Smart Bids Feature Overview & Setup Guide

Purpose and Capabilities

Smart Bids allow advertisers to set a custom CPC (cost-per-click) bid for specific traffic sources (source IDs) within the same campaign, without the need to create a new one. The bid can be set based on the performance of a particular source and can differ from the default bid set at the campaign level.

What Smart Bids can do:

  • Set higher or lower bids than the default CPC for selected source IDs.
  • Enable more efficient budget allocation by prioritizing sources with better performance.
  • Avoid completely blocking a source by simply lowering the bid — a softer control mechanism.

How it works:

  • Smart Bids only influence the bid amount used in the auction.
  • If the campaign wins the auction, the custom bid amount is charged.
  • In campaign reports, the actual cost is logged in the cost field.

Example

  • Default CPC: $0.01
  • Smart Bid for one source: $0.02
  • Campaign gets:
    800 clicks at the default bid
    200 clicks at the Smart Bid rate
  • Final cost: = (800 × $0.01) + (200 × $0.02) = $12

When to Use Smart Bids

Smart Bids are useful in the following scenarios:

How to Set Up Smart Bids

Smart Bids are available for all campaign types:  (Segmented & Unsegmented)

Setup steps:

  1. Go to the Targeting tab (this is also where source blacklisting is managed).
  2. Scroll down to the Smart Bids section.
  3. Click Add Smart Bid.
  1. In the pop-up window:
  • Enter source ID
  • Select one or more countries (from those already targeted in the campaign)
  • Set the desired CPC bid
  1. Click Save.

Once saved, your bid will appear in the Smart Bids list. From there, you can:

  • Edit bid values
  • Delete or add new Smart Bids as needed

How to Analyze Performance

Filter by GEO and Source ID

Summary

Smart Bids are available for all campaign types:  (Segmented & Unsegmented)

Feature Description
Higher bids For sources with strong ROI
Lower bids For underperforming sources without full exclusion
Flexible budget control Without duplicating campaigns
Easy management Via the Targeting tab
Detailed reporting Filter by GEO and source ID