You'll see a warning regarding minimum bidding if you tried to set a Sponsored Search ad group default bid or Content Match ad group bid to an amount that is lower than the minimum bid required to keep all of the Sponsored Search keywords using the ad group default bid or the Content Match ad group active.
Note: Some Sponsored Search keywords that use an ad group default bid require a minimum bid. To keep all of the keywords using the ad group default bid active, set a bid that satisfies the highest minimum bid of those keywords, or set custom keyword bids.
How Minimum Bids Work
- Your keyword is active when your bid is greater than or equal to your required minimum bid for the keyword.
- If your minimum bid is set to increase, you are given a warning with a grace period of up to several days to review and adjust your bid before your keyword becomes inactive.
- Your keyword becomes inactive when your bid does not meet your required minimum bid.
- Minimum bids may be updated from time to time: During these updates, inactive ad groups or keywords may become active again, and active ad groups and keywords may become inactive.
Minimum Bid Information Locations
You can find minimum bid status in the following account interface locations:
- In the Status column on the Keyword page.
- In the Status and Keyword Bid columns on the Set Keyword Bids page inside a particular ad group—where you can use the Set Bids to Minimum button to quickly set your bids to the minimum required amount(s).
- Below the title of the keyword on the Keyword details page.
- In the Status column on the Ad Group page or Campaign details page (Content Match only).
- In the Status column on the Ad Group details page.
- Via an Advanced Search on the Keyword or Ad Group details page, when you specify a particular status to filter by.
- In the Status column of the Top and Watched Keywords lists, found on the Dashboard.
- Below the title of Ad Group on the Ad Group Detail page.
Minimum Bids for Sponsored Search
Some Sponsored Search keywords that use an ad group default bid require a minimum bid. If that minimum bid is higher than the ad group default bid you entered, you can either:
- Increase the ad group default bid. The amount we display is the highest of the minimum bids for keywords that use the ad group default bid. Those keywords will continue to use the ad group default bid.
- Set the ad group default bid to the amount you specified, and set custom bids for keywords in the ad group that require higher minimum bids.
Minimum Bids for Content Match
At this time, the minimum bid for Content Match ad groups remains $.10.
Custom Bids
A custom bid is a bid that can be set at the keyword level to override an ad group default bid. For example, if you set your ad group default bid to $.50, you may set a custom bid for one or more keywords within that ad group to override the default. Custom bids can only be set for Sponsored Search keywords.
To learn more about setting bids, see: