Bidding and Budgets Tools

About Automatic Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Bidding

Automatic bidding is the simplest of the AdWords bidding options. You just set a daily budget, and the AdWords system actively seeks out the most clicks possible within that budget.

With automatic bidding, you don't need to specify individual bids for ad groups, keywords, or placements. The AdWords system automatically adjusts your maximum CPC bids on your behalf. If you'd like to control the cost of individual clicks on your ad, you can set a maximum CPC bid limit.

Specify a bid limit of $0.50, for instance, and the AdWords system will never bid over $0.50 on your behalf for any single click.

By setting a limit, you have more control over your costs, but you also may restrict your ad position or the number of clicks your ads receive. If you choose not to set a bid limit, automatic bidding will function as it normally does, choosing whatever maximum CPC bids it determines will earn you the most clicks possible within your budget.

Automatic Cost-Per-Click (CPC) Bidding Best Practices

• Your target daily budget is the amount you'd like to spend on your AdWords advertising per day. The budget you choose to set is entirely up to you, based on the advertising goals you have.

• With automatic bidding, the AdWords system automatically manages your CPC bids with the goal of seeking out the most clicks on your ad. No matter how you adjust your keywords or placements during a billing period, our system makes sure that you're never charged more than the number of days in that billing period times your daily budget.

• If it's important for your business to control the cost of individual clicks on your ad, it's a good idea to specify a CPC bid limit. For example, if you sell a product that costs $5.00, you may wish to set a CPC bid limit of $5.00 so you never pay more than that for a click.

• By setting a limit you have more control over your costs, but you also may restrict your ad position or the number of clicks your ads receive. If you choose not to set a bid limit, automatic bidding will function as it normally does, choosing whatever maximum CPC bids it determines will earn you the most clicks possible within your budget.