As the deadline to migrate to Enhanced Campaigns looms ahead (it's in 12 days!), advertisers are becoming increasingly anxious about how these new features will impact their paid search accounts. Here are the answers to some of my clients' top five most frequently asked questions about Enhanced Campaigns:
Q: How do I determine my bid modifier for mobile?
A: If you've advertised on mobile devices in the past, take some time to segment your performance by device and assess your mobile success. Consider how you are performing at your current CPCs and set your bid modifiers accordingly. If you are new to the mobile space, Google recommends using this formula to calculate an appropriate bid adjustment: 100% x ((value per mobile click/value per desktop click) – 1)). Regardless of which method you use, be sure to keep an eye on your mobile marketing strategy and performance and tweak your bids accordingly.
Q: If I don't have a mobile website yet, what do I do?
A: Developing a mobile-friendly version of your website should be at the top of your PPC to-do list. Now that Google is flooding the mobile space, it is critical that you give your mobile searchers a positive experience. There is no sense in paying for clicks to send your searchers to pages that offer little chance of conversion. If you're looking for a cheap interim solution, check out http://www.dudamobile.com/. This service allows you to convert your existing webpages to a mobile-optimized site.
Q: Can I avoid advertising on mobile devices?
A: If you're looking to game the system, there is one loophole you can exploit. Adjust your mobile bid modifier to -100%. This will allow you to steer clear of advertising to mobile devices.
Q: Why can't I adjust my bid for tablets?
A: Perhaps the most controversial change that came along with Enhanced Campaigns is that Google no longer differentiates between tablet and desktop searches. Therefore, the base bid that is assigned to desktop devices will automatically be applied to tablets. Frustrating as this may be, Google makes a strong case for the new combo. It argues that the line between these two devices is becoming blurry. Searchers are swapping desktops for tablets as their go-to home computers. Therefore, search activity on these devices are starting to align and similar performance can be expected across them. Unfortunately, if you are looking to steer clear of advertising on tablets, you are out of luck.
And finally, the burning Q:
Why should I bother upgrading my account before the Enhanced Campaign migration deadline on July 22?
A: Come July 22, Google will automatically upgrade all legacy campaigns to meet their new requirements. Since you can't avoid the transition, embrace it. Doing the migration yourself allows you to control your bid adjustments and ensure that all similar campaigns are merged correctly. AdWords has even provided an upgrade center to guide you through the process quickly. If you don't address this by July 22, Google will upgrade the account, but it might not be pretty. They will apply their "recommended" bid adjustments, but they will not auto-merge similar campaigns or update your Google sitelinks and call extensions. If your campaigns are segmented by device, this could be extremely detrimental to your account, as it would produce duplicate campaigns. In this case, being proactive will certainly pay off.
To learn more about the impending upgrade, check out our Enhanced Campaigns Video Toolkit, with six how-to videos to walk you through the migration.
Best of luck as you prepare for the migration!
This post originated on the WordStream Blog. WordStream provides keyword tools for pay-per click (PPC) and search engine optimization (SEO) aiding in everything from keyword discovery to keyword grouping and organization.
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