Comments on: Adwords Optimizer Offers Automated Tinkering http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2006/08/adwords-optimizer-offers-automated-tinkering.html Internet Marketing News Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:00:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Andy Beal http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2006/08/adwords-optimizer-offers-automated-tinkering.html/comment-page-1#comment-652 Andy Beal Thu, 07 Sep 2006 16:45:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/wp_import/2006/08/adwords-optimizer-offers-automated-tinkering.htm#comment-652 Yikes, that's not a good thing. Thanks for sharing! Yikes, that’s not a good thing. Thanks for sharing!

]]> By: EGM http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2006/08/adwords-optimizer-offers-automated-tinkering.html/comment-page-1#comment-651 EGM Thu, 07 Sep 2006 16:43:00 +0000 http://localhost:8888/wp_import/2006/08/adwords-optimizer-offers-automated-tinkering.htm#comment-651 OK Andy - I've been playing around with this tool for several weeks now. While it does exactly what it advertises, there is a pretty big potential weakness in its use. The program only looks at click-through rate (CTR) and completely ignores conversion rate (if you have conversion tracking set up, of course). Here is a real situation I encountered: "Winning Ad" CTR: 3.76% Conversion rate: 3.7% Cost per conversion: $74.30 "Losing Ad" CTR: 1.31% Conversion Rate: 25.0% Cost per conversion: $9.74 Digging into the numbers, what you find is that the "winning ad" only had one converter and the "losing ad" had 4 converters (this campaign has only been active for a short time and is extremely narrowly focused so the low absolute number of converters is to be expected). If I were to go with this program's suggestions blindly, I'd turn off the ad that is generating more actual customers. The AdWords Optimizer only looks at clicks and that would seem to be its major limitation. I'd love to see them upgrade the tool to integrate conversion data, though I'm sure that it would be a trickier algorithm. That's my two cents, since you asked. :) OK Andy – I’ve been playing around with this tool for several weeks now. While it does exactly what it advertises, there is a pretty big potential weakness in its use. The program only looks at click-through rate (CTR) and completely ignores conversion rate (if you have conversion tracking set up, of course).

Here is a real situation I encountered:

“Winning Ad”
CTR: 3.76%
Conversion rate: 3.7%
Cost per conversion: $74.30

“Losing Ad”
CTR: 1.31%
Conversion Rate: 25.0%
Cost per conversion: $9.74

Digging into the numbers, what you find is that the “winning ad” only had one converter and the “losing ad” had 4 converters (this campaign has only been active for a short time and is extremely narrowly focused so the low absolute number of converters is to be expected).

If I were to go with this program’s suggestions blindly, I’d turn off the ad that is generating more actual customers. The AdWords Optimizer only looks at clicks and that would seem to be its major limitation.

I’d love to see them upgrade the tool to integrate conversion data, though I’m sure that it would be a trickier algorithm.

That’s my two cents, since you asked. :)

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