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When it comes to ecommerce advertising, automation is the name of the game. But not all automation tools are built the same. If you’re considering smec vs. Channable, the key difference comes down to control vs. convenience.
- smec is a PPC optimization powerhouse, designed to give retailers maximum control over Google and Microsoft Ads with automated bidding (tROAS & budget adjustments), asset group synchronization, and campaign automation for Shopping and Page Feeds.
- Channable is a feed management tool with PPC automation capabilities, helping retailers distribute and manage product listings across multiple channels like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. While Channable offers rule-based PPC automation, it lacks the advanced campaign steering, bid adjustments, and AI-driven budget optimization that smec provides.
So which one is the better fit for your business? Let’s break it down.
Table of Contents
🚀 smec: AI-powered PPC optimization with expert support
smec is built for ecommerce brands that want more control over Google’s AI—not just feed management, but real campaign optimization. Instead of just pushing product data to ad platforms, smec ensures that your campaigns align with your business goals through:
✅ Multi-dimensional product segmentation – Go beyond basic feed data and segment products based on profit margins, demand trends, and stock levels.
✅ AI-driven budget and tROAS optimization – Dynamically adjusts bids and budgets to maximize profitability instead of just chasing ROAS.
✅ Cross-channel campaign automation – Integrates Google and Microsoft Ads for a fully optimized ad strategy.
✅ Performance insights & transparency – Provides in-depth reporting, going beyond Google’s black box.
✅ Dedicated PPC experts – Combines automation with expert support to help retailers navigate the complexities of Google Ads.
💡 Best for: Mid-to-large online retailers looking for advanced PPC control, automation, and strategic guidance.
🔄 Channable: Feed management and rule-based automation
Channable is primarily a feed management solution. It helps online retailers clean up, optimize, and distribute product data across different ad platforms, marketplaces, and comparison sites.
What Channable offers:
✅ Feed optimization – Ensures product data is formatted correctly for Google Shopping, Meta, Amazon, and other channels.
✅ Rule-based automation – Allows users to create if/then rules to control product listings, pricing, and campaign structures.
✅ PMax – 1-2 dimensional product segmentation for PMax
✅ Marketplace integrations – Pushes product data to eBay, Amazon, Zalando, and more alongside ad platforms.
✅ Text ad generation – Automatically creates search ads based on product attributes.
⚠️ Where it falls short:
🚫 No AI-driven optimization – Unlike smec, Channable doesn’t actively optimize Google Ads campaigns based on performance.
🚫 Limited PPC control – Focuses on feed management, but lacks tools as advanced as smec’s for steering Google’s bidding algorithms.
🚫 Basic campaign automation – Automation is rule-based, meaning users must manually set conditions rather than relying on predictive AI.💡
Best for: Retailers that need feed management across multiple channels, but don’t require deep PPC optimization.
🏆 smec vs. Channable: Which one should you choose?
| Feature | smec | Channable |
| Product segmentation | ✅ Multi-dimensional (profit, demand, stock, margin) | ❌ 1-2 dimensional product segmentation for PMax, based on historical data from Google. |
| Campaign automation | ✅ AI-driven tROAS & budget allocation | 🔶 Rule-based adjustments |
| Cross-channel capabilities | ✅ Google & Microsoft Ads | ✅ Google, Meta, Amazon, marketplaces |
| Transparency & reporting | ✅ Advanced insights & competitor analysis | ❌ Limited ad performance insights |
| Feed management | ❌ Basic optimizations | ✅ Advanced feed customization |
| Expert strategic support | ✅ Dedicated PPC specialists | ❌ Self-serve with limited support |
| Best for | Retailers needing granular PPC control & AI-driven optimization | Retailers managing multiple product feeds across different channels |
Which tool should you choose?
It’s not necessarily about picking one over the other—it’s about finding the right combination for your goals.
- If your priority is optimizing and distributing product feeds across multiple marketplaces, Channable is a strong choice.
- If you need advanced campaign steering, bid automation, and deep performance insights for Google and Microsoft Ads, smec is the better fit.
For many retailers, using both tools together creates the ideal setup: Channable ensures clean, optimized product data across channels, while smec transforms that data into high-performing ad campaigns with AI-driven automation and control.
👉 Looking to maximize your PPC performance? See how smec helps retailers steer AI-driven campaigns towards better business results. Book a demo today.
