Bidding
Bidding is a system for managing bids in PPC advertising, where an advertiser sets the price for a click, impression, or target action to participate in an ad auction.
In PPC networks (push, pop, native, search), ad delivery happens through an auction. The winner is the ad with the most competitive combination of bid, creative quality, and other platform factors.
Main goals of bidding
- controlling traffic cost
- improving ROI and CPA
- scaling ad campaigns
- optimizing budget
Types of bidding
- Manual bidding — bids are set manually for each source or campaign
- Auto-bidding — the system adjusts bids automatically based on algorithms
- Smart bidding — uses machine learning and target events (CPA, ROAS)
Bidding in simple terms
It’s the process where you indicate how much you’re willing to pay for a click or impression so your ad is shown more often and higher than competitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What affects bidding results?
Bid amount, CTR, creative relevance, landing page quality, and auction competition.
Does a higher bid always win?
No. Many networks also consider traffic quality and user behavior.
Is auto-bidding suitable for affiliate marketing?
Yes, but only after collecting sufficient data and with stable KPIs.