Introduction

If you've ever run advertisements on Google or Facebook, you know how tough it is to keep track of different bidding tactics. It might be overwhelming to have such a broad variety of techniques, especially if you are new to online advertising.

We have gathered and compared all of the bidding tactics available on Google, LinkedIn and Meta in this blog.

We've also included recommendations on how to get the best results to assist you understand and choose the best bidding strategy for your company. Furthermore, we emphasize the important benefits and drawbacks of each bidding approach.

General overview – A comparison of Bidding Strategies

The comparison table below shall help you understand the various bidding strategies of different online advertising platforms better.

The table can be useful when planning your next advertising campaign. It displays appropriate bidding strategies based on the campaign goals of Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion.

The ones marked in Yellow boxes are Automated bidding strategies 

As you can see, depending on the platform, there may be multiple bidding strategies for each goal.

Let's examine each online advertising platform and its bidding strategies in greater detail.

Please keep in mind that you can easily navigate to the channel you want by simply clicking on the preferred platform within the structure shown above.

Let’s first start with Meta.

Meta bidding strategies

When you first look at the bidding strategies, it may feel confusing — the main reason for this is their names. Facebook introduces us to completely new bidding strategy wording. However, don't be discouraged - it's not as difficult as it appears.

Let's take a quick look at the main bidding strategies available on Facebook.

In general, we can categorize Facebook bidding strategies into three types: goal-based bidding, spend-based bidding, and manual bidding.

Goal-Based Bidding

Minimum ROAS

Users can use this strategy to set a minimum ROAS for each bid. As a result, the Minimum ROAS strategy is ideal for advertisers seeking greater control over the purchase value generated by advertisements. However, keep in mind that a functional pixel or SDK set up to track conversion events is required to use the minimum ROAS bidding strategy.

Cost cap

Users can use this strategy to set their desired Target cost-per-action (CPA). As a result, it gives you more control over the cost of your results. If you want to keep your costs under control, Facebook recommends this strategy as the default. The cost cap strategy is ideal for advertisers with specific CPA targets.

Spend-based bidding

Lowest cost

Users can use this strategy to maximise delivery and the number of conversions possible for a given budget. You have no control over your costs per result in this case. Despite the fact that the algorithm makes bids to obtain the lowest cost for the target action, it will spend the entire budget because the manual bid is not used here.

This strategy is ideal for advertisers who do not yet know how much each prospect is worth and would like some "advice" from Facebook without being constrained by the manual bid. Overall, the lowest cost strategy saves time because Facebook does the bidding for you, but you have no control over your CPA, which means advertising can become very expensive over time.

Highest Value

This bidding strategy enables users to concentrate on increasing conversion value. In other words, the algorithm will direct its resources towards making the most valuable purchases while spending the entire budget. This strategy is ideal for advertisers who want to maximise their return on investment (ROI) and are willing to spend the entire budget but are unsure of the minimum ROI and bid amount.

Manual bidding

Bid Cap

Users can use this strategy to specify the maximum amount that can be spent in an auction. Simply put, the bid cap strategy gives users more control over their bids during an auction. It is critical to understand that the auction bid and the cost per result (or CPA) are not the same thing. As a result, unlike the Cost Cap and Target Cost strategies, the algorithm will not place a higher bid in the auction in this case. This strategy is ideal for advertisers who want to control costs while reaching as many users as possible through auctions.

You can also find more information in the official Facebook bid strategy guide that provides an overview of the available Facebook bidding strategies.

Google Ads bidding strategies

Before we get started, let's quickly go over the fundamentals of how Google Ads works.

To begin, depending on the goal you choose at the outset, you can access various bidding strategies. As a result, the possible selection fields differ depending on the strategy used. That may seem perplexing at first, but the more you use Google Ads, the clearer it will become. The best approach here is to select the appropriate objective. Make certain that it reflects your marketing objectives.

Second, it is critical to understand that a combination of inputs allows users to create different bidding strategies due to the various configuration options. Some strategies do not exist in isolation. g., A target ROAS bidding strategy combines a maximise conversion value strategy with a predetermined target ROAS. Target CPA, on the other hand, is a maximise conversion strategy with a predetermined target CPA.

Awareness-focused bidding strategies

Target impression share

This bidding strategy is ideal for increasing brand awareness because it can potentially help you gain impression share - the proportion of actual impressions received versus the estimated number of impressions received. Learn more about the different types of impressions and variations of this term used in online advertising by clicking here.

Simply put, the Target impression share strategy assists you in occupying a specific keyword and raising brand awareness. It enables you to set a target impression share ranging from 0% to 100% and, as a result, occupy a specific SERP space.

Major Benefits

• Simple setup procedure
• Useful for brand-related ad campaigns.
• By occupying the space in SERP, you can help to increase brand awareness and visibility.

Potential drawbacks

• There is no guarantee that the traffic is of high quality.
• A high impression share (90-100%) can be expensive.
• If the Max CPCs are not set, there is a risk of significant growth in CPC.
• Effective for increasing brand visibility, but not so much for other business goals: Increase in signups, for example

Consideration-focused bidding strategies

Maximize clicks

The maximise clicks bidding strategy is an automated strategy that allows users to maximise the number of clicks generated by their ad campaign within the constraints of a daily budget. With this online advertising strategy, you can set your Maximum CPC (cost per click), allowing you to limit bids. In other words, by specifying your maximum CPC, you are telling Google how much you are willing to pay for each click.

You let Google adjust your bids automatically while spending your budget if you don't set a maximum CPC limit. As a result, defining the maximum CPC to set a specific limit that the platform cannot cross is usually recommended to better control your spending.

Major Benefits

• A simple and quick way to generate a lot of traffic (as much as possible)
• Such campaigns do not require conversion tracking.

Potential drawbacks

• There is no guarantee of traffic quality.
• If the maximum CPC is not set, it can be a costly option.

Manual CPC

Unlike automated bidding strategies, Manual CPC is the bidding strategy that lets you fully control your spend. Simply put, with this strategy, you define the maximum bid you’re willing to pay in an auction for a particular keyword.

Major Benefits

• Complete control over your spending
• Such campaigns do not require conversion tracking.

Potential drawbacks

• Time-consuming
• There is no access to contextual signals.
• Complexity: it is difficult to consider all of the factors, and it may take a long time to begin understanding your data and recognising patterns.
• Error-prone
• There is a high risk of missed opportunities and budget loss.

Enhanced CPC (ECPC)

Enhanced CPC (ECPC) is a semi-automated bidding strategy that is more advanced than manual CPC.

What exactly is the add-on? ECPC assists a user in increasing conversions through manual bidding. ECPC enables Google to automatically adjust manual bids for clicks that appear more or less likely to result in sales or conversions by leveraging contextual signals and historical data.

Simply put, Google can automatically adjust your bid based on the performance of your ad.

Enhanced CPC, in contrast to Target CPA and Target ROAS smart bidding strategies, will assist you in keeping the average CPC below the set maximum CPC.

Major Benefits

• Complete command over the maximum CPC Optimization for clicks.
• Higher traffic quality: increased bids for users who are more likely to convert while decreasing bids for users who are less likely to purchase the product.

Potential drawbacks

• The ECPC strategy, like Manual CPC, may take some time to implement. To achieve the best results, you will need to devote more time to reviewing and testing various bid modifiers.
• The maximum CPC that you set can limit the algorithm, and if it is too low, it can result in missed opportunities.

Conversion-focused bidding strategies

Maximize conversions

Maximize conversions is another Google automated bidding strategy that assists users in generating as much conversion volume as possible within the budget constraints. A user does not need to set a specific cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA), or return on ad spend (ROAS) target in this case.

Major Benefits

• Improved traffic quality
• It is simple to use and manage, and it does not take much time.
• Allows users to maximise the number of conversions for a campaign while staying within the budget constraints.
• Ideal for those who do not have a specific CPA or ROAS goal.

Potential drawbacks

• Conversion tracking must be properly configured, which can be difficult.
• It can be costly if there is no defined CPA goal.
• You must have a certain volume of historical data to ensure the model's effectiveness, such as at least 15 conversions in 30 days.

Maximize conversions + Target cost-per-acquisition (CPA)

Target cost-per-acquisition is another automated bidding strategy available on Google Ads. This online advertising strategy focuses on increasing conversions while meeting the defined average CPA goal.

Major Benefits

• If you want to maximize your profits, use an effective bidding strategy. It primarily affects companies that sell products with similar price points, and those customers have higher Lifetime Values for the company.
• With the Device bid adjustments, you can prioritise conversions by device.
• When compared to the Maximize conversions strategy, you have more control over your costs.

Potential drawbacks

• Expert knowledge in both online advertising and industry peculiarities is required: for example, understand what the right CPA goal for your industry and a specific product should be - it is critical to set a realistic target.
• Setting bid limits for the Target CPA bid strategy is not advised because it can limit Google's automatic bid optimization.
• A sufficient volume of historical data is required.
• Conversion tracking must be properly configured, which can be difficult.

Maximize conversion value

In contrast to the Maximize Conversions bidding strategy, the Maximize Conversion Value bidding strategy aims to help you get the most valuable conversions for the budget you set. In other words, this strategy allows you to concentrate solely on conversions that will yield the highest return. As a result, in this case, the algorithm will prioritise quality over quantity: there may be fewer conversions than with Maximize clicks, but they will be of higher value.

Major Benefits

• Allows users to maximise high-value conversions within a given budget.
• It is simple to use and manage, and it does not take much time.
• improved traffic quality

Potential drawbacks

• Conversion tracking must be properly configured, which can be difficult.
• A certain amount of historical data is required to ensure the model's effectiveness.

Maximize conversion value + Target return on ad spend (ROAS)

If you choose this bidding strategy, Google Ads will attempt to optimise your bids in order to maximise revenue while staying within your target ROAS.

Keep in mind that you can only use this strategy if you have enough historical data: at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days.

The Target ROAS strategy has the same advantages and disadvantages as the Target CPA bidding strategy.

LinkedIn bidding strategies

On LinkedIn, there are three bidding strategies to choose from: manual bidding, targeted cost, and max delivery (automated). Let us take a quick look at them.

Manual bidding

Advertisers can use the manual bidding strategy to specify the amount they want to bid per key result. This strategy is the best option for users who want more control over their auction bids.

Based on your campaign segmentation and competition, LinkedIn will recommend a bid amount (i.e., what other advertisers are bidding). Furthermore, LinkedIn's manual bidding strategy includes the option to improve the bidding setup by enabling bid adjustment for high-value clicks. This configuration provides up to 45% more flexibility than the bid amount entered to optimise the campaign for more conversions or leads. Simply put, if LinkedIn believes that a click is more likely to result in a conversion, it will automatically bid up to 45% higher based on historical data. This is a more advanced version of the Manual bidding strategy that is similar to the Enhanced bidding strategies available on Google Ads and Microsoft Ads.

Major Benefits

• More control over the auction bids
• All campaign objectives, ad formats, and optimization goals are available.
• Have an enhanced version that allows you to get more high-quality traffic.

Potential Drawbacks

• Expertise is required, as well as regular monitoring.
• Time-consuming
• To achieve the best results, you will need to devote more time to reviewing and testing various strategies.

Target Cost

Simply put, the Target Cost bidding strategy allows you to get the most important results while staying within your defined target cost range. In other words, it will allow you to specify the highest amount you are willing to pay for the desired outcome (such as impressions, clicks, or views). This strategy is suitable for campaign objectives such as Brand Awareness (optimised for Impressions), Website Visits (optimised for Link clicks), Engagement (optimised for Engagement clicks), and Video Views.

Major Benefits

• Better cost-control
• A more stable cost per result can be achieved while optimizing for a better performance

Potential Drawbacks

• Lead generation and website conversions are not possible with this strategy.
• Expert knowledge of both online advertising and industry peculiarities is required: Understand, for example, what the appropriate CPA goal is for your industry and a specific product - it is critical to set a realistic target.
• To achieve the best results, you will need to devote more time to reviewing and testing various strategies.

Maximum Delivery 

Maximum Delivery is an automated LinkedIn bidding method that allows users to utilise the power of artificial intelligence to achieve the most important results while spending the least amount of money. In other words, by selecting this method, you are allowing LinkedIn to perform all of the work for you, such as automatically adjusting your bid to deliver the best results possible within your total budget.

Major Benefits

• The strategy is applicable to all advertising goals (from brand awareness to conversion)
• LinkedIn takes up all of the work for you and is quick and simple to set up.
• Allows users to get the best results while spending the least amount of money.

Potential Drawbacks

• To be effective, substantial historical data is required.
• Target Cost is required to limit cost per outcome.
• Campaigns that use the Dynamic or Sponsored message formats are not eligible.

Conclusion

To be able to run profitable Facebook campaigns, it’s important that you understand how Facebook’s bidding system works and considering there are a limited number of ad spots available, it is crucial to put your best foot forward when placing a bid.

Depending on your objectives, you will need to select an ad distribution type and optimization method, as well as a bidding strategy. As always, extensive testing is required to determine which combination of delivery type, optimization, and bidding approach works best for you.

Combining this knowledge with leveraging customer personas, leveraging funnel content and taking advantage of sales like the BFCM will help you generate maximum profits from your business.
You can also Book an Introduction Call with us to help you understand what bidding strategy would work best for your business.