Pay per click

Should PPC agencies be scared of automation?

Simply put, don’t be scared. PPC automation could be beneficial. This is why.

That statement is based on a question many PPC marketers have been asking: “Should I be scared about automation?”

If you have studied Humanities, then you can write papers about how the work of AI will destroy humanity and how automation will rob many marketers of their jobs. But if you take a more technocrat approach, one can dispel some of the feels and provide some level of calm around the main question. But let’s look at 3 areas where automation could help a marketers do their work on campaign structure, bidding and scripting.

Campaign structure

Automation will carry on to transform the way we ad group, manage campaign, and even ad-level structure. Unmanageable-sized accounts with really rough RLSA vs. non-RLSA structures and thousands of ad groups for single keywords and their match types are something of the past. New tools, like Google’s IF function allows for alteration of the message for users depend on which audience list they fall in or the device used. The result is ads that are more tailored and relevant as they change for each individual viewer.

Also with the introduction of adaptive shopping campaigns in DoubleClick Search, has allowed marketers some freedom not to monitor performance for every single product ID. Instead the campaigns can now be split automatically based on performance goals. That is goals that can pre-set in the bid strategy. Allowing for automation allows the marketer an algorithmic bid strategy to adjust bids based on conversion or revenue metrics. These are in a more fluid way as compared to manually managed. The results are that marketers can cut the amount of funds wasted on products that perform poorly. But also to rise revenue by bidding higher on top performing products.

More so Google also introduced an adaptive Geo option to DoubleClick. Once a country is selected as part of the marketers’ campaign setting, they can allow DoubleClick Search to provide more detailed focused location targets to apply automatic performance based bid adjustments.

Bidding

Automated bid strategies done with AdWords estimates a different bid for every auction. This action is based on your performance goals, namely of clicks, impressions or conversions. AdWords also factors in signals that we don’t have access to within the interface or in third-party platforms such as search partner data.

Automation therefore makes it possible for do conduct work that would not have been possible. Simply since automation allows to work with massive of data at once, and still make changes without negatively impacting the data. And as machine learning develops it would mean that the bid strategy performance will improve and modernise, based on the set targets. More so adding bidding strategy with a flexible account structure, will increase your chances for success. As there should be the correct amount of data and technology available.

Scripting

AdWords Scripts are a stress-free method to use the AdWords API to automate some processes within accounts. Scripts are a tremendously potent account management tool. They can be used for a widespread array of processes, most significantly managing campaigns, ad groups; and keywords and building and customizing automated reports.
Scripts also saves marketers time and allows them to focus on higher-impact changes.

Through AdWords Scripts marketers can for instance be able to pull the data automatically into Google Sheets on regular intervals the client could dip in and out when they fancied, freeing up the marketing team’s time to spend making meaningful changes in the account. The client will be thrilled, as they could access up-to-date data whenever they wanted, and the team felt that they were having more of an impact through optimization and testing.

Concluding reflections

Besides the fear of automation and AI replacing humans, in reality when we deal with PPC automation can lead to more efficient and effective processes. These will make PPC agencies able to compete more strongly against their competition and produce work that is at the benefit of their clients.

The truth is manual tasks are been replaced by automation. These day to day processes such as personalized ad copy and bid adjustments are been automated. This means that more time is available for marketers to work in PPC to concentrate on strategic direction. More so the process automation is the reaction of combining audience based approach with keyword based model together. Still as this is happening new job role are been opened but in the area of specialized roles.

But PPC agencies shouldn’t be scared of automation. Rather be nervous of been left behind. Fear missing out on chances to develop and retain staff and clients. You should rather fear those.

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Renier Koekemoer

Renier is a partner at Sitetrail.com and a regular interviewer of tech companies and their C-level teams. To arrange an interview please contact him directly at rmx321@gmail.com