Is Bid Management Dead? A Debate

This is a debate, real live debate, so the posting might seem a little weird. I am going to to to update it more when I get slides.

Panel Members:
Misty Locke*
Peter Hershberg*
Robert Ashby
Chris Zaharias

*Bid Mangement is Dead Team

Misty:
“My theory … that I have, that is to say which is mine …”

Not saying its completely dead, but that search marketing is better and can be better.
Three Principles
1. Basic Build and fundamentals of a bid tool

1. Can’t bid to position
2. Uninformed bid decisions (ex. time, CTR, other campaigns, etc.)

2. Simplistic Tunnel Vision

1. Not just about keywords … about demand when it happens
2. Influencers are not taken into account (outside referrals)
3. optimizing online and search programs
4. Not about last Click to Conversion

3. Consumer Intent Can’t be Managed by a Tool

1. Marketing is an art improved by science, not an exact formula

Robert Cross Exam
How can you expect humans to manage several thousand keywords at the same time?
I don’t think they don’t have a place, they just aren’t the end all be all. There has to be a human. One size does not fit all.

How would you characterize better click0thru unless there is better SEO (influencers)
My point is that you can’t set a big management tool and leave it be.

Chris: Bid Management is alive and well
Starting with history of bid management
1st Proof: Too many things to do in a bigger account setting
2nd: Search Engine API Usage
Lost the rest of it due to company email … I’ll pick it up from someone else later.

Cross Exam
Traditional PPC was pay for position, and bid was the only issue.
Can changing ads, landing pages, and keyword have an affect on cost?
Yes
How can I beat you out for one keyword? My minimum and max are different than yours.
Portfolio theory: React to the campaign as a whole

Closings

Peter:
Bid Management is not dead, its just not part of search marketing anymore. Back when, your entire thing was bid management, you could guarantee placement with a bid. But you can’t anymore. Now it is about relevance and what your product is. There are too many factors now. So its not dead, its just a variable now, its not a monster, its a pet bunny.

Robert:
It’s tough to manage 5 million keywords. You want to spend your time with your customer, not with AdWords. Bid management is the foundation … its what zaps your resources if you don’t pay attention to it. Bid management allows you to focus on other aspects of the business.

Chris:
It’s about the metrics. Bid Management allows you to make better decisions. The role of bid management is to do what we can’t.

Misty:
You do need tools to get your job done. It’s not humanly possible to touch 5 million keywords. But SEMs don’t just rely on technology, it changes a lot and so does the industry. But as SEMs we sell the time to mange your campaigns. The keyword is just as important as the TV spot. Technology must be used with human influence to work the best. It’s not just science, its art and science.

Peter:
Quality Score has put the M back in SEM. We are not just doing math anymore.

My conclusion: Bid Management is not dead, its just not necessary for the small-mid market companies.