​Optimize floor prices in unified pricing rules​​ (Beta)

You can leverage Google’s machine learning expertise to automatically set floor prices per-query that maximize yield while protecting long-term inventory value. 

Optimized floor prices ^(Beta)  are available as a pricing option within unified pricing rules, in addition to fixed floor prices and target CPM. You have control over whether to use optimized floor prices and can choose to enable the feature on a per-rule basis.

Optimized floor prices or optimized pricing?

Optimized floor prices are intended to maximize yield, while optimized pricing aims to help preserve inventory value. If you use optimized floor prices, you don’t need optimized pricing because optimized floor prices already set floor prices that protect inventory value.

How optimized floor prices work

You specify a slice of inventory in a unified pricing rule where Google will automatically optimize floor prices.

When optimized floor prices are enabled for a unified pricing rule:

• The floor price will be optimized, leveraging Google’s machine learning model, to maximize long-term revenue. Our model adjusts for bidder's long-term behavior to increase your revenue without compromising long-term inventory value.
  • Setting a floor price too high risks having impressions go unfilled, leaving potential revenue on the table. 
  • On the other hand, setting a floor price too low risks compromising inventory value, as buyers can lower their bids and still win the impression, thereby decreasing your revenue. 
  • Optimized floor prices aim to balance this tradeoff and set a floor price that maximizes revenue. 
• Optimized floor prices will override floors from other overlapping pricing rules. This makes it easier to select the inventory you want to be optimized and removes constraints from overlapping rules that may limit the optimization potential.
  • However, it won’t override overlapping advertiser-specific floors. This allows you to optimize pricing on inventory while managing channel conflict with directly sold deals with advertisers.

Optimized floor prices on overlapping rules

When there are two rules with optimized floor prices enabled, and the rules share the same inventory, the rule created first is attributed to the query.

Note that because optimized floor prices set prices per query (not per rule), it doesn’t matter which rule is selected. However, for the purposes of reporting, Ad Manager attributes the query to the older rule.

Enable optimized floor prices

Optimized floor prices are only supported when you select “Set pricing for everything”;  It’s not supported when you select “Set pricing for specific items” (advertisers, brands, sizes, creative types, etc.). 

To enable optimized floor prices on a unified pricing rule:

1. Sign in to Google Ad Manager.
2. Click Inventory  Pricing rules
3. Click New unified pricing rule or select an existing rule from the table.
4. Next to “Pricing,” select Set pricing for everything.
5. Under “Pricing options for everything,” select Let Google optimize floor prices.
   You don’t need to set a value because Google automatically sets the floor price.
6. Update the remaining settings as needed and click Save.

Evaluate performance

To evaluate the performance of optimized floor prices, you can run a manual experiment with Optimized as the “Experiment price.” This allows you to compare the performance of optimized floor prices to a manually configured floor price or target CPM.

Publishers should avoid running experiments with optimized floors on rules with simultaneous overlapping targeting. Running simultaneous experiments on overlapping rules may lead to misleading experiment results due to spillover effects between the experiments.

Follow the normal steps to set up a manual experiment, making sure to do the following:

1. Click New experiment in the “Unified pricing rules” card.
2. In the experiment settings, select the pricing rule you want to evaluate under “Unified pricing rule.”
3. Select Everything as the “Pricing option.”
4. Under “Experiment price,” select Optimized from the dropdown.
5. As described above, leave the price next to Optimized as $0.00.
6. Update the remaining settings as needed and click Save.