Bid adjustments allow you to show your ads more or less frequently based on where and how people search. For example, sometimes a click is worth more to you if it comes from a smartphone or from a specific location.
In this article, you’ll learn about the different types of bid adjustments in Microsoft Advertising accounts and how multiple adjustments interact.
If you’re looking for instructions on how to set bid adjustments, learn how to add or remove a bid adjustment.
How bid adjustments work
Bid adjustments are set by percentages.
Say you've got a campaign that performs well on mobile devices with a max CPC bid of US$1. To show your ad to more customers on mobile devices, you increase your bid by 20% for searches on mobile devices, resulting in a final bid amount of US$1.20. Here's the math:
Starting bid: US$1
Mobile adjustment: US$1 + (US$1 x 20%) = US$1.20
Resulting bid for searches on mobile devices: US$1.20
In another example, let’s say you have a US$1 bid and would like to decrease it. To adjust it to US$0.80, select Decrease by 20%.
Types of bid adjustments in Microsoft Advertising accounts
DeviceUse device bid adjustments to show your ad more or less frequently for searches that occur on specific devices: computers, tablets, or mobile devices.
Where you can use them
- Campaigns
- Ad groups
Range
- -100% to +900%
To opt out of showing ads on a certain device, decrease your bid by 100% for that device.
Use location bid adjustments to show your ad more or less frequently to customers in certain countries, cities, or other geographic areas.
Where you can use them
- Campaigns
- Ad groups
Range
- -90% to +900%
Use demographics bid adjustments to show your ad to target potential customers of either gender and/or in certain ranges of age.
Where you can use them
- Campaigns
- Ad groups
Range
- -90% to +900%
Automated bid adjustments for devices
To achieve the most efficient spend for your business goals, you can use a Search Ads 360 bid strategy to set device bid adjustments automatically in your Microsoft Advertising campaigns.
If you prefer, you can manually set the adjustment.
Search Ads 360 bid strategies don't automatically adjust location and demographic targets in Microsoft Advertising campaigns.
Multiple bid adjustments
If a device bid adjustment and a location bid adjustment both apply to a search, both bid adjustments are used to set the bid. For example, you set the following bid and bid adjustments for an ad group:
- Max. CPC: 1.00
- Device bid adjustment: +10% for mobile devices
- Location bid adjustment: +10% for Paris
If a customer search on a mobile device located in Paris matches a keyword in that ad group, your bid will be US$1.20:
US$1.00 + 0.10 for the device bid adjustment + 0.10 for the location bid adjustment.
Device bid adjustments at multiple levels
If you set a device bid adjustment at the campaign level and an adjustment for the same device at the ad group level, the ad group device bid adjustment will be used to determine the resulting bid adjustment.
Overlapping location bid adjustments
Multiple adjustments that apply to the same location won't be combined. If you set an adjustment of +50% for France and +100% for Paris, only the adjustment for Paris (the most specific location) will be used for traffic from users in Paris.
Related links
- Learn more about bid adjustments in the Microsoft Advertising help center
- Add or remove a bid adjustment