Use bid multipliers to fine-tune your bidding

Use bid multipliers to automatically increase or decrease a line item's fixed CPM bid based on different criteria.

This makes it possible to have a single line item for many different contexts, rather than using multiple line items for each permutation of your targeting.

Show me an example

For example, if mobile performs tend to perform better for you, you can target both mobile and desktop devices in a single line item, and then set a bid multiplier to increase the bid for mobile devices (since they're more valuable).

Without bid multipliers, you would need to use two separate line items to use different bids for mobile and desktop inventory. 

What can I multiply based on?

You can set bid multipliers based on the following properties of your line items:

• Date and time**
• Device types
• Geography* 
• Audience lists*  
• Demographics
• Apps and URLs*
• Public exchanges*
• Private auctions*

* Up to 100 per line item
** Up to 6 different time windows

 

Would bid multipliers be useful for me?

You should consider using bid multipliers if you need to:

• Set a higher bid to boost your ad’s visibility when and where your ad is more likely to satisfy a customer’s intent.
• Set a lower bid for contexts where your lead quality or average order value is lower (to improve your ROI). However, note that lowering your bid may cause fewer visits and lower total sales, too.

Set a bid multiplier

1. Start in an existing line item.
2. On the Line item details tab, make sure the Bid strategy is set to a fixed bid. 
3. Navigate to the Bid multipliers tab.
4. Click the New multiplier button, then pick the type of criteria to use as the basis for multiplying your line item's bid.
5. In the window that opens, specify the specific details that will be used to multiply your bid, then click Apply.
6. In the table, find your new dimensions, then change the multiplier to a value between 0.1 and 10.0. For example, if your line item's bid was $5 CPM and you set a multiplier of 2.0 for a particular dimension, the bid would be changed to $10 CPM for impressions that match that dimension. 

Considerations

• Bid multipliers can only be used with line items that use fixed CPM bidding.

• Line items can be multiplied by a combination of more than one multiplier at the same time, but the combined total multiplier will be capped at 10.0.
  
  For example, if you used the following combination of multipliers…

  • Device type: Smartphone / Multiplier of 3.0
  • Geography: New York City / Multiplier of 2.0
  • URL: nyt.com / Multiplier of 3.0   

  … and an impression matched all three of those conditions, your line item's bid would be multiplied by 10.0 (not the combined product of 3.0 × 2.0 × 3.0, which is 18.0).

• You can't multiply based on the combination of multiple audience lists.

• If you set a multiplier in a line item for an app or URL, the line item will try to bid on the impression, even if the app or URL isn't explicitly included in the line item's targeting.

• Bid multipliers are called “bid adjustments” in YouTube & partners line line items and are available based on device type. Learn more

• Bid multipliers are not available for audio line items.