PPC Pro and Overture Auto-Bid


Why Do You Still Need PPC Pro With Overture’s Auto-Bidding Feature?

The implementation of Overture’s Auto-Bidding feature has led to a common perception that PPC Pro is no longer needed to manage your Overture account. On the contrary, PPC Pro is now needed more than ever. By combining PPC Pro with Overture’s AutoBid, you can do the following to ensure you stay on top of your competition:
Hide Your ‘Max Bid’

If you use Overture’s AutoBid alone, you are showing your competitors the highest price you are willing to pay. With this vital information, your competitors can easily outsmart and out bid you.  

Example:

You are willing to pay $2.00 to maintain the #1 position. The current bids are as follows:

#1–1.20
#2–1.19
#3–1.18–this is you

After setting your bid at ‘Auto’ at Overture with a Max Bid $2.00, the bids are now:

#1–2.00–this is you
#2–1.20
#3–1.19
Your competitors now know that you are willing to pay up to $2.00 to maintain the #1 position. All they have to do is bid $1.99, and you will be paying the full $2.00.

By combining PPC Pro’s ‘Standard’ or ‘SmartBid’ bid types and the Overture AutoBid , you can ‘hide’ your max bid. In the situation above, if you set your bid properties in PPC Pro to Desired Rank #1, Max Bid $2.00, it will put you in the #1 position at $1.21–masking your true Max Bid and ensuring you don’t overpay.

Control Your Position

By just using Overture’s Autobid, you have NO control of maintaining your position. Many advertisers believe the 2nd and 3rd positions (or lower) yield a higher ROI than does the 1st position as the 1st position is often subject to ‘impulse clickers’ amongst other things. With PPC Pro, you have complete control of your position.

Example

You are willing to pay $2.00 and want to be in position #3:

Using Overture’s AutoBid:
#1–2.00–this is you
#2–1.75
#3–1.19
#4–1.00

Combining PPC Pro’s ‘Standard’ or ‘SmartBid’ with Overture’s AutoBid:
#1–1.20
#2–1.19
#3–1.01–this is you
#4–1.00

Bust Your Competition

Since the implementation of Overture’s Autobid, many advertisers have raised their bid prices, some to ridiculously high levels–thinking they can ‘scare’ you from outbidding them. Combining PPC Pro’s ‘Competition Buster’ with Overture’s AutoBid, you can make sure your competitors are paying their full Max Bid, while you only pay .01 above the advertiser below you. Below is an example of how this works (all advertisers are using Overture’s AutoBid feature):

#1–2.00 (paying 1.01)
#2–1.00
#3–0.99 (paying 0.81)
#4–0.80
#5–0.79–this is you

Now, using the ‘Competition Buster’ feature, you set your desired position to #2, with a cap of 3.00. Below is the new lineup:

#1–2.00 (now paying 2.00)
#2–2.00–this is you (paying only 1.01)
#3–1.00
#4–0.99 (paying 0.81)
#5–0.80

Your competitor in the #1 position now has to pay $2.00/click. You, on the other hand, only have to pay $1.01/click.

Put a Stronghold on Your Position

By combining PPC Pro’s ‘Competition Buster and Overture’s AutoBid, you can also maintain a stronghold on your desired position.  

Example

#1–2.00 (paying 2.00)
#2–2.00–this is you (paying only 1.01)
#3–1.00
#4–0.99 (paying 0.81)
#5–0.80

As illustrated in the example above, you have created an artificial bid gap. The advertiser currently in the #3 position would now have to pay $2.01 and be in the #1 position to leap frog over you.