Bid adjustments in Google Ads are percentage-based modifications that allow advertisers to increase or decrease their bids based on specific criteria and contexts. These adjustments help optimize campaign performance by allocating more or less budget to situations that are more or less valuable to …Bid adjustments in Google Ads are percentage-based modifications that allow advertisers to increase or decrease their bids based on specific criteria and contexts. These adjustments help optimize campaign performance by allocating more or less budget to situations that are more or less valuable to your business.
There are several types of bid adjustments available:
**Device Adjustments**: You can modify bids for mobile, desktop, or tablet devices. For example, if mobile users convert at a higher rate, you might increase mobile bids by 20%.
**Location Adjustments**: Target geographic areas with different bid levels. If customers in certain cities generate more revenue, you can bid more aggressively for those locations.
**Ad Schedule Adjustments**: Modify bids based on time of day or day of week. If your business sees better conversion rates during business hours, you can increase bids during those periods.
**Audience Adjustments**: Bid differently for specific audience segments like remarketing lists or demographic groups.
**When Using Smart Bidding**: Its important to understand that Smart Bidding strategies like Target CPA, Target ROAS, and Maximize Conversions use machine learning to automatically set optimal bids at auction time. When Smart Bidding is enabled, most manual bid adjustments become unnecessary or are handled differently.
With Smart Bidding, device bid adjustments are typically set to 0% because the algorithm accounts for device performance automatically. However, you can still use device adjustments to exclude certain devices entirely by setting a -100% adjustment.
Location and ad schedule adjustments may still be applied in some Smart Bidding scenarios, but the algorithm already considers these signals when determining bids.
The key benefit of combining bid adjustments with automation is letting machine learning handle the complex, real-time optimization while you provide strategic direction through your targets and any exclusions you want to enforce.
Bid Adjustments in Google Ads: Complete Guide for Exam Success
What Are Bid Adjustments?
Bid adjustments are percentage changes you can apply to your bids based on specific criteria such as device type, location, time of day, audience segments, and demographics. They allow advertisers to increase or decrease bids by a percentage ranging from -90% to +900% (with some variations depending on the adjustment type).
Why Are Bid Adjustments Important?
Bid adjustments are crucial because they provide granular control over your advertising spend. They enable you to:
• Optimize performance by bidding more aggressively when conversions are likely • Reduce wasted spend by lowering bids during less profitable times or for less valuable segments • Tailor campaigns to specific business goals and customer behaviors • Maximize ROI by allocating budget to high-performing segments
How Bid Adjustments Work
Bid adjustments are applied as multipliers to your base bid. For example:
• A +20% mobile bid adjustment on a $1.00 base bid results in a $1.20 bid for mobile devices • A -50% bid adjustment for a specific location reduces your bid to $0.50 for that area
Types of Bid Adjustments:
1. Device Adjustments: Modify bids for mobile, desktop, or tablet (-100% to +900%) 2. Location Adjustments: Increase or decrease bids for specific geographic areas (-90% to +900%) 3. Ad Schedule Adjustments: Adjust bids for specific days and times (-90% to +900%) 4. Audience Adjustments: Modify bids for remarketing lists and other audience segments (-90% to +900%) 5. Demographic Adjustments: Adjust for age, gender, and household income (-90% to +900%)
Bid Adjustments with Smart Bidding
When using Smart Bidding strategies like Target CPA or Target ROAS, most manual bid adjustments are not applied because the algorithm automatically optimizes bids in real-time. However, device bid adjustments of -100% are still honored, allowing you to exclude specific device types entirely.
Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Bid Adjustments
1. Remember the ranges: Device adjustments can go from -100% to +900%, while most others range from -90% to +900%. A -100% device adjustment completely excludes that device.
2. Understand Smart Bidding interaction: Know that Smart Bidding overrides most manual bid adjustments except for -100% device exclusions. This is a frequently tested concept.
3. Multiple adjustments stack multiplicatively: When multiple bid adjustments apply, they multiply together rather than add. For instance, a +20% device adjustment combined with a +10% location adjustment on a $1.00 bid equals $1.00 x 1.20 x 1.10 = $1.32.
4. Scenario-based questions: Expect questions asking which bid adjustment type to use for specific business goals. Match the adjustment type to the scenario presented.
5. Campaign-level vs. ad group-level: Bid adjustments can be set at different levels. Ad group-level adjustments override campaign-level settings when both exist.
6. Focus on practical application: Questions often present business scenarios where you must identify the appropriate bid adjustment strategy to achieve a specific outcome like increasing mobile conversions or reducing spend during off-hours.
7. Watch for trick answers: Be cautious of options suggesting bid adjustments work fully with all Smart Bidding strategies, as this is incorrect for most adjustment types.