In my last post, we went over the basics of bid management systems and my search for the right tool for the blossoming entrepreneur. I came across many tools and two bubbled up to the top. One I’ve had a chance to test, one is still pending. Here’s my experience so far.
The first tool I tried is called ClickSweeper. ClickSweeper has a very simple and intuitive interface, particularly if you’ve had previous experience with a bid management tool. If you’re new to this, their customer service staff is very attentive and eager to help in any way that they can. The system tracks conversions using Google and Yahoo’s own conversion tags. This is especially helpful if you’re running campaigns as an affiliate, as many site owners already support these engine tags or are happy to implement them. The price is very reasonable- only $100 a month for the first 500 keywords managed, and $10 for every 100 extra keywords. Even better, they offer a four-week, free trial.
Despite all these pluses, however, ClickSweeper didn’t really deliver where it counted- ROI. While the system was actively managing bids, it never managed to consistently reach the very reasonable 125% ROI goal I had set. The other drawback is that, for the time being, ClickSweeper does not support the new version of Yahoo.
Next up is the upcoming tool from SoftwareProjects.com. In the comments of my last post, a rep from this site offered to include me in their beta test of this new tool. Unfortunately, I have not been able to get in touch with anyone there to find out when the test starts. Iffy service aside, SoftwareProjects.com is a very cool site with apparently everything you’d need to run a business online. Seriously, everything. The only other drawback, besides no one getting back to me (hint!), is the lack of detailed manuals for all of the tools they offer. The potential is obvious, but the documentation is sparse at best.
Have any other suggestions for tools? Leave them in the comments and I’ll be sure to check them out!
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I’m trying ClickSweeper after being disappointed by the lack of service from a lack of support from Apex Pacific and their BidMax software. I like the features of BidMax, but their support is horrible. It takes them over a week to fix silly little bugs that result from sloppy programming. When they do release a fix, I find it online days before they respond to my support ticket….if they respond. I also don’t like the idea that Apex (Dynamic) sells a lot of spammy products. Just rubs me the wrong way to give money to people like that.
So far ClickSweeper is ok even though I miss some features. For example, updates don’t occur until they synch overnight. If I need to respond to an ad trend now, I need to log into the respective PPC campaign, navigate to where I already was in ClickSweeper and then make the change. Still, I think that ClickSweeper will be a time saver only because I’m managing multiple campaigns. As the product matures, I believe we’ll see more improvements and more features.