Bid Adjustments in Google Ads let you increase or decrease your bids for certain conditions to make your ads more competitive in auctions where conversions are more (or less) likely.
Instead of changing your base bid for all users, bid adjustments target specific devices, locations, times, audiences, or demographics.
How Bid Adjustments work
- You set a base bid at the campaign or ad group level.
- Then you apply a percentage adjustment (+ or -) for a certain factor, like:
- Device (mobile, tablet, desktop)
- Location (cities, countries, or radius targeting)
- Time (day of week or hour of day)
- Audience (remarketing lists, in-market audiences)
- Demographics (age, gender, household income)
Google then automatically adjusts your bid for each auction based on these settings.
When to use Bid Adjustments
Bid adjustments are useful when:
- You notice certain devices, locations, or times convert better
- You want to prioritize high-performing segments
- You want to reduce spend on low-performing segments
For example:
- Increase bids by 20% for users on mobile if most conversions happen there
- Decrease bids by 15% for a location with low sales
Things to keep in mind
- Bid adjustments are multiplicative, so multiple adjustments can stack
- Use historical performance data to guide your adjustments
- Over-adjusting can limit reach or waste budget
In short
Bid Adjustments let you control who sees your ads and how much you’re willing to pay, helping you focus your budget on the audiences and situations that deliver the best results.