Trusted auto bidding and watched my budget disappear

D

DriftKoala

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Hey everyone,

I recently tried automated bidding again because a lot of people say machine learning works better than manual bidding. But after switching, Google started spending budget much faster and CPC went much higher than usual.
The worst part is results actually became worse for me compared to manual bidding. Maybe I set it up wrong, but that test cost me more money than expected.
For those using automated bidding, how long do you usually test it before deciding if it’s working or not?
 
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One mistake people make is switching everything at once. testing automated bidding on one campaign first usually feels safer than changing the whole account.
 
Automated bidding usually needs a good learning period to settle down, or it can burn budget fast as you've seen. I'd usually run it for at least 1-2 weeks with steady conversion data, but only if tracking and targeting are solid. If you see a sharp drop like this, it's usually smarter to go back to manual or run a smaller controlled test than to go all-in.
 
automated bidding needs at least 30-50 conversions per month to work properly, below that the algorithm just guesses and burns budget. ive seen accounts with 8-10 conversions a month switch to target cpa and blow through everything in days. check your conversion volume first, if its low manual cpc will likely work better for you
 
DriftKoala said:
Hey everyone,

I recently tried automated bidding again because a lot of people say machine learning works better than manual bidding. But after switching, Google started spending budget much faster and CPC went much higher than usual.
The worst part is results actually became worse for me compared to manual bidding. Maybe I set it up wrong, but that test cost me more money than expected.
For those using automated bidding, how long do you usually test it before deciding if it’s working or not?
Click to expand...
you need to give it atelast 2-3 weeks because google takes time to learn and optimize, also check ur max cpc limit.
 
Automated bidding also works best when you already have enough conversion data. if conversions are low, manual bidding can actually feel more stable and controlled.
 
Yes, you need enough conversion first to make it work properly
 
i usually don't judge it after just a few days.
the algorithm often needs enough conversion data before it settles down.
 
Google recommends at least 2 to 4 weeks minimum but 6 weeks is more realistic for the algo to gather enough data to optimize.
 
Yeah conversion volume is key but there is another trick if you want to test it again without losing your shirt. You need to use a portfolio bid strategy instead of just setting target CPA directly on the campaign level. That way you can set a hard limit on the max CPC. Otherwise google will happily bid $40 on a single click just to "learn" and your budget is gone in two hours. Had this happen last year on a lead gen client... Set the max cpc cap slightly higher than your average manual cpc and let it run for two weeks. It keeps the algorithm on a leash while it gathers the data.
 
I usually test automated bidding for at least 1 to 2 weeks because it needs time to learn but if CPC is too high from the start I switch back to manual.
 
Automated bidding only works well if your account already has conversions. If you do not have at least 30 conversions in the last month, the machine learning will just waste your budget. Test it for 2 weeks only if you have enough data.
 
yep auto bidding can eat ur budget fast, i usually let it run 2-3 weeks b4 judging if it works, dont expect instant magic.
 
I usually give it at least 1-2 weeks, depending on traffic volume. Automated bidding often needs time to learn, but if CPC is much higher and conversions are dropping after that period, i switch back to manual and reassess.
 
One thing I noticed is automated bidding works better when there is enough conversion history. if the campaign does not have much data, Google sometimes makes expensive guesses.
 
Auto bidding is a total trap for new accounts, never trust it with broad keywords. always use manual cpc first to get some conversions data otherwise google will just eat your budget like crazy.
 
DriftKoala said:
Hey everyone,

I recently tried automated bidding again because a lot of people say machine learning works better than manual bidding. But after switching, Google started spending budget much faster and CPC went much higher than usual.
The worst part is results actually became worse for me compared to manual bidding. Maybe I set it up wrong, but that test cost me more money than expected.
For those using automated bidding, how long do you usually test it before deciding if it’s working or not?
Click to expand...
I usually test automated bidding for at least 2–4 weeks or until I have enough conversion data. The learning phase can be rough, but if results aren't improving after that, I go back to manual bidding.
 
Make sure your campaign settings, audience, and creatives are the same when testing automated vs manual otherwise results won’t be comparable.
 
DriftKoala said:
Hey everyone,

I recently tried automated bidding again because a lot of people say machine learning works better than manual bidding. But after switching, Google started spending budget much faster and CPC went much higher than usual.
The worst part is results actually became worse for me compared to manual bidding. Maybe I set it up wrong, but that test cost me more money than expected.
For those using automated bidding, how long do you usually test it before deciding if it’s working or not?
Click to expand...
Manual bidding can feel “better” short-term because you control costs, but automated bidding only works well once it has enough data to optimize properly.
 
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