Overview

The Conversion History Graph allows you to see how conversion rate (among other data) fluctuates over time. It also allow you to select a date range with which to calibrate the Bid Optimizer. BidForce measures the average conversion rate over the period selected in the graph and uses that average as a benchmark for setting bids.

The red line in the graph shows average clicks per conversion for all keywords. This is how many clicks were received per conversion. Each point represents a day going from left (old) to right (recent). To change the conversion rate to percent, just divide 1 by this number. i.e. 20 clicks per conversion means it took, on average, 20 clicks to get one conversion and the conversion rate was 1/20 = 5%. A lower number of clicks per conversion gives a higher conversion rate, this is of course more desirable. As to be expected, as position improves (yellow line goes down), conversion volume goes up (blue line).

Viewing data points

Hovering the mouse over a data point will show the date and how many clicks per conversion occurred on that day.

Selecting a date range to calibrate bid optimizer

Conversion rate (i.e. clicks per conversion) might change drastically over time, not only day to day, but from month to month or year to year. The bid optimizer will perform best if it knows what part of the conversion history represents a current typical trend. It will measure both fluctuations and the average, using this data to decide how much to bid for each individual keyword. The results from the bid optimizer will change slightly depending on the range selected. The same start date should be used to minimize variations between each optimizer run, see selecting a previous date range below.

To select a desired range, zoom in to the graph by dragging the mouse from top left to bottom right corner of the desired range (see common graph actions for detail). The bid optimizer will use the visible range of data to set the average conversion rate. You can try running the bid optimizer with different ranges selected to compare the differences. A minimum range of three days (hence points) are required to run the optimizer, however, somewhere between 30-150 days should be optimal. BidForce was designed to make it easy to experiment with different date ranges until you are satisfied with the results.

Running the Bid Optimizer

With the desired date range is visible, choose from the menu Graph -> Bid Optimize Date Range. Once a date range is selected, the Tools menu on the AdWords Explorer can also be used to run the Bid Optimizer over the selected date range. Before the bid optimizer is run, the Bid Settings Window will appear, allowing review and change of bid settings used by the optimizer. Note, the Bid Optimizer will only optimize keywords in the item (and children) selected in the AdWords Explorer.

Selecting a previous date range

If you have already calibrated the optimizer and updated your bids using a specific date range at least once before, you may find it useful to run the optimizer starting from the same date (but including any new data) again. This helps maintain consistency between runs so that only new data influences the bid optimizer results. To auto-zoom in to the date of a previous run, select from the menu Graph->Select Previous Date Range, the following windows is shown:

The first date is the run date, next is whether bids were updated live or just simulated along with the number of keywords changed. The history start date of the previous run is given in the last date in brackets. Select the desired previous run and click ok. The Conversion History Graph will automatically zoom in to the previous time period and you are ready to run the Bid Optimizer from the menu Graph -> Bid Optimize Date Range.

Viewing Different Datasets

Four different datasets are available, each with a seven day moving average line. The datasets displayed are selected from the View menu. The datasets available, each with its corresponding moving average, are:

Refreshing the Graph

You can check if the graph is up to date by holding the mouse over the right most data point. It should give yesterdays date. If it is older, you can manually refresh the graph by selecting from the menu Graph->Refresh.