Trafficvance's new bidding system (31)
If you haven't logged into Trafficvance today. They changed the entire bidding system. I personally liked the old system. It was simple and easy to use. This new system makes it more of a guess to pick your position. Oh well things are always changing in this business we just have to adapt.
Below is from their FAQ. It explains how the new system works.
New Bidding Algorithm
What changes did you make to your bidding algorithm?
You spoke and we listened! Gone are the days of having to bid up consistently throughout the day to stay in top position. You are now able to set the maximum allowable bid you are comfortable with, and Trafficvance will handle increasing your bid(s) until you reach your specified maximum bid. This great new feature will also ensure that you never overpay if another advertiser drops out below your current bid.
What do I have to do different now?
We suggest you change your bidding methodology by setting your bid to the maximum amount you are able to pay for a certain target. This is also known as the allowable bid.
How do I calculate my allowable bid?
Your allowable bid should be calculated as follows:
For lead gen based offers:
(Number of leads x Target CPA) / # of clicks or impressions received so far on the target
For revenue based offers:
(Revenue – Wanted margin) / # of clicks or impressions received so far on the target
Please note: Both number of leads as well as revenue should be from the same time period as the number of clicks or impressions you are calculating with.
Does CTR still matter with CPC creatives?
Click-through-Rate (CTR) in all CPC creative variations is now more important than ever! Trafficvance wants to ensure that our users see ads that they would like to interact with this means you should always make sure you have the best possible CTR for every target and consistently test with new ad variations. High CTRs will play a large part on how much traffic you will receive for any given target. We have added CTR to all Trafficvance reports so it is now easy for you to see how your targets stack up against each other.
How do I easily bid up to #1 position?
If you want to maintain #1 rank for your bids, the best way to do this is to use the "Increase bids by" functionality on the top nav of the Target Optimization Tool. Make sure you use the "%" in the dropdown. Try increasing your bids by 15% – 30%. Remember, the system will now only charge you the maximum bid if there is another high bid in second place. If you are still not in rank one, sort your targets by rank and check all targets that are rank #2 or more and again use the "increase bids by" functionality at the top and use "%". In this way, you should be able to manage your bids to the number one rank without over paying.
I really don't like their new bidding system.
It's far less transparent.
They only reason they would change this is to make more money from advertisers, which usually means higher bids.
Anyone experiencing drops in rev due to this new change?
I don't like it either.
"Average Rank" uses GOOD, MEDIUM, LOW, along with 1, 2, 3, and even some 1.2, 1.3 ... ?
Confusing. I would have like it better if they had at least a video tutorial or a warning that a change was coming.
So far I don't like it either. I had it down to a science on what position I wanted to stick with, and now the entire edit bids page is gone and replaced with the Target Optimization Tool, which I never liked in the first place. Like Mr. Green said, I'm sure this is more about increasing their bottom line than making it easier for their advertisers (us). One thing I can't find out from the FAQ is the amount that it outbids #2 by. For example, if your max is 0.02 and somebody is bidding 0.01, is it going to bid 0.011 or is it going to bid 0.015 or even (shudder) 0.02?!? I'm gonna call my rep today and see if he can enlighten me.
i hate the new system so far... i have seen a drop in traffic and an increase in cost. This is going to really hurt my bottom line down the road...
I just find it hard to believe that TV thinks they are giving you so much information with their new format yet I can't even figure out what my actual bid is or the actual highest bid for a target. What a piece of crap! TV is probably trying to figure out how to add a quality score column for your lp next.
Originally Posted by joshtodd
I just spoke with them too and told me they are still working on some more changes. 'Average Bid' will become 'Average Bid per Hour'. My rep couldn't explain to me in 'Average Rank' the difference between GOOD, MEDIUM, and LOW and the numbers though - I mean why are they using numbers to show your rank and the verbage GOod, Medium, Low.
+10 for their new system is fucked, and not just because it's "change", because it just doesn't make any sense.
I very very very much dislike this new system. I let my rep know today. Not the best idea to needlessly irritate big spenders (or potential big spenders) -- there are many other contextual traffic sources out there.
i dont like the new system but i like the MAX BID option.. i hated having to bid just above my competition.. now i set my max bid and just pay .001 higher than the other guys
Are you sure it's just 0.001 though? Have you read that anywhere officially?
new system blows... wtf TV
They told me 10% increments.
TV gonna destroy itself...why did they have to change smth that wasnt borken?
Originally Posted by ibanez
Originally Posted by joshtodd
My rep said the same thing, the minimum bid over and not .005 like the old "make my bid the highest" option used to be.
I only had one active campaign on trafficvance and my CPM dropped from $41 to $23 when they put in the new system. My traffic fell by maybe 25%, but my ROI increased dramatically.
I think this system really benefits people who add thousands of keywords at a time.
it sucks.
their traffic was dying and now this is another 'bullet' in the 'foot'
display and IO's are looking sooooo much better these days 
New bidding system sucks - killed some of my profitable URLs.
I used to spend $500+ per day on TV. After their new bidding system, I'm averaging just below $100. Killed one of my profitable campaigns. I'm also seeing major click discrepancies (up to 50%) on some of my targets. I've been running with TV for over a year, and never seen stuff like this before.
Sucks :/
Originally Posted by stian
Stop bidding so high y'all!
What does being 1.3 even mean?
In the last month my traffic has fallen to less than half of what it used to be.
I called my rep and he couldn't seem to explain to me how exactly I can have ranks like 1.4 or 9.7 either.
This really sucks big time.
I used to pay $0.017, I just paid 0.15 per view yesterday.
I had to stop that campaign.
I'm not convinced it's really all that bad, to be honest. I bid on 10,000s of targets and generally it's made my job easier, and a little cheaper. There are some aspects that I don't like, such as the GOOD ranking, but generally it seems pretty smooth. The people that adapt to the change will make the most money from this, as always.
On the otherhand, anyone that is unhappy with the new system should seriously consider contact Jonathon Vogel. He is usually more than happy to organise a phone call and is pretty good to talk to.
ya, I have stopped TV and gone to greener fields. those that can make it work. hats off! im finding my 50%-300% ROI with volume elsewhere 
I'm still profitable, but I'm finding that bid prices rise on traffivance daily now. Maybe it will level out at some point, or maybe TV is a sinking ship with dwindling traffic.
Wow. sweet setup they have, they can artificially increase anyone's bid now that has a higher set maximum, even if just 10% higher, that's 10% more profit.
Hope i'm explaining that correctly.
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