It’s recommended that the majority of the campaign traffic is opted into broad targeting. This can be broad match keywords, Dynamic Search Ads or AI Max for Search. These targeting types will give the best performance outcome along with Bidding Exploration.
Exploration works best on broad targeting (this can be broad match keywords, Dynamic Search Ads or AI Max for Search). The product is designed to explore longer tail queries, which means that it functions ideally with broad match. But it’s alright if other match types are also present in the campaign.
Smart Bidding Exploration uses Google AI to identify and bid on potentially high-performing search queries, whereas broad match relies on the keywords to match with relevant searches. Smart Bidding Exploration is an opt-in feature that works with broad match, Dynamic Search Ads or AI Max, and utilises Google AI to bid on searches that were previously out of reach.
Lowering ROAS targets will generally increase bids uniformly across all matched queries. This often doesn’t significantly increase traffic diversity. Enabling Bidding Exploration will inform the Smart Bidding algorithms to bid higher on specific traffic segments, with the goal of capturing additional valuable performance.
No. Think of targeting (keywords, DSA, AI Max) as a fishing pond, full of available traffic (fish). Turning on Smart Bidding Exploration won't change the size of the pond, or the types of fish swimming in it. Instead, think of bidding as the fishing rod and reel that you can use to capture those fish. Turning on Smart Bidding Exploration is essentially upgrading your gear to ensure that you're actually catching the fish that you're already eligible to catch.
How long should I enable Bidding Exploration for?
It’s recommended that you enable exploration for at least six weeks to understand the impact. Monitor performance to determine how long beyond that you’d like to continue exploring. Track the performance to understand if you can continue with this feature.
Can I view the net new queries/search terms/search categories that were reached by Smart Bidding Exploration?
- The best way to assess this is to view traffic diversity within the bid strategy report. If you’re running a campaign experiment, you can compare the traffic diversity of the control and trial arm by opening the respective bid strategy reports in separate windows.
- You may also view a breakdown of what those search categories were within the search terms insights report on the Insights page. Bear in mind: Some search terms may have been filtered out for privacy reasons.
There is no learning period. Note that it may take some time for bidding systems to learn which traffic sources are valuable (in part due to conversion delay). This ramp-up period may be one to two weeks in cases where a significant amount of new valuable traffic is identified via Smart Bidding Exploration.
What if I’m a Search Ads 360 user?
- Search Ads 360 support: Search Ads 360 customers are eligible and can enable this via campaign-level bidding or Google Ads portfolios via the Google Ads UI at this time. We expect a closed Search Ads 360 beta to support Google Ads Bidding Exploration in Search Ads 360 portfolios explicitly for search campaigns within the Search Ads 360 portfolio (estimated to be available in-line with Google Ads open beta launch).
- Search Ads 360 customers should reach out to their Search Ads 360 teams to express interest.
- Search Ads 360 advertisers with access to the Search Ads 360 multi-target portfolios alpha can alternatively utilise multi-target portfolios to create a Search-only sub-portfolio with adjusted ROI targets. Multi-target portfolios won't include special backend benefits that Exploration offers to more diverse traffic.
Note: Floodlights are compatible. Smart Bidding Exploration is uncertain to conversion source.
Yes. Smart Bidding will leverage available historical data.
What if I raise my ROAS target by around 10% and then enable Smart Bidding Exploration? Will I make use of the volume benefits without sacrificing ROAS performance?
This approach is discouraged, as it will limit Smart Bidding Exploration’s ability to increase traffic diversity. By increasing ROAS targets while simultaneously enabling Smart Bidding Exploration, there will be fewer opportunities for the algorithm to identify new high-performing traffic.
Will Smart Bidding Exploration work with data exclusions?
In the event that performance is impacted by a conversion outage and you need to apply a data exclusion, you may choose to disable Smart Bidding Exploration until performance stabilises.
Is Smart Bidding Exploration compatible with seasonal adjustments?
Yes.
Does Smart Bidding Exploration work with portfolio bid strategies that are at the manager account (MCC) level (also known as cross-account bid strategies)?
Yes. Note that if you enable Smart Bidding Exploration for a portfolio, it will apply to all campaigns within that portfolio.
Will Smart Bidding Exploration work with shared budgets?
Yes.
Will Smart Bidding Exploration be made available for Maximise conversion value (for example, without a target ROAS)?
No. Max conversion value is intended for customers who have a finite daily budget. Smart Bidding Exploration is intended for advertisers with uncapped budgets who are comfortable to accept a lower ROAS in order to scale performance. This feature won't be relevant for Max conversion value, which doesn’t leverage a target.
What happens if my budget becomes constrained after enabling Smart Bidding Exploration?
Smart Bidding Exploration is designed to function within bid strategies that aren't limited by budget. In the event that the budget becomes constrained, the Smart Bidding Exploration mechanism on the backend will be disabled. For best results, avoid budget capping.
Will Smart Bidding Exploration activation appear in change history within Google Ads?
Yes.
What if I enable Smart Bidding Exploration but my ROAS performance goes down?
When Smart Bidding Exploration is activated, the effective ROAS performance target will be around 10% below your initial campaign goal. For example, if your original target was 200%, the new effective target would be 180%. This adjustment allows for the exploration of new traffic sources. It's recommended to gather at least 50 conversions before evaluating performance.
Can I use CPC bid limits while Smart Bidding Exploration is enabled?
This isn’t recommended as it limits your ability to capture traffic.
Does Smart Bidding Exploration respect ad group-level ROAS targets?
Yes, but bear in mind that the new allowable ROAS target will apply to the ad group-level overrides as well. For example, if you’ve opted into a 10% lower ROAS, this will effectively lower all ad group-level targets by 10% as well.
Why am I able to view traffic diversity reporting even though I haven’t enabled Smart Bidding Exploration yet?
All Target ROAS search strategies will have the option to view traffic diversity reporting in the bid strategy report, even if they don’t have Smart Bidding Exploration enabled for that strategy.
How does Smart Bidding Exploration work with AI Max? Can I use the two features together?
- They’re complimentary products, but one isn't required to use the other. Smart Bidding Exploration requires broad targeting as a prerequisite (in addition to tROAS and unconstrained budgets). AI Max is one option for broad targeting (other options include standard broad match or Dynamic Search Ads).
- AI Max is one of the many ways you can expand your eligible reach on Search. From there, Smart Bidding Exploration will bid more opportunistically on that expanded reach to drive more conversion volume and traffic diversity.
