Bid Management Tools

Types of bid management tools

There are two main types of tools

• Web-based
• Application based

Web-Based tools don’t require to load a piece of software on your computer and are accessible from almost anywhere. One disadvantage is they often take longer to load initially and while you’re using the product. Most bid management tools are web-based.

Software based: Are less common and require you to download the tool to your computer. Adwords Editor is an example of a software based bid management tool. These tools tend to work faster because they don’t need to load data for every task.

These bid management tools may include additional functions that may not get from online marketing tools that are readily available. Other tools can monitor competitor’s bids, produce reports for different parties and offer the ability to interface with multiple PPC engines. This is particularly helpful to those who manage more than a hundred keywords across several PPC engines to boost productivity and save time.

Monitoring tools too may help in the tracking down of your keywords/phrases and search engines as to which among them often generate sales, overall and in relation to your cost per click. This is what you call return of investment (ROI) monitoring.

Most PPC management tools offer additional functions beyond those found in Overture however. Some can monitor competitor’s bids, produce reports for different parties, and perhaps most compelling — offer the ability to interface with multiple PPC engines. So, if you’re attempting to manage a hundred or more keywords across several PPC engines, you’ll find these management tools really help boost your productivity and save time.

GO TOAST’s BidManager Premier Service now allows you monitor/manage seventeen different engines in the same interface. They are: 7Search, Ah-ha, Bay9, BrainFox, ePilot, Espotting (US, France, Germany, UK) FindWhat, GoClick, Google, Kanoodle, Search 123, SearchFeed, Sprinks, and Turbo10.

The Dynamic Keyword Bid Maximizer Advanced Version currently monitors/managers 11 engines. They include: FindWhat, 7Search, Ah-ha, Lycos AdBuyer, Espotting (US, UK and Germany), Epilot, Kanoodle, Xuppa, and Sprinks.

One of the chief considerations in picking a PPC management tool is cost. Smaller advertisers frequently select management software that runs on your PC, like the Dynamic Keyword Bid Maximizer, which is considerably less in price.

For example, if you had 500 words you were monitoring 6 times a day, it would cost you approximately $650 a month with GO TOAST. (The number of words and number of times accessed per day being relevant to the pricing schedule.) Using DKBM you can manage 501 to 5,000 keywords as often as every hour, for a one-time purchase of $399.95.

There is one feature in GO TOAST that I am drawn to however. The Basic ROI Tracking service included with BidManager allows you to track which keywords and which engines are producing sales, both overall and in relation to your cost per click. Using it you can determine which search terms bring you the best conversion. While DKBM doesn’t do this, there are fairly inexpensive traffic analysis services you could subscribe to that will track ROI for pay per click buys. (Indeed you can just subscribe to GO TOAST’s Profit Builder Premium Service, which is offered outside of BidManager, and starts at $49.95/month +$.001 per page view and get these same capabilities.)

In conclusion, before you make any decision on a bid management tool you should also know that the number of PPC management tools continue to drop. It pays to be cautious if you decide to go the software route. Sometime back, a popular software called PPCMaximizer was bought by SavePerClick, who in turn was bought by ClickPatrol, who then closed down after suggesting clients migrate to GO TOAST. As with any software purchase, when you buy it you are normally only entitled to minor updates – so releases of any new, improved versions may also require you to purchase upgrades not all that far down the road.