The Conversion Optimiser: Game On

Webgamic uses the Google Conversion Optimiser to save time and increase conversions by 200%.

Based in Leiden, The Netherlands, Webgamic B.V. develops and manages a variety of popular browser-based games, including Travian, Kapi-regnum and Footballcup and is developing a new game called Firmfootball. Webgamic's client base grew by 300 percent in 2007 to 90,000 customers. The company targets the Dutch, Belgian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian markets, and plans to expand to the rest of Europe and the United States.

Webgamic began using Google AdWords in 2006 to promote games on its site. From the start, CEO Moritz Daan was pleased with the results of the company's AdWords campaigns. But as the head of the company and the main marketer, he often found himself with too many things to do and not enough time to do them.

Then Moritz found out about the Conversion Optimiser, a new AdWords bid management feature. In 2007, Webgamic began using the Conversion Optimiser to manage its AdWords advertising. The company still pays for ads on a price-per-click (CPC) basis, but instead of setting CPC bids for all its keywords manually, it uses the Conversion Optimiser to set a single maximum cost per acquisition (CPA) bid for each of its ad groups. The Conversion Optimiser then manages Webgamic's CPC bids, making adjustments based on the likelihood that a conversion will result from each ad auction. "Now, I can take some days off from worrying about my AdWords campaigns," says Moritz.

In addition to time savings, Webgamic has seen dramatic improvements in AdWords campaign performance. "With the Conversion Optimiser, we managed to get 600-plus conversions per day, instead of the usual 200," explains Moritz. "Also, I thought it wasn't possible to get below €0.60 CPA, but Conversion Optimiser managed to cut our costs down to €0.25 per conversion." The company has seen click-through rates increase by 43 percent and overall acquisition costs decrease by 63 percent.

The Conversion Optimiser has helped Webgamic achieve improved results by continually adjusting the company's CPC bids based on the predicted conversion rate for its ads. For instance, after figuring out that Webgamic's conversion rates are 50 percent higher when its ads run on Gamenext! (www.gamenext.nl), the Conversion Optimiser increased its CPC bids to run more ads on Gamenext! and get more conversions while meeting its overall CPA goals. "From now on, we'll definitely be using the Conversion Optimiser for all of our AdWords campaigns," says Mortiz. "There's no reason not to."

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About Conversion Optimiser

The Conversion Optimiser is an AdWords feature that manages your advertising costs around specific conversion goals. Specify a maximum cost per acquisition (CPA) bid and the Conversion Optimiser manages your CPC bids for you, making adjustments based on the likelihood of a conversion in each ad auction. In addition to saving time in monitoring and managing your CPC bids, Conversion Optimiser advertisers may see better performance than manual bidding alone because it factors in different conversion rates such as search query, user location and conversion history of particular sites for each CPC bid. For more information about Conversion Optimiser, visit http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=60150&hl=en_GB.

About Google AdWords

Google AdWords is currently used by thousands of businesses worldwide to gain new customers in a cost-effective way. AdWords uses keywords to target ad delivery precisely to web users seeking information about a particular product or service. The programme is based on cost-per-click (CPC) pricing, so advertisers only pay when an ad is clicked. Advertisers can take advantage of an extremely broad distribution network and choose the level of support and spending appropriate for their business. For more information on launching your own campaign or getting expert help, visit http://adwords.google.co.uk.