Estimating CPC and position before signup?

is Traffic Estimator only available after signup?

[dorjesempa]

Hi, I've done a search (here and on Google), but cannot find the answer to this question. Is traffic estimator only available *after* you've signed up for adwords? I'm evaluating Adwords and Overture, and trying to get very rough estimates of CPC for particular keywords on both for my boss. I was hoping that Traffic Estimator might help me give some ballpark figures on costs / rankings to pass on to him. (I'm aware from searching the archives that the figures may be next to useless, but need some figures nevertheless).

many thanks,

dorjesempa

[dorjesempa]

Hi, further to my question, my boss wants to know - 'how much CPC to give us position #1 on this keyword' -ballpark figure. Traffic estimator takes in max CPC, and spits out position.

Is there a way to say - 'I would like position #1 for this keyword', and some how estimate how much that would cost, before signing up?

sorry for these newbie questions - just trying to fill about 6 job scopes in 8 daylight hours ;-)

many thanks,

dorjesempa

[mcavic]

In the signup process, I believe Adwords will give you a suggested CPC that will guarantee #1 placement. It tends to be very high, though - like $1.20 for a $0.10 keyword.
And, I think that's available before you give your payment info.

[dorjesempa]

Hi, many thanks for your reply. When you say 'for a $0.10 keyword, do you mean that for a keyword that typically turns out to only cost 10 cents per click, once you actually signup and start bidding, you get an estimate of more than a dollar during the signup period? So that the estimates tend to be way off base, and way too high? or have I misunderstood you?

with thanks,

dorjesempa

[mcavic]

I meant a keyword where I wouldn't want to pay more than .10 because it wouldn't be profitable, and I suspect that my competitors aren't paying much more than .25.

I think the reason is that the CPC and daily budget estimates are meant to be the maximum amount that Adwords is capable of utilizing, rather than the average amount that your competitors spend.

For example, if the estimate is $1.20, then bidding $1.50 won't have any extra effect. But if you can only afford $0.10, then that'll at least get you some traffic.

[dorjesempa]

Hi, many thanks for your reply and clarification. What I don't understand at this point is - if position is based on both CPC, and CTR, then how can they estimate what the cost would be? Presumably they must use some sort of 'guestimate' on CTR?

Is it fair to guess that 10% of their estimate might more accurately affect actual necessary spend, given your example?

many thanks indeed,

dorjesempa

[mcavic]

True, they wouldn't be able to know your CTR ahead of time, because it depends partly on how well the users like your ad text. But I think the idea is that they suggest a bid so high that the CTR doesn't matter much.

The best way is just to jump in and see what happens. You could start with 10%, raise it if your position is too low, and lower it if your position is very high and the clicks are costing you too much. It all depends on your budget and your industry.

[AdWordsAdvisor]

dorjesempa, I'll try to boil this down to essentials.

When you create a new account (or use the tool for pricing research) you submit a list of keywords. The tool then provides you with an estimate of the Max CPC that would allow you to be competitive for those keywords (i.e. appearing towards the top of the page). It's important to recognize this as an estimate, however, because Max CPC is really a moving target dependent on what your competitors are doing.

Using a lower Max CPC than the recommend figure is perfectly fine. However, this will likely put your ad lower on the page.

BTW, later on in the account creation process, the tool will also recommend a daily budget. This is an estimate of the daily budget required to have your ads show all the time for all of your keywords.

Using a lower daily budget than the recommended figure is also perfectly fine. However, this will mean that your ads will not show every time each and every one of your keywords is searched on.

Is there a way to say - 'I would like position #1 for this keyword', and some how estimate how much that would cost, before signing up?

Actually not, because position is 50% related to your CTR. And CTR is entirely dependent on how well chosen your keywords are, and how well written & targeted your ads are. The tool can't predict this, of course.

AWA

[dorjesempa]

many thanks for this clarification ... it certainly helps. :-)

Mark