The Conversion Optimizer is a bidding feature that allows you to set a
maximum cost-per-acquisition (CPA) instead of a maximum cost-per-click
(CPC), helping you save time and maximize profits. We recently held a
series of Conversion Optimizer webinars which you can watch on YouTube.
To help you get more out of your Conversion Optimizer campaigns, we've
compiled a list of top tips based on the most common questions we
received from our webinar attendees.
- A campaign must have 200 or more conversions per month as tracked by
AdWords conversion tracking to be eligible for the Conversion
Optimizer. If none of your campaigns reach this level, check out these
tips to increase your conversion numbers.
- Conversion Optimizer works on a campaign level, not at the account
level. You can enable Conversion Optimizer for eligible campaigns by
following these steps. Keep in mind that you can't use Conversion
Optimizer with a brand new campaign -- it needs the conversion history
to work correctly.
- Once you activate the Conversion Optimizer, you should check its
performance periodically to ensure that it's delivering what you
expect. Keep in mind that normal variations in campaign performance can
make it difficult to interpret short-term changes. You can change your
bids as often as you like.
- The Conversion Optimizer works on a maximum CPA, not an average CPA.
While we aim to avoid any conversion that costs more than your maximum
CPA bid, changes in your conversion rate may cause your average CPA to
exceed your maximum CPA.
- Keep in mind that if you choose a CPA lower than the recommended
maximum CPA bid, you are likely to get less traffic than you did with
your old CPC bids. It's a good idea to start with this recommendation
and adjust based on the results you observe.
- If you choose to opt out of the Conversion Optimizer, your campaign
will revert to the previous CPC bids you were using. (So, there's
nothing to stop you from giving it a try!)
- Conversion Optimizer campaigns cannot yet be modified with the
AdWords Editor, but we're aware that this is a common request from our
advertisers.
- The Conversion Optimizer does not work with Google Analytics
conversion data, but it's fine to use AdWords conversion tracking and
Analytics at the same time.
- The tool does not impact your keywords' Quality Score, which is
calculated in the usual way regardless of the bidding option you are
using.
- It's best not to turn on the Conversion Optimizer for the first time
right after you've made major changes to a campaign, as your conversion
rate may not have yet stabilized to reflect the updates. Similarly,
while you are running the Conversion Optimizer, it's best to avoid
major campaign changes that are likely to impact conversion rate (or to
pay careful attention after making them to evaluate their impact).We
hope this information has piqued your interest about the Conversion
Optimizer. Please visit the Conversion Optimizer website for more
information, including FAQs and details for upcoming webinars.Posted by
Feng, Inside AdWords crew

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Posted By Inside AdWords crew to Inside AdWords at 2/15/2008 09:34:00 AM