oCPC costs remain high? Come and try this method!

When delivering information flow, especially running smart bidding plans, there is often a high cost in the first stage . Faced with this situation, everyone's operations are nothing more than the following: simply shut down the plan directly, copy and create a new one, re-create the creativity and re-model it; those with deep pockets will just let it run, first have volume and then consider reducing costs. Is there really no way to quickly build models and reduce the overall learning cost?

There are ways to reduce the cost of Smart Bidding, and it’s easy to do.

The wide-targeted, single-creative funnel delivery method summarized through personal practical experience can help you quickly get through the learning period, reduce learning costs and quickly reduce overall costs.

The principles behind the methodology

Baidu oCPC ’s process is divided into two steps. In the first stage, a small-scale traffic test will be allocated to your creative within the targeted range. In the second step, after the conversion volume reaches 20, the modeling is successful and gradually released to explore more conversion volumes.

1. In the first stage, the corresponding traffic is allocated for testing according to the creativity

We reduce costs in two steps: the first is to increase the density of conversion population within the targeting, that is, to make the targeting more precise; the second is to reduce the cost of unit creative exploration, that is, to directly launch high-conversion creative ideas.

Single high-conversion creative + relatively accurate targeting + smart bidding = low cost

For example: There are 3 creative ideas in a unit, ABC. The population within this unit is roughly divided into two categories, Category 1 and Category 2. Assume that only creative A combined with two types of people can produce conversion.

If there are three creative ideas, then there should be 3*2=6 combinations, which can be divided into A1, A2, A3, B1... That is, we need to pay 6 budgets for this unit. If there is only one creative idea, there are only three ways to do it, which only requires three budgets, saving half the cost compared to the previous one. (The premise is that your creative conversion is high)

2. Optimization of the second phase of Baidu oCPC, focusing on creativity and price adjustment

The second stage means that Baidu already has a model of the conversion population and knows which types can be converted. He will push your creativity to this type of people. At this time, the key to optimization is to use creativity to make high-intent people click and lower conversion bids to ensure the coexistence of the platform and our interests.

Specific steps:

Based on the high-conversion creatives we have launched, we generate similar creatives to gradually attract people to click on them; or we launch brand new creatives to attract clicks from this group of people. Lower your conversion bid by 5% until the price is the average of your historical conversion costs without affecting the platform's allocation of your traffic.

For example, if your average conversion cost is around 120, and you just start using oCPC units, in order to increase the volume as quickly as possible, you should bid 140 or higher. Later, as the model stabilizes, we will gradually reduce the bid by 5% per day until the conversion bid is close to your conversion cost.

Summarize

Baidu first stage optimization:

1. Plan setting: In the first stage, there is 1 plan, 3 units with consistent directions, and 1 creative idea in each unit.

2. Run only one unit at a time. If the cost of unit 1 is appropriate, then the other two units will not be opened to avoid competition. If unit 1 does not work, analyze the data. If the targeted report is appropriate, open unit 2 for testing and re-model. And so on.

Since a single creative may result in less traffic being allocated by the system, it is recommended to test with a higher bid to quickly pass the learning period, achieve successful modeling, and reduce costs.

Note: Your bid is not equal to the actual final conversion cost. It is very common to have a high bid but a low conversion cost.

Baidu's second stage of optimization:

1. Lower the bid by 5% to reduce the conversion cost (be careful not to adjust the cost too low, and do not exceed the bottom line based on your own historical conversion cost. If the plan is too low, it will not be competitive, the traffic will be small, and the gain will not outweigh the loss)

2. Attract people to click and promote conversion by launching new creative ideas. Generate similar ideas based on existing conversion ideas. Generate new ideas by changing the copy without changing the material. Generate new ideas by changing the material without changing the copy. Finally, you can also write some new creative online tests based on the creative selling points.

Finally , how to come up with high-conversion creative ideas? Which delivery scenarios are suitable for this method?

In the early stage, we can use CPC units to accurately test high-conversion creatives with appropriate conversion costs, and then put high-conversion creatives into the smart bidding plan for large-scale operation.

This method is currently only valid in the scenario of Baidu oCPC single-city delivery, and more trial scenarios are being tested...

Author: Yang Shenglong

Source: Aichisem