Whilst automation can simplify PPC campaign management, save marketers time, improve measurement capabilities and more, there are some potential downfalls, but only if it is not managed properly.
A mistake that PPC marketers make is becoming overly dependent on automation; which could in turn minimise results and profit.
We’re going to highlight some of the major ‘dangers’ of relying on PPC automation as it peaks in 2023.
1. Relying on automated bidding
Automated bidding is something we’ve touched on before (link), allowing marketers to set bids on ads based on the likelihood of being clicked and driving conversion. Your automated bidding system can be optimised for a specific business objective, which can help to drive the results that really matter to your business.
This is great, as it can save businesses hours of work that would have once upon a time been spent setting bids manually. But, although this tactic brings a ton of benefits, it can cost a business profit if it’s left unsupervised. It is important to utilise automated bidding without relying on it as a primary marketing tactic.
2. Not optimising enough
Automation can improve time management for busy businesses owners and PPC marketers, but optimisation, with a human approach, is still essential. Getting ‘too comfortable’ with automation could be a downfall for some businesses. Things are constantly changing in the world of PPC.
Businesses need to ensure their automation systems are optimised for the online climate whilst a campaign is live. This can include ensuring systems are up-to-date and meeting the criteria of current search engine algorithms, which are also constantly changing.
Automation will essentially do what it is told (to an extent), so it is best to treat it as a tool that needs to be monitored and managed. Only utilise automation when it is going to genuinely benefit a business and improve performance, as opposed to where it may simply seem like the easier or faster option.
When combined with the right experience and PPC expertise to monitor a campaign and make optimisations, automation will undoubtedly improve results.
3. Loss of brand message
Customers are at the heart of any successful digital marketing campaign, and one of the main areas of focus in PPC is customising your customer’s experience. When leveraging automation tools, it’s important to consider this, and not abandon or ignore your target audience and their unique needs and pain points.
One mistake that digital marketers may make is relying on automated systems and lacking real communication with customers. In short, this could eventually lead to your customer feeling like they are not really being ‘seen’ by your brand.
We would recommend leveraging automation for more ‘behind the scene’ tasks and treading carefully when using it for communication purposes.
4. Over messaging within your marketing campaigns
When using automation to reach consumers, quantity over quality is key. It is critical to strike a balance between over and under messaging.
For businesses aiming to optimise customer service, automation tools and systems can be a big help, as mentioned above.
They can help to build and maintain communication with consumers. But, sending too many automated messages, or repeating messaging, could have a real negative impact on your brand reputation. Again, this is where a human approach is really important.
Get in touch
Digital marketing automation can help to optimise and streamline your business, but it’s important to use it as a tool, and not a replacement of hard work and attention to business and campaign performance.
For any help or more information on how to effectively leverage automation in your PPC marketing campaigns, get in touch.