Member Avatar for Dani

I currently have an ad group that is set to Default bid $0.02 and Display Network bid auto.

Under the Display Network tab, in the Interests & Remarketing section, I have two types of audiences that I have a +100% bid adjustment for. Under the Topics section, I have a topic that I have a +25% bid adjustment for. I don't have any specific bids on individual keywords.

For today only, my average Search CPC is $0.02 and my average Display Network CPC is $0.07. Is there any way of figuring out how Google is calculating the CPC?? How is it getting from $.02 to bidding as high on $0.08 with certain ads?!

I'd call them, but support is closed on Sundays.

  • 3 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 219 Views
  • 1 Month Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by jobtardis

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer: multiple bid adjustments are multiplied, not simply added. With an ad‑group base bid of $0.02, two audience +100% modifiers applied together become 0.02 * (1+1) * (1+1) = 0.08. If the +25% topic also matched that auction it would be 0.02 * 2 * 2 * 1.25 = 0.10. That arithmetic explains the $0.08 bids seen on some Display impressions; was pointing in the right direction on official docs, and was correct that quality matters — the multiplication piece is the missing detail. (See a clear explanation of bid modifiers and how they combine: Search Engine Land — Bidding and bid adjustments.)

Why the account averages differ: the adjusted bid is essentially the max bid for that individual auction, but the actual CPC charged is determined by the auction (Ad Rank) and Quality Score. In practice Actual CPC is the minimum needed to beat the advertiser below you (commonly shown as AdRankBelow ÷ YourQualityScore + $0.01), so many auctions will charge less than the adjusted max. That is why a $0.07 average can coexist with individual $0.08 bids. (See background on Ad Rank and actual CPC: Search Engine Land — AdRank explanation.)

Other factors that change per-auction bids: overlap of multiple audience memberships (one user can match several lists), placement-level competition, rounding and caps, and whether the campaign is using automated/Smart Bidding (many automated strategies ignore or reinterpret manual bid modifiers). Adalysis has useful tests showing how audience modifiers behave with target CPA/ROAS bidding and why results are directional rather than exact. (Adalysis on audience bid adjustments.)

Quick verification checklist (actions that match the data in the thread): check the Display targeting report and segment by Audience/Topic/Placement to see which modifiers applied; look for users counted in multiple audiences; confirm the campaign’s bidding strategy (manual CPC vs Smart Bidding); temporarily remove or lower one +100% modifier to watch the effect; and, if strict control is needed, set a manual Display bid rather than “auto.” These steps will reveal whether the multiplier math, Smart Bidding behavior, or auction dynamics are producing the $0.08 observations.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for Member #949455

For today only, my average Search CPC is $0.02 and my average Display Network CPC is $0.07. Is there any way of figuring out how Google is calculating the CPC?? How is it getting from $.02 to bidding as high on $0.08 with certain ads?!

It's bit hard to explain this. I am assuming you are doing this:

But to figure out the CPC, here's the link to that:

Edited by Member #949455
Member Avatar for jobtardis

Ofcourse, it is calculated for your bids as well as quality score to that particular ads.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.