Adapt SEM More Information Overall Rating: Not Rated Pay Per Click Universe Recommends: AdWatcher - 100% Click Fraud Protection. Concerned about click fraud? Protect your online advertising dollars with the world's most trusted & accurate click fraud solution on the market today. AdWatcher will put a stop to competitors and fraudsters who are looking to drain your hard earned advertising budget. Test-Drive AdWatcher For FREE For 30 Days! Adapt SEM is a paid search management product offered by Adapt Technologies, Inc., a Pasadena-California-based company founded in 2005. Formerly sold under the name SEM-In-A-Box, it provides a means of automating the management of PPC ad campaigns and providing recommendations on various aspects of keyword selection, bidding, and optimization of ads. Using data compiled from an advertiser’s Google and/or Yahoo! accounts, Adapt SEM analyzes it against goals defined by the client, and produces recommendations for action ranging from high to low priority. The advertiser can view analysis showing the rationale behind recommendations and decide whether to accept or reject them. Recommendations are made in regards to five categories: bidding, keywords (additions, deletions, activations), ads (underperformers, optimal keyword ad pairs, and optimization in reference to others in the Ad Group), budget, and other miscellaneous factors. Advertisers still need to add and edit ad campaigns in Google or Yahoo!, but all other functions are executed automatically when a recommendation is accepted. For example, if you accept a recommendation to increase the bid on a specific keyword phrase, the bid will automatically be increased on your Google account, without you having to access your account on your own. Set up to allow Adapt SEM to access and make changes to your campaign accounts is quick and easy. One of the most powerful features of Adapt SEM is the Competitive Landscape function. With this feature, you can access information on your competitors’ positions versus your own in terms of keyword ranking, market share, etc. Additional features include a no-pain conversion of your Google ad campaigns to the Yahoo! model and a beta version of a reporting tool that presents data all the way from the initiative-goal level down to the individual keyword level. The product also includes a tool that generates possible keywords and a function showing your top-performing keywords alongside those of your competitors. Adapt SEM is offered in two forms – Small Business and Professional, with an Agency version also available. The Small Business option costs $199/month and covers those with up to a $5000 maximum monthly PPC ad spend, while the Professional version is priced at $299/month. The Competitive Landscape feature and Campaign converter are only available on the Professional option. Although the tool is not real-time, information is updated at least once every 24 hours (except for the Competitive Landscape data, which is typically updated once every 48 hours). Adapt Technologies is extremely customer-service-oriented, and many of the enhancements and additions to the product have come as a result of suggestions and feedback from users of Adapt SEM. Their beta reporting function is a perfect example of this, and the variety and type of reports continue to be fine-tuned as feedback is received. The product is not intended to be used by those engaging in small PPC campaigns, mainly because it is unlikely enough activity would be generated to ensure that recommendations would be defensible and accurate. There must be enough data available for the complicated algorithms of the program to be able to make recommendations that are likely to succeed. Each case is different, so if you have concerns about whether your volume is enough to warrant use of the tool, it is a good idea to discuss your expected traffic and conversions with the company beforehand. A 7-day limited test drive is available at no charge. Although the test drive doesn’t offer access to every feature, it can definitely enable you to judge for yourself if the product will be a good addition to your arsenal of PPC products, since it allows integration of your current Google or Yahoo! account goals and historical data. In addition, Adapt Technologies holds a free webinar to introduce advertisers to the capabilities of Adapt SEM, and webinar attendees are eligible for 50% off the first month’s cost if they sign up for the service. |
