autobidding faq
- Please explain the AdScientist interface?
- Why can't I log into the engines using the AutoBid function?
- Can I set a maximum amount for my bids, so I don't bid more than I want to?
- Why is AutoBid not adjusting my bids correctly?
- How do I set up AdScientist to run in scheduler mode?
- In the "Cost" and "NewBid" columns, bids appear in blue and red colors - what does that mean?
- What is the difference between "Update" and "AutoBid"?
Please explain the AdScientist interface?
The screen for AdScientist is split into 4 parts.
1. Account Information panel, located on the top left corner, indicates which search engines you are currently working with.
2. Competitor Watch panel, located in the bottom left hand corner, is used to indicate specific competitors' URLs, which will be highlighted in the "Look Up" result.
3. Account Bid Information panel, the top right hand corner box, is used to indicate the keywords and bid setting for the keywords in question for the account selected.
4. Keyword Information panel, located in the bottom right hand corner box, is used to indicate the current bidding information for the keyword selected, and relative title and URL information, including the competitors.
By default, there are 16 columns of "account bid information". In order from left to right, they are:
a) Mode selector
This will turn the "Competitor Killer" mode on or off for the keyword in question.
b) Keyword
The actual keyword.
c) Optimize
If this box is not ticked, the keyword will not be updated, either in the autobidding or manual bidding process.
d) Bid Type
Fixed bidding or Auto bidding. Please visit the Overture section for more information regarding this.
e) Cost
What you are actually paying for the keywords. Please note, this can be different from what you are bidding, depending upon the other settings you have.
f) Nextbid
The amount which the person who is immediately behind you is paying for the keyword.
g) Currentpos
Your current position.
h) 1st Bid
The amount which the current number 1 position holder for this keyword is bidding.
i) 2nd bid
The amount which the current number 2 position holder for this keyword is bidding.
j) 3rd Bid
The amount which the current number 3 position holder for this keyword is bidding.
k) Target
The target position or position range you have set for this keyword.
l) Upper Limit
The absolute maximum you are willing to bid for this keyword. Please ensure this is an amount which you CAN afford.
m) Max bid
The amount you are bidding at Overture. Note this is different from "Upper Limit", as this is Overture's terminology. The recommended changes also appear in this column.
n) Lower Limit
The lowest amount you want this account to bid to.
o) URL
The URL which this particular keyword is associated with.
p) Autobid
This column indicates whether you still can autobid or not and how many times you have already autobid in one day. If "ON", you can still autobid for this keyword. If the column reads "autobidx", where "x" is any number, this represents how many times autobids have already been placed.
Why can't I log into the engines using the AutoBid function?
If you cannot log into the server using the autobid function, please follow the
instructions below:
First, update the engine data by going to "File", then "Update Engine Data File" to get the latest update. PPC engines frequently change their interface and/or settings and so we, in response, periodically need to update AdScientist's search engine data to reflect these changes.
If you still cannot log in, double check that you have entered the correct login name and password for your account.
Lastly, if you are still unable to log in, go the PPC search engine website and try to log in manually. At times, the server may be down for maintenance and not available for use (which is the most common cause of this problem).
If you are persistently having trouble logging into the server, please send a copy of the "error.log" file to technical support with a detailed description of the issue. [By default, the error.log file should be located at C:\Program Files\AdScientist.]
Can I set a maximum amount for my bids, so I don't bid more than I want to?
Yes. You can set a "maximum bid amount" in two locations:
Under Account Level: You can set a "maximum bid amount" in the account profile "AutoBid Setting" tab. If you don't specify a Maximum Bid for each individual keyword, the program will use the "maximum bid amount" from the account level by default.
Under Keyword Level: You can also set a Maximum Bid (Upper Limit) for each individual keyword. This will override the "maximum bid amount" setting in your Account. Simply select a keyword whose upper limit you wish to change, and then click the "Set Keyword Property" button from the Toolbar.
NOTE: AdScientist uses the term "Upper Limit" for the "Maximum Bid" setting. Many search engines use the word "MaxBid" or "MaxCPC" in their account interface, so to avoid confusion, AdScientist chose to use the term "Upper Limit" to indicate the software's "Maximum Bid".
A search engine's definition of "MaxBid" (or "MaxCPC") is the maximum bid amount you are currently bidding in your PPC account, which is equivalent to your "Current Bid".
AdScientist's "Upper Limit", on the other hand, is the maximum bid amount you are willing to pay. This value is set by you within AdScientist.
Why is AutoBid not adjusting my bids correctly?
First thing to check when this happens is that have you done a proper look up
prior to the autobid process? Without a correct lookup, the program will not be
able to carry out the corresponding adjustment to the bidding correctly.
The lookup can be performed when you open up "Autobid" and click on the "Get bid" button. This offers you an option to look up or not look up. Choose the "Yes" option.
Also, make sure you have the correct URLs entered in the corresponding project folder; otherwise, the look up will have trouble, since it won't be able to fix the position of your bid properly.
If you still have problems, please contact our support department with as much detail as possible and we will do our best in assisting you to solve this problem.
Can you set up AdScientist to run in scheduler mode? How do you do so?
Yes, AdScientist has full support for the scheduler mode. You can set
a time period or set the day during the week to bid, plus the frequency of
bidding.
Following is a quick guide on how to set up the scheduler for AdScientist.
1. Enable the "Enable Scheduler" in the "Options" area within the "File/Configuration" on the menu bar.
2. Within the property area for the account you want to autobid, simply go to the "Autobid Setting" section and enable the scheduler for this account and set the frequency of the auto bidding.
3. Select the keyword or keywords you want to autobid with, then click on the "Property button" on the tool bar. Enable the scheduler in this area and set the options available.
Once you have the above set, you have completed setting up autobids.
In the "Cost" and "NewBid" columns, bids appear in Blue and Red colors - what does that mean?
Blue means that the "NewBid" is different to your "Current Bid", and just makes it easy to know that the bid for this keyword needs to be changed.
Red means there is a bid cap for this keyword.
What is the difference between "Update" and "AutoBid"?
While Autobidding:
1. The program first retrieves the keywords from your account.
2. Then, a "keyword lookup" is performed to check the latest rankings of the ads appearing on the search engines "Sponsored Links" site.
3. Using this information, the software updates the bids.
While "Updating":
1. Only the "updating of the bids" is performed.
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