Upkeep automation

Keeping your campaigns updated and optimised is a critical part of running a successful profit bidding strategy.

Your margins don’t stand still. Suppliers put prices up, couriers change rates, you run a sale. Every time one of those things happens, the ROAS bid you calculated is out of date.

Cost updates

When a cost changes, make sure you update your cost tracking straight away. Then recalculate your margins, send the new margins through your bid calculation, and push the new bids to Google Ads.

1. Update your costsA new purchase price, a new courier rate, a higher returns rate.
2. Recalculate your marginsFor every product the change affects.
3. Recalculate your bidsFrom the new margins and your profit target.
4. Push the changes to Google AdsSo you are bidding on the margin you have today.

If you skip this, you keep bidding on a margin that no longer exists. A £5 rise in the purchase price of a product that makes £10 per sale wipes out half your profit, and your bids keep spending as if nothing changed. Keeping costs up to date prevents wasted spend and protects your profit margin.

Price updates

When your prices change, recalculate your bids to maintain your margins. A price drop comes straight off your profit per sale, so the product needs a higher ROAS bid to hit the same profit target. A price rise does the opposite, and the product can afford to bid harder.

Bid changes and protection

Avoid large changes. Stick to 5% to 10% relative changes to your ROAS bids at any one time.

Google’s bidding needs time to learn. A big jump in a ROAS target can suddenly cut your traffic, or suddenly overspend. If your new calculated bid is a long way from your current bid, step towards it: move 5 to 10%, let it run for at least 7 days, then move again.