PPC Bid Strategies: Manual vs. Automated Bidding – What’s Best?

Introduction to PPC Bid Strategies

If running PPC bid strategies feels like playing poker with Google Ads, you’re not alone. The game? Outbidding competitors without breaking the bank. The prize? That sweet, sweet ad placement at the top of search results.

But here’s the million-dollar question—should you go manual CPC bidding, controlling every move like a Wall Street trader, or let automated bidding strategies handle the heavy lifting with AI-powered decisions?

Don’t worry, by the end of this blog, you’ll know exactly which strategy suits your business, plus a little secret on how adwebcraft can make your PPC campaigns chef’s kiss perfection. Also, here’s something, click here, learn about how PPC can skyrocket your business.🚀

Understanding Manual CPC Bidding

Ever heard of the phrase, “If you want something done right, do it yourself”? That’s exactly what manual CPC bidding is. You decide how much to bid on each keyword instead of letting AI handle it. You can control those PPC bid strategies, but there are something you should know first:-

Pros of Manual CPC Bidding:

• Full Control: You determine how much you spend per click.
• Better Budget Management: Ideal for businesses with strict ad budgets.
• Allows Adjustments: You can tweak bids based on ad performance.
• Avoids Overspending on Low-Performing Keywords: Since you manually set bids, you can prevent wasting money on keywords that don’t convert well.

Cons of Manual CPC Bidding:

• Time-Consuming: Requires constant monitoring and tweaking.
• Human Error: You might overbid or underbid if not careful.
• Limited Scalability: As campaigns grow, managing bids manually becomes overwhelming.
• Slower Reaction Time: Market trends change fast, and without automation, you might miss out on bidding opportunities.

Both of this are really important for PPC bid strategies.

Real-World Example:

Imagine you own a bakery. You bid high for “birthday cakes” and low for “wedding cakes” since birthday cakes sell more. But one day, wedding cakes trend because of a celebrity wedding! With manual bidding, you’d have to notice this shift and adjust bids manually—otherwise, you lose out, and wouldn’t be able to cope up with your PPC bid strategies.

Automated Bidding Strategies Explained

Now, let’s talk about automated bidding strategies—Google’s way of saying, “Gaadi tera bhai chalayega.”

With Google Ads bidding, machine learning optimizes bids based on search intent, competition, and user behavior.

Pros of Automated Bidding:

• Saves Time: AI does the heavy lifting.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Uses historical data to optimize bids.
• Ideal for Scaling: Works great for businesses running multiple ad campaigns.
• Real-Time Adjustments: Automated bidding instantly reacts to market trends, competition, and user behavior, ensuring your bids stay competitive without manual intervention. 🚀

Cons of Automated Bidding:

• Less Control: Google decides bid amounts.
• Budget Overspending Risks: AI might overbid if it thinks a keyword is highly valuable.
• Slower Adjustments to Market Changes: Automated bidding relies on historical data, so it may take time to adapt to sudden trends or shifts in consumer behavior.
• Limited Customization: Unlike manual CPC bidding, automated strategies don’t allow granular bid adjustments for specific keywords, devices, or demographics.

Real-World Example:

Think of automated bidding as self-driving cars. You tell Google your goal (more sales, higher ROI), and it drives your campaign accordingly. But just like Tesla’s autopilot, it’s not perfect—you need to monitor it occasionally to keep your PPC bid strategies intact and mainly, safe.

Key Differences: Manual vs. Automated Bidding

Breaking Down Google Ads Bidding Strategies

Google Ads offers multiple bidding strategies for e-commerce and lead generation. Let’s break them down:

1. Target CPA Bidding

• Goal: Get as many conversions as possible at your target cost per acquisition (CPA).
• Best For: Businesses with defined CPA goals.

2. Target ROAS Bidding

• Goal: Achieve a specific return on ad spend (ROAS).
• Best For: E-commerce stores focusing on revenue growth.

3. Maximize Conversions Bidding

• Goal: Get the highest number of conversions within your budget.
• Best For: Startups looking to scale quickly.

4. Enhanced CPC (ECPC)

• Goal: Adjust manual bids using Google’s AI to improve conversions.
• Best For: Those who want a mix of manual CPC bidding and automated bidding strategies.

5. Maximize Clicks Bidding

• Goal: Get the highest number of clicks within your budget.
• Best For: Businesses looking to drive traffic to their website.

6. Target Impression Share Bidding

• Goal: Ensure your ad appears at the top of the search results for maximum visibility.
• Best For: Brand awareness campaigns and highly competitive industries.

7. Viewable CPM (vCPM) Bidding

• Goal: Focus on impressions where at least 50% of the ad is visible for one second or more.
• Best For: Display campaigns aiming for visibility rather than direct conversions.

8. Cost-Per-View (CPV) Bidding

• Goal: Optimize costs for video ads based on actual views or interactions.
• Best For: YouTube advertisers running video campaigns.

This are some good points that can enhance and serve nicely in your overall PPC bid strategies.

The Role of Ad Auction in PPC Bid Strategies.

Before your ad appears on Google, it must pass through an ad auction. Here’s how it works:

1. You place a bid (Manual CPC or Automated).
2. Google checks your Ad Rank = Bid Amount × Quality Score.
3. Winner gets the best position on the search results page.

Lesson learned? A high quality score can help you win auctions even if your bid is lower than competitors.

PPC Campaign Optimization: Getting the Best ROI

Want to optimize your PPC campaign like a pro? Follow these steps:

• Improve Click-Through Rate (CTR): Use compelling ad copy.
• Adjust Bids by Device & Location: Prioritize high-performing locations.
• Use Negative Keywords: Avoid wasting ad spend on irrelevant searches.
• Test Different Ad Variations: Run A/B tests to see which ad copy and creatives perform best.
• Monitor Quality Score: A higher quality score can lower CPC and improve ad rankings.

How to Choose Right PPC Bid Strategies?

Consider these factors before selecting a strategy:

• Your Budget: Small budgets = Manual CPC, Large budgets = Automated.
• Campaign Goal: Lead generation? Go with Maximize Conversions Bidding.
• Industry Competition: High competition? Target ROAS Bidding works best.
• Ad Visibility Needs: Want to dominate search results? Target Impression Share Bidding is your best bet.
• Traffic vs. Conversions: Need more site visitors? Maximize Clicks Bidding works. Focused on sales? Choose Target CPA Bidding.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in PPC bid strategies

• Overbidding & Burning Budget: Always set a max CPC limit.
• Ignoring Quality Score: Even high bids won’t help if your ad isn’t relevant.
• Not Using Bid Management Tools: Automate tracking and bid adjustments.

There’s an in detail Do’s & Don’ts, mistakes to avoid in PPC bid strategy and overall PPC, click here and  learn about everything.

Expert Insights from AdWebCraft

If managing PPC bids feels like herding cats, let adwebcraft handle it for you. Our expert team specializes in:

• Google & Meta Ads Bidding Strategies tailored to your business.
• Advanced Bid Management Tools for automated adjustments.
• PPC Campaign Optimization that maximizes your ad spend efficiency.
• Tried and tested PPC bid strategies, to minimize your expense and increase ROI.

Let’s take your PPC bid strategies to the next level—because your business deserves more than just clicks.

Future of PPC Bid Strategies

• AI will play a bigger role in keyword bidding and bid automation.
• Google’s machine learning will improve conversion rate optimization (CRO).
• More businesses will shift to automated bidding strategies for efficiency.
• Agencies will take over the CPC and PPC bid strategies being experienced and tailored in the field.

Final Verdict: Manual or Automated?

As always, in every comparison the final verdict and answer ends with IT DEPENDS. Depends on the needs, capability, mindset, goals and mainly urge to succeed in the market, we covered what and how in this blog.

• Use Manual CPC Bidding if you love control and have time for daily adjustments.
• Go with Automated Bidding if you want Google Ads bidding strategies to optimize in real-time.

But hey, why to get confuse & choose when adwebcraft can create the perfect PPC bid strategies  for you? Let’s make those ad dollars work smarter, not harder!!