WebProNews

Google launched an interesting new feature to the AdWords interface that lets you see what could have been if you had bid differently. The feature, called the Bid Simulator, shows you the potential impact of your bid on your advertising results.

"While it can't predict the future, the bid simulator allows you to explore what could have happened if you had set different keyword-level bids," says Dan Friedman of Google's Inside AdWords crew.

The Bid Simulator uses data from the past week to re-calculate the number of impressions for which your ad could've shown if you chose a different maximum CPC, how many clicks your ad could've gotten for those impression, and how much those clicks could've cost. 

"The feature provides increased transparency into the AdWords auction and gives you the insight to make more informed bidding decisions to meet your advertising objectives," says Friedman.

Advertisers can take advantage of the information they obtain from the Bid Simulator and apply changes to their campaigns in the future, should they choose to do so. As Friedman notes, however, past performance does not guarantee future results.

To use the Bid Simulator, go to the "keywords" tab in your AdWords Account, click the bid simulator icon in the Max. CPC column next to the bid of any keyword.