Has Overture AutoBid pushed up the average cpc?

what's your opinion?

[bollochs]

I'm in the throws of a discussion on this point, and am interested in your thoughts/experiences.

I've claimed that the introduction of autobid has created a new environment where the average cpc is more likely to spiral upwards than previously.

I'm specifically talking about the differences between the 2 competitive environments - with or without autobid. Which in your opinion is more likely to encourage a higher average cpc across the board? Alos, if you think that there is a variation, how great do you think it is? Perhaps consider this in the context of game theory.

Also, and this is slightly different to the question that I've asked above - what have you found from your own experience?

[webdiversity]

Talking to advertisers who have used Auto Bidding they generally have seen a small increase in their overall CPC, although some words are down and others are up. They attribute it to Auto Bid but it might be other factors at play as well.

We never have used it and we never will. All of our clients are benefitting from lower CPC because we have taken advantage of those companies that are now using Auto Bid. It's a tactical thing which I couldn't possibly divulge, but once you know who is auto bidding it's easy to out bid and reduce CPC in the process.

[ade_uk]

i've seen my CPC nearly double from Autobid - it seems our competitors are as eager as me to push people up to their bid limits then watch their account run-out overnight

[Crazy_Fool]

i like having the option of autobid and i use it on a number of listings for my own sites. when 1 in 20 clickthroughs results in a sale worth £80 to me, i can go to several £££ to get that sale and still make a healthy profit.

sometimes it's important to be in the top 2 or 3:
lycos UK shows top 2 overture listings at the top of the page (3 more at the bottom)
yahoo UK only shows the top 2
altavista UK only shows top 3
MSN UK only shows the top 3 (and only when all 3 listings have bids over £1)
autobidding keeps me in the top 2 and generates more clickthroughs and therefore more sales.

i had some fun last month with a competitor trying to push my bids up. i played the game for a few days then emailed him to say he was wasting his time as i was determined to stay ranked first or second and all he was doing was costing us both money. he dropped all his bids to 5p the same day and hasn't moved since then.

i tend not to use autobidding for my clients - they don't make enough profit per item to make it worth using.

[Crazy_Fool]

just realised that the list above isn't clear - yahoo uses espotting results not overture, but the point is that you need to be in the top 2 or 3 to get listed on those big engines

i should really be in bed at 2.39am!