The Finch Blog

Published on Tuesday, 27 March 2012 13:07

When it comes to managing online advertising, you should ask yourself, “What would Spock do?” Logical PPC bid management is about bidding the correct amount for the most profit.

Occasionally we run across advertisers who insist on bidding for the top spot. We believe that Mr. Spock would find this practice highly illogical. Typically, top-spot bidding is driven by ego or emotion or for impressions rather than conversions.

Top spot ads are known to get more clicks than other ads on the page. So do you really want the top spot? Spock says, “It is curious how often you humans manage to obtain that which you do not want.” These additional clicks don’t always translate into higher conversions or bigger profits.

There are some common mistakes or misconceptions about the top spot:

First, some people think that automated bidding is about always getting the top spot. There are several products out there that will bid up keywords guaranteeing the top spot.

Second, many tools or professionals only measure the increased clicks and increased conversions that the top spot offers without considering the additional cost per conversion.

Last, other professionals looking to manage costs suggest never bidding for the top spot.

For specific keywords, the top spot may be the most highly profitable spot. For other keywords, the most profitable spot for you may not even be on the front page. When you take out the emotion, it doesn’t matter what spot you get. It only matters that you maximize your return on investment to be as profitable as possible.

Ask yourself “What would Spock do?” and then Let Finch handle your online advertising so that your business can live long and prosper.