Good morning!
On 10/17/2011 PriceGrabber sent out an e-mail to their merchant notifying them that they will be applying a temporary 25% cost per click increase across all categories. The adjustment will begin on 11/01/2011 and run through 01/15/2012.
They go on to state that only fixed CPC rate card rates will be increased. This means your active bid amounts will not be automatically adjusted if you are using the bidding tool within the merchant account.
Why is this important & what does this rate increase mean to you if you are using the bidding tool, you ask?
Well lets say that you are using the bidding tool to bid a flat (Absolute) $0.25 in a category with a rate card value of $0.35 cents. When the rate increase goes into effect the category rate card bid will increase by 25% ($0.09) making it $0.44. Now you will be bidding $0.25 in a category with a rate card bid of $0.44. Depending on the competitions (if any) bidding, your listing could potentially drop in position. You would potentially need to raise your bid to retain the position that you previously held. Obviously you would want to do the research to see if your positioning falls when the rate card increase goes into effect before blindly upping your bids.
If you are using the bidding tool to modify the rate card value (Relative to CPC Rate) then the amount that you are bidding will STILL increase. Lets say that you are bidding a relative amount on -$0.10 in a category with a rate card value of $0.35 cents. That would mean you are currently paying a $0.25 CPC. When the rate increase takes place the rate card value will increase by 25% to $0.44. The bidding tool will then enact your relative bid of -$0.10 making your actual CPC $0.34 i.e. your CPC will increase by $0.09.
If you are bidding the straight rate card value across the board and not taking advantage of the bidding tool well then you need to contact your account representative right away. This is one of the best bidding tools offered by any comparison shopping engine and if used properly can seriously increase your overall return on the engine!
PriceGrabber also offers a Holiday Premium Package which allows merchants to prepay a set amount to not have the 25% CPC increase implemented. They also offer some additional goodies for doing so. I am waiting on the official details from them before I elaborate on this package further so stay tuned for an update once that information comes in.
**Update**
I received word from PriceGrabber about the Holiday Premium Package. There are certain requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for this package. If you are intested in possibly participating in this program, you should contact your PriceGrabber representative for more details!
That’s all for me today. If always if you have any questions please contact me.
Before I sign off, here is the e-mail that PriceGrabber sent to notify their merchants on 10/17/2011:
Dear PriceGrabber partner,
Effective November 1, 2011, PriceGrabber will apply a temporary 25% cost per click increase adjustment across all subcategories. This holiday adjustment is temporary and will go through January 15, 2012. Past holiday seasons have shown increased performance in terms of both traffic and conversion to sale. Hence, customer acquisition costs are expected to stay consistent with previous periods going into and throughout the holiday season. Additionally, the holiday CPC adjustment is created to offset rising costs to bring you the most qualified shopper during this period.
***IMPORTANT*** Only your fixed CPC Rate Card rates will be increased. If you are participating in our bidding program, please note that your active bid amounts will not be automatically adjusted. If you do not take action and adjust your bids to account for the 25% increase, you will lose visibility and traffic in the biggest retail season of the year. The CPC rates of competing product offers will increase. If you do not increase your bids accordingly, your product offers will appear lower in search results or may not appear at all.
You will be able to view the rate changes in your merchant login on Tuesday, October 18th. We appreciate your partnership and look forward to this holiday season! Please do not hesitate to contact your PriceGrabber representative. You are welcome to reply to this e-mail and it will be directed to the appropriate PriceGrabber representative.
Sincerely,
The PriceGrabber Team
Have a great day!
CSE.Manager
