Adwords: Optimizing for clicks vs. conversions - has algo / interface / functionality improved?

[gwendolynlee]

We've had a lot of success with adwords campaigns with optimizing for clicks, but the last time I tested/compared (honestly, probably over a year ago), optimizing for clicks yielded better results than optimizing for conversions...seemed like the conversion optimization was a little too touchy on lower-volume search terms.

Has anyone had success with optimizing for conversions for ecommerce?  Pretty seasoned and have ranged from 5k-50k spend/month, from 5k-40k clicks/month, but always open to ways to improve.  Have one of those pesky Google 'account strategists' knocking again, so curious what kind of successes (or failures) others have had.

[JasmineA]

I'm currently seeing EXTREME failures, even on branded terms. It optimizes for CTR rather than Conversion Rate. Or at least that's what I've seen. I don't understand the rational behind it. I would suggest testing it on a lesser converting campaign but one still with more than 15 conversions/mo. I agree that lower-volume terms & conversion optimizer don't work well together.

I'd suggest instead coming up with a bid management strategy to execute for some of the mid volume keywords and managing them on a more individual level.

When you get the account strategists, on a completely unrelated topic, you should ask for a list of betas that your account qualifies for! I'm sure you already do that, but they aren't much good at anything else.