Google Shopping campaigns can be managed manually, in-house or by a Google Shopping agency, or automatically using a technology platform.
Manual account managers will use their knowledge and expertise to optimise campaigns. Technology platforms like Google’s entry-level Smart Shopping automate the entire process but remove the opportunity for marketing experts to add value.
Bidnamic goes one step further: an advanced, transparent bidding platform that also uses human insights to drive results.
Managing and optimising Google Shopping campaigns manually can be a complex and time-consuming task. Each SKU can have many variables, and they can change over time.
Specialist PPC agencies use scripts or third-party tools, often spreadsheet-based, to automate reporting and generate optimisation suggestions. These then need to be analysed, and the best of them implemented manually using some form of block bidding.
Some PPC agencies own their clients’ Google Ads accounts. If an agency owns an account, then they own all of the data collected from managing it.
With this ownership, agencies have control over the reporting dashboard, limiting transparency on performance.
The last thing you want is to not know what you’re really paying for. You can prevent an agency from keeping your data hostage by creating your own Ads Manager account and providing access to the agency, keeping full control yourself.
Lots of marketers like the control that comes from managing campaigns manually. It allows you to adjust bids based on unique variables, for example stock availability.
But hundreds of campaign metrics, thousands of products, and tens of thousands of search terms mean that staying on top of Google Shopping management has gone beyond what humans can manage.
And human beings can’t always be available to monitor and update bid prices at all times of day and night, or even on weekends.
Faced with this challenge, many agencies rely on Google’s ‘set it and forget it’ Smart Shopping platform, which saves time and money.
It’s a good option when Google Shopping is a secondary channel or there’s a low frequency of campaign changes.
Unlike Bidnamic’s advanced platform, however, the black box approach used by Smart Shopping removes access to valuable granular data, and more advanced marketers get frustrated at not being able to apply their unique insights to optimise campaigns.
At Bidnamic, we combine machine learning with human thinking to get the best results. Our automated bidding platform is 100% transparent, providing granular data insights.
Also, we know that no one knows your business like you do, which is why we keep your brand expertise close to the heart of decision-making.
With regular catch-up calls with our Client Success team, you and your retail marketing agency can communicate concerns, discuss new ideas, plan for upcoming retail events, and receive a thorough report on the results of your Google Shopping campaigns.
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