Use the Conversion Optimizer with AdWords Editor and the AdWords API

The Conversion Optimizer, our free cost-per-acquisition (CPA) bidding feature for AdWords, came out of beta in January. One of the top requests we've heard is from advertisers wanting to use the Conversion Optimizer with AdWords Editor and the AdWords API. Today, we are pleased to announce that the Conversion Optimizer is now supported by both AdWords Editor and the AdWords API.

Many advertisers have told us that by using the Conversion Optimizer, they have not only made their campaigns significantly more profitable, but also they save time managing their accounts. Though one question we often hear is, "How does the Conversion Optimizer make my campaign more profitable than I can on my own?"

You probably already vary your bids by keyword and may also use separate bids for the search and content networks. The Conversion Optimizer takes this strategy a step further by automatically adjusting your bids to take into account many additional factors, including: the country the user is browsing from, the specific content network site or search partner site your ad appears on, and the broad match terms a keyword has matched on.

As part of AdWords, the Conversion Optimizer is able to consider all these factors, and then adjust your bids based on the potential value of each click. Clicks vary in value because every click has a different likelihood of converting. For example, the keyword "flowers" may have a 2% conversion rate while the keyword "roses delivery" may have a 7% conversion rate. That doesn't mean that you don't want any clicks on "flowers," but you probably wouldn't want to spend as much on that keyword as you might be willing to spend for clicks on "roses delivery." The Conversion Optimizer uses information like this to adjust your bids based on how valuable each click is for you.

If you would like to use the Conversion Optimizer, you'll need to have AdWords Conversion Tracking enabled and have at least 200 conversions in the last 30 days. To get started, check out the Conversion Optimizer homepage.

Posted by Trevor Claiborne, Inside AdWords crew