Smart Bidding Exploration is a feature in Google Ads that allows your campaigns to experiment with new traffic and bidding opportunities while still targeting your performance goals.
It is part of Google’s Smart Bidding solutions, designed to help you discover additional conversion opportunities without fully changing your existing strategy.
How Smart Bidding Exploration works
- You enable Smart Bidding Exploration for a campaign or portfolio.
- Google automatically tests new traffic segments or bidding scenarios that your current strategy may not be fully reaching.
- Bids are adjusted to explore these opportunities while trying to stay close to your target CPA or ROAS.
- The system tracks performance and provides insights into what works best.
For example, if your Target CPA is $50, you can allow a 10% tolerance. This means Google may accept slightly higher bids for new opportunities, with the goal of discovering more conversions efficiently.
When to use Smart Bidding Exploration
- You want to find new audiences without disrupting your current campaigns
- You have enough historical conversion data for Google to make informed bidding decisions
- You are willing to slightly relax your target CPA or ROAS to gain new insights
Things to keep in mind
- Effective target CPA or ROAS may slightly decrease during exploration
- Results are measured over time; short-term fluctuations are normal
- Can be applied at campaign or portfolio level
- Helps inform future bid strategy adjustments
In short
Smart Bidding Exploration allows Google Ads to experiment with new traffic and opportunities while still optimizing for your performance goals, helping you discover untapped conversion potential.