When and Where Do I Use Bid Adjustments?

Types of Bid Adjustments

‍

There are many types of bid adjustments.  On the Google search network you can add a bid adjustment for top performing locations, to your ad schedule, on select devices, audiences, and placements.  There are also different bid adjustments for the Display Network that include audiences, topics, and placements.  

‍

You can find the bid adjustment column within the above sections of your campaigns, based on the bid adjustment type. Adding a bid adjustment is easy.  Simply go into the column that says “bid adjustments,” click the pencil icon and add it there:

Advanced bid adjustments can sometimes be difficult to find. You can find these within campaigns > audiences keywords & content > advanced bid adjustments.  Within search campaigns these end up being an additional adjustment on your call extensions. 

When to add bid adjustments:

It’s important to review these segments of data within a longer timeframe if you intend to add a bid adjustment. Depending on how much data you have within your account, you may need to view these on a 60 or 90 day basis. Add bid adjustments based on statistical validity.  Make sure you have enough data to show that increasing or decreasing bids on a segment of data will impact your campaigns positively. 

‍

When bid adjustments don’t work

‍

Now that I’ve given you all this great information about bid adjustments, it’s also important to know when adding all these adjustments is just a waste of your time.  If you are using Smart Bidding Strategies - with the exception of Maximize Clicks - then adding any bid adjustment besides device level bid adjustments is, in fact, just a waste of your time.  

‍

Google lays it out in a fantastic graph here (also found in this support article)

‍

All this to say, bid adjustments can be an excellent strategy when first starting off utilizing Manual CPC or if you are using a Maximize Clicks bid strategy. However, as soon as you switch to almost any type of Smart Bidding strategy they will be effectively ignored. 

‍

In summary, bid adjustments offer a powerful way to refine your Google Ads strategy by aggressively bidding on high-performing segments like specific locations, devices, or audiences, provided you've analyzed enough data for statistical validity. However, their utility is highly dependent on your bidding strategy. While they are an excellent tool when using Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks, it is vital to remember that most other Smart Bidding strategies, such as Target CPA or Target ROAS, will effectively ignore non-device bid adjustments as the system takes over optimization. Therefore, use bid adjustments judiciously and ensure they align with your overall campaign automation level to avoid wasting time on adjustments that won't be applied.

‍

‍

‍