How do I get a Google AdWords developer token needed to manage Google bids with BidRank?

You will notice in the keyword wizard that if you select Google it will ask you for your Google Token and the Client Username. These are needed in order download and manage keywords from that account.

If you do not yet have a "My Client Center" (MCC) account at Google, you will need to sign up at Google AdWords API. Once you have created your MCC account you must log back out. Go to Google AdWords API again but this time log in using your new MCC username and password. This will add your MCC account to the developer's API. Once you are logged in, click on the My Accounts tab and then right below that click on AdWords API Center. Halfway down you'll see "Your Developer Token." You will need that token to complete the first page of the keyword wizard.

How do I check that I have the latest version of BidRank?

The News & Information dialog can be accessed by clicking on the newspaper icon on the BidRank tool bar.

What is the latest news and information from BidRank?

The News & Information dialog can be accessed by clicking on the newspaper icon on the BidRank tool bar. (see image above)

This dialog will contain any current issues concerning supported search engines and BidRank. Check here to find out if there is a known issue with BidRank or one of the search engines that it supports. BidRank updates this dialog whenever an issue exists or its status changes.

Information concerning special offers, new features, tip and tricks will also be displayed here from time to time.

How do I move my license registration to another computer?

• Install the same edition of BidRank on the target computer.
• Click Register on the target computer.
• Copy the target computer's Reference Code.
• Click Move License in the Licensing menu of the source computer.
• Enter the target computer's Reference Code and hit OK.
• CAREFULLY copy the displayed License Key.
• Enter the License Key on the target computer and hit OK.

Many find this useful when they wish to run BidRank on a laptop while on the road. Once they return they move the license back to the original computer.

This process is also useful if a license user wishes to begin using BidRank on a different computer.

How do I download the latest update?

Updates are available to those with an active subscription. Subscriptions are available for either monthly or annual terms and are automatically renewed at the end of each term for another like term.

Please open the News & Information dialog of BidRank and scroll to the bottom to check if there is a update available.

Update Instructions

• Click the Stop All icon (red traffic light) to stop all automation timers.
• Click the newspaper icon to bring up the News and Information page. It will tell you if a new update is available near the top of the dialog.
• If an update link is provided, click the link to download, then Save the file to your hard drive. Do not choose Open, or Run From This Location.
• Close the News and Information screen and exit BidRank.
• Double-click the downloaded file to begin the installation.
• Once the installation is complete you will be able to open and run BidRank as before.

NOTE: Updates do not require a new license key. Do not uninstall the current BidRank prior to the update.

What new features were added to BidRank version 3.xx?

BidRank for Overture Specific Enhancements

• Support for Overture's "Advanced Match".
• Support for Overture's "Content Match" listings, default is Paid Search (ps).
• Support for additional search engines including Overture US, AU, AT, DK, FI, FR, DE, IT, NL, NO, ES, SE, CH & UK.
• Keyword Wizard "Account Number" caching circumvents the 20 minute limit imposed by Overture.
• Keyword Wizard now supports category based downloads.
• Keyword Wizard "Category" caching circumvents the 20 minute limit imposed by Overture.
• Keyword Wizard now uses the current bid setting from the DTC account when creating a new keyword for the bid file.

BidRank Plus Specific Enhancements

• Support for additional search engines including Enhance Interactive (formerly ah-ha), BrainFox, FindWhat, Espotting (UK, FR, DE, DK, ES, NO, & SE), Kanoodle, SearchFeed, Xuppa, 411web, Lifetips, Turbo10, Mirago & QuePasa!
• Support for FindWhat's new $(idreplace)$ for the tracking portion of the URL.

Bidding Rule Enhancements

• "Relative Listing" bidding rule allows bid placement above or below a friendly/competitive domain name.
• Automation now has an "Initial Start Delay" option to provide a means to stagger keyword automation.

Bid Trending/Logging Enhancements

• Choose from "Standard" or "Full" bid logging to track up to the top 40 bids and their owners.
• Logging includes the "Comment" and "Note" text in each entry for logging of additional customized data.

User Interface Enhancements

• The top 5 bids are displayed in addition to the Bid Below amount.
• The Status Bar at the bottom of the BidRank display has the following additions:
  • On Target - the number of keywords that are on target (Green icon)
  • Off Target - the number of keywords that are off target (Red icon)
  • Changing - the number of keywords that are changing their bids
  • Checking - the number of keywords that are checking their position and bid amount
  • Pending - the number of keywords that are waiting to run
  • Error - the number of keywords that are in error (Yellow icon)
• Each keyword can be selected by clicking anywhere in the row instead of just on the keyword.
• An event log can be enabled for internet exceptions and other BidRank info.
• Status messages can now display text directly from the search engine when the search engine fails. Indicated by a status message starting with "SE:".
• Start Selected and Stop Selected have been added to the Keyword context menu.
• "Minimize to Tray" button on toolbar.
• BidRank can default to "Start minimized in the system tray", if enabled in the Preferences dialog.
• Status messages have been modified to remove ambiguity.

Performance Enhancements

• Connection time-outs have been increased to better handle certain search engine's server performance problems.
• Internet Connection performance selector to tune BidRank's response to certain search engines.

Can I make the same change to a large number of my keywords' bid properties in one edit?

Yes, you can make the same bid properties change to a large number or all of your keywords in BidRank. Select all of the keywords that you wish to apply the change to. Right click the mouse on the selection and click on Properties. Make the desired changes and hit Ok. A dialog will appear allowing you to confirm that you wish to apply the changes to the entire selection.

To select all keywords, press control-A.

To select certain keywords, hold down the control key while left clicking the mouse on the desired keywords.

To select a contiguous list of keywords, left click the mouse on a keyword at one end of the list then hold down the shift key while left clicking the mouse on the keyword at the other end of the list.

What does it mean when BidRank starts up with the message, "The number of concurrent BidRank users has been exceeded." ?

It is because, occasionally when BidRank is closed, the licensing system does not immediately mark the license as available. Therefore when you start it again the license is still taken. It takes 1 minute for the licensing system to release a license that has been abandoned. BidRank will open after that. Do not attempt to re-license BidRank. If your system is using a multi-user license, then all licenses may be allocated and you will have to wait for another user to close BidRank, which will make a license available.

Why am I getting a "Bidder's domain name NOT Found..." status message?

The "Bidder's domain name NOT Found..." status message indicates that BidRank was unable to find your listing in the search results for the specified keyword. This can be caused by a couple of different reasons:

• Listing is outside of the top 40 results.

BidRank requires that your listing appear in the top 40 search results for the specified keyword. If your listing is outside of the top 40, you will need to log in to the search engine manually and raise the bid enough to get listed in the top 40.

• Your URL does not exactly match what you have specified in your search engine account for the same keyword.

If you have recently modified the URL in your account, you must also edit the bid properties with the same change. We recommend that you use the Keyword Wizard from the Add Keywords option of the Edit menu to add keywords to BidRank. The Keyword Wizard will place the correct information into the bid properties field for the keywords that are downloaded into BidRank.

• Your account is off line or out of funds.

Check that the account is on line and the keywords are showing up in the search results for the search engine in question.

Why am I getting an "Error: Could not connect to SE." status message?

BidRank directly connects to the specified search engine (SE) when it needs to check a position or change a bid. Occasionaly this message may be displayed if the search engine drops its end of the connection. The keyword will usually run successfully on its next try.

If this message is being displayed for many or all of the keywords, then check the internet connection for the computer that is running BidRank to make sure it is up and running. If that is fine, then check the News & Information dialog to see if there are currently known issues with that search engine.

What does a status message mean when it starts with "(aa)SE:" ?

BidRank has an XML interface with each search engine that it supports. Whenever the search engine in question has a condition that prevents a bid check or change request from completing it returns a reason text. This text is directly from the search engine itself and can vary. BidRank displays this text in order to provide the user with the explanation that the search engine provided.

The "aa" portion in parenthesis is an abreviation for the request that BidRank made to the search engine.

• (gms) is the get market state request, which BidRank makes in order to check the current position of a listing.
• (sl) is the set listing request, which changes a bid.
• (gai) is the get account id request, which is made at the beginning of the Keyword Wizard.
• (gl) is the get listing request, which the Keyword Wizard uses to download keywords directly from the search engine.

What is the difference between the BidRank for Yahoo! Bid strategies: AutoBidder and Fixed?

The Autobidder strategy bids one penny below the bid of the competitor above you. Many refer to this as "bid jamming".

The Fixed bid strategy bids a penny above the competitor below your listing.

What is a “Max Bid”?

A Max Bid is the highest amount an advertiser is willing to pay each time the listing receives a click.

Go back to the FAQ index.