Bid adjustments in AdWords and Bing Ads accounts

Some search engines such as AdWords can increase or decrease the bid you specify for specific types of devices, such as mobile, or specific types of targets, such as remarketing targets.

Smart Bidding strategies can find the optimal bid adjustment for your conversions or revenue goals because they use the same historical performance data to set the base bid and to adjust the bids for specific devices and targets. You can even set up a Smart Bidding strategy that focuses exclusively on optimizing bid adjustments. With this type of bid strategy you manually set bids, and the bid strategy automatically sets bid adjustments.

If you prefer a more hands-on approach, you can use a Smart Bidding strategy to simply recommend bid adjustments. Then you can periodically view and apply the recommendation when it suits your needs.

Selecting optimization options

When you're creating a Smart Bidding strategy, one with a conversion or revenue goal, DS presents the following options.

AdWords optimization options

• Keywords and other biddable items: Automatically sets optimal bids for your goals. If you clear this checkbox, you'll be creating a bid strategy that focuses exclusively on optimizing bid adjustments. You'll need to manually set bids, and then the bid strategy can automatically make the bid adjustments that you select.
• Mobile bid adjustments: Automatically adjusts bids for mobile devices. If you don't select this checkbox, DS will still recommend mobile bid adjustments, and you can apply them manually.
• Remarketing target bid adjustments Automatically adjusts bids for AdWords remarketing targets. If you don't select this checkbox, DS will still recommend bid adjustments for any AdWords remarketing targets you've set up, and you can apply the adjustments manually.
• Location target bid adjustments: Automatically adjusts bids for AdWords geo-location targets, proximity targets, and location extension targets. If you don't select this checkbox, DS will still recommend bid adjustments for any AdWords location targets you've set up, and you can apply the adjustments manually.

Bing Ads optimization options

• Keywords and other biddable items: Automatically sets optimal bids for your goals. If you clear this checkbox, you'll be creating a bid strategy that focuses exclusively on optimizing bid adjustments. You'll need to manually set bids, and then the bid strategy can automatically make the bid adjustments that you select.
• Mobile bid adjustments: Automatically adjusts bids for mobile devices. If you don't select this checkbox, DS will still recommend mobile bid adjustments, and you can apply them manually. Note that DS can manage or recommend only mobile bid adjustments for Bing Ads. A bid strategy might change the tablet bid adjustment setting, but doesn't manage or recommend tablet bid adjustments.

Changing the settings

After you create a Smart Bidding strategy, you can change most of the bid-adjustment settings. For example, if you start with a bid strategy that only recommends mobile bid adjustments,  you can change the bid strategy later to automatically apply the bid adjustments. Likewise, if you start with a bid strategy that automatically sets bid adjustments, you can change the bid strategy so that it only recommends bid adjustments.

However, once you set up a bid strategy to automatically set bids (that is, automatically setting the base bid, not just setting adjustments such as mobile bid adjustments), you cannot go back to a bid strategy that focuses exclusively on optimizing bid adjustments.