By Chris Speed

On one hand, the onus is on software companies to ensure that their tools are constantly improved in line with market developments. This means that software should provide value for users – extra levels of insight that, when fed into the optimisation process, will result in performance uplifts that far outweigh their cost.

Often this involves streamlining an otherwise complex process. For example, one of the core strengths of a bid management tool is efficiency. Users continue to benefit from significant time and labour savings. Functionality that automatically identifies positive keywords and bids frees up time that would otherwise be spent manually checking keywords and budgets using a spreadsheet. Another major benefit is that this kind of software provides a single, central location for tracking and analysing keywords across multiple search engines.

However, as with all tools, software will only work successfully if it’s used properly. Those expecting a piece of software to be a cure-all that immediately transforms the performance of their campaign will be very disappointed. The success or failure of any paid search campaign is down to the knowledge, skill and proactivity of the person or people managing it. Those using bid management programmes need to choose a provider that understands the complexity of a given campaign, and whose product addresses the client or agency’s ongoing business objectives from the outset.

Trying to manage a large, keyword-heavy campaign to tight KPIs, armed only with a trusty Excel spreadsheet and last week’s performance data is nigh-on impossible. However, performance uplift and ROI are more important than ever, meaning help is need – so when selecting bid management software, choose wisely. It is imperative that a provider is selected on how well they match up to the specific needs and goals of the campaigns that they will be used on. Regardless of their ability to provide all the latest bells and whistles what matters is that users are fully supported as customers and that there are clear guidelines on how to make the most of the software.

About the author

Chris Speed is Head of Paid Search at I Spy Marketing.