatic bid models.

[TTFV]

Manual bidding is still a thing, typically best used in conjunction with exact match keywords AND when and ONLY when there is low conversion volume in the account.

So a legit use of this method would be smaller budget accounts or ones where there’s a very high value item/service for sale and just a few leads can generate high revenue. Think yachts or high-end B2B services like management consulting.

If there’s good potential conversion volume it’s generally best practice to run smart bidding.

[ben_bgtDigital]

You’re looking at the wrong thing. Switching to a conversion based bidding strategy won’t magically fix this. It’s a keyword / targeting / landing page issue. How are the search terms? How are the landing pages? What’s the conversion rate of organic traffic? Is conversion tracking even working?
Are all keywords broad match? Typically doesn’t work well with manual bidding.

I feel bigger red flags are when an account managed has opted into everything, answered every call from a Google rep and really drank the kool-aid. PMax, broad match, Demand Gen, max conversion bid strategy, all recommendations applied. If all used without good reason are more of a 🚩 than manual bidding.

I still use manual cpc a lot. Good when budgets aren’t high enough to get a good number of clicks per day. Or in low volume markets. Also useful when businesses need to make frequent budget changes or put ads on pause, as there is less or no risk of upsetting algorithms.

[potatodrinker]

Manual has a place on Microsoft ads because their automated bidding sucks. On Google, not so much. Max click or conversion works well enough. Only fringe use case is if you’re using a tech like Revvim (drops brand keyword cpcs when rivals are bidding on them) and they need the campaign to be on manual bids.

[Dapper_Respect8227]

Im sorry but I lost you at optimization score.

[innocuous_nub]

1. Optimization score means nothing. Treat it with a pinch of salt, and don’t accept anything unless you aren completely confident on how the recommendations will affect your account.

2. Manual CPC is still a very valid strategy for numerous business verticals, particularly for niche lead gen, complicated service businesses, and high CPC / low conversion vol / high LTV accounts.

3. There is no bid strategy called ‘cost per click’.

…

You are correct though that accounts like this MUST hone in on deep conversions points, sales qualified leads, LTV etc.. So implementing offline conversion tracking is a must, preferably with Enhanced Conversions and Advanced Consent Mode (if targeting UK/EU). Also server side containers for your tags rather than browser side is now best practice if you can get that done too. Get all that set up and you’ll be in a great situation to compete in the marketplace and start to hone in on business objectives and positive ROI.

[Confident_Nail_5254]

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with using manual CPC, especially on new or low budget accounts.

[Advanced_advert]

Running on manual cpc is not bad at if implemented properly and with proper research. But it need to be implemented with caution. Even we many time shifted from max conversions to max clicks bidding for strategical move and it is based on a well planed move. So yes they might implemented it wrongly but still it can be valid if properly implemented.

[w2best]

I wouldn’t see it as a red flag att all. 
In plenty of accounts I’ve seen manual CPC delivery more conversions than max conversions. You just have to have a very relevant set of keywords. 
For niche b2b accounts I would say it’s almost always better. 
In any case always use experiments for search campaigns to get data and not hypothesis that might not be right.

[miscJim]

Performance sounds awful, but Manual CPC is absolutely still legit.

Found this post after scrolling past several “why’d my [Pmax/ROAS/etc] campaign just crash and burn???”

[Digital-marketing28]

I switch to manual bidding all the time. Sometimes it helps kickstart campaign performance.

[CombinationLower2010]

Manual CPC helps control the bids, when you turn on maximize conversions you give the bidding to Google. I have turned on and off Maximize conversions to test and just a day later they were bidding 3-10x higher then I was manually via Top page bid..

Also, manual CPC until you get at least 25-30 conversions before even trying to turn on maximize conversions. A lot of their automated campaigns take control of bids and bid insanely high, and conversion tracking is so complex and annoying nowadays with Google. As well as websites that have so many CTAs (phone, form, chat ect.. ) I feel like sometimes the conversions being tracked aren’t even tracked right to begin with.

Don’t get me started on Pmax where they automatically bid on brand name so it looks like great metric low CPCs, high conversions.. of course it is because they bid on the brand name and its “banner ad” type traffic.

[ppcwithyrv]

Manual CPC gives you full control over bids and can be useful for testing, brand defense, or very niche campaigns. Its not dead-dead.

That said, most service businesses see better results using Smart Bidding strategies that focus on conversions if that is your goal.