Today I noticed a new option in one of our clients Adwords accounts, Smart Positioning Beta. Google describes Smart Positioning as:
Smart Positioning (beta) is a bidding feature based on an auction model that differs from the regular AdWords auction model. Here are a few benefits of using Smart Positioning:
* It’s designed to get you more clicks for the same total cost.
* It aims to place your ad in the most cost-effective position each time it’s displayed on Google and the search network. (Learn how Smart Positioning works on the content network.)
* It can reduce the frequency with which you need to adjust your bids.
Here is a screen shot of the changes Smart Positioning is suggesting in this particular account:

Estimated Changes
Cost: No Change
Clicks: +17
Avg CPC: -.10
Max CPC Bids: +34.5%
The increase in Max CPC concerns me a little but as Google says:
Your average CPC for this campaign is unlikely to increase because Smart Positioning uses a larger discount than manual bidding alone. Your actual costs are likely to be much lower than your bids
Ok I’ll Bite, let’s give it a try for a week and see if it really makes a difference. I’ll keep you updated
Tags: Google, Adwords, Google Adwords, Adwords Smart Positioning, Smart Positioning