How did Adwords change bidding at the end of 2023? (performance analysis)
What is AdWords? Google AdWords, now known as Google Ads, is an online advertising platform by Google. It allows businesses…
[2021 UPDATE] Along with the transition to the first-price auctioning model back in 2019, Google has changed the inventory pricing management system – which we talked about in this article. To make it easier to manage the Unified Pricing Rules (UPRs), we at Yieldbird and our optimization team have prepared a number of good practices for publishers, the application of which helps to efficiently and safely utilize UPRs. Below, you may review the set of recommendations that we shared in mid-2019. They are still up-to-date.
Best Practices for Unified Pricing Rules
Think about the targeting of the existing rules, and limit their number
Google has planned a limit of rules under the UPRs. Each publisher will be able to set a maximum of 200 rules at a time. It is advisable to think about how to effectively use this limit, which is why we recommend you properly group various parts of the inventory with similar characteristics and give them a common rule, so as not to duplicate rules that have a similar or identical effect.
Consider the characteristics of anonymous traffic in future pricing
Because of the removal of anonymous buying, you should carefully think about how to adapt prices for the most effective use of budget allocations from anonymous to branded. We do not expect that advertising expenses will suddenly be reduced – they will be transferred, which means that there is potential for taking advantage of them. Before determining the rates under the UPRs, it is good to check the share of anonymous buying on a specific inventory, as well as the differences in CPM between this anonymous buying and branded buying. The single rate should be a reasonable compromise between the previous two rates. Important: the recommendation applies primarily to the short period after the transition. It is important to monitor the situation on an ongoing basis after the transition – the first days/weeks will be crucial for adapting the buyers to the new conditions.
Analyze the list of completely blocked buyers/advertisers/brands
If you used the previous rules to block buyers/advertisers/brands, Google will automatically migrate these rules to the Protections section. We recommend that you check this migration carefully. If the blocks system was complex, publishers may get a message from Google about the impossibility of automatic migration. They will then have to carry out this migration manually.
Analyze the list of price-blocked buyers/advertisers/brands
If – instead of complete blocking – you used a high minimum price, then you will have to create identical UPRs. Note: You will no longer be able to set minimum prices per buyer – only total blocking will be possible for them (in the Protections section). Minimum prices for advertisers and brands will be available under the UPRs.
Check which line items the UPRs will affect
With the launch of the UPRs, Google has provided a tool that helps to evaluate how wide the application of each UPR will be. This information is available below the entered minimum price in the UPR section. Google shows the number of line items that can be affected by a specific UPR you create. Note: the number of line items that the given UPR can have a real impact on is usually lower – this is due to the fact that this tool does not take targeting into account. To identify the right line items, you must sort the list by views in descending order, and then check which displays are most likely to be affected by the potential impact of the UPR.
Think about the structure of the UPRs
In order to better manage the rules, you have to remember that, after switching to the UPRs, the order in which the rules are arranged won’t matter anymore. The key factor determining how a specific rule works will be the value of the rate. If you have 2 rules whose targeting will include the same part of the inventory, then the rule with a higher declared minimum price will apply.
Analyze the impact of potential UPRs on other demand channels
UPRs will affect all the non-guaranteed channels of demand. This means that a rate setting that may seem optimal for Authorized Buyers (in Ad Exchange) may have a negative influence on, e.g., header-bidding. We recommend a comprehensive ad stack analysis, which will allow evaluating the transition results for all sources of demand.
Secure your inventory
Make sure that all your inventory has an assigned UPR. This is important because of the risk of a sudden loss of CPMs in the short term, as well as due to the Bid-shading and SPO technologies being developed which, in the medium and long term, may reduce the value of your inventory.
Check the currencies
It is worth checking if the campaigns set in GAM have the same currency as the ones set in the UPRs. This will ensure consistency and predictable cooperation of individual demand channels.
Maintain a uniform pricing of your inventory
Remember that the introduction of the UPRs into GAM will affect both Ad Exchange and Open Bidding. In the case of header-bidding, it will block line-items in GAM, while Supply-Side Platforms (SSPs) in the head will not be 100% sure why their bids are not winning. It is therefore recommended that you set the same minimum rates in SSPs in the head as in the UPRs, which will provide clear information to buyers about your inventory pricing.
Make the rates of non-guaranteed campaigns in GAM realistic
Due to the fact that the UPRs will have a direct impact on the displaying of non-guaranteed campaigns (Network, Bulk, Price priority), it is important that their pricing be realistic, which will make it easier to manage their display. Maintaining of fictitious rates in order to prioritize them may not be possible if the UPRs are configured and, what is more, it may have a negative impact on the effectiveness of the entire system.
Analyze the seasonality and fluctuation of users
Try to adjust the minimum prices to the seasonality of your inventory. For example, if you have a website with content for school students, the demand will be different during the summer break and during the school year. These are important factors that are often overlooked in pricing strategies.
Secure the non-guaranteed campaigns
If you want to continue the display of non-guaranteed campaigns and, at the same time, leave them at the same priority as AdX, then you should check the average display (number of views) in a given period, and secure this display at a higher guaranteed priority (e.g. Standard). This will allow you to maintain the previous average number of views from the specific campaign and, at the same time, make display possible from a lower priority (a priority that remains competitive with AdX).
Secure the backfill campaigns
If you previously used backfills that worked at Priority 12 with a rate higher than zero (e.g. 0.01 or 0.02), then you should consider moving these campaigns to Priority 16 (house line items) or set the 0 rate for them. UPRs will not apply to such settings and will not limit their display.
Analyze the data about bids
Simultaneously with the change in the auction model, Google announced the addition of a new and more complete function that will make it possible to check how advertisers bid for a specific inventory. In the new version, the data are supposed to be more complete and, importantly, data about the bidding of Authorized Buyers in Ad Exchange will be available, which until now was not the case.
Note: The above good practices are a kind of generalization. Due to the huge variety of publisher setups, they should be adopted wisely and not used unconditionally. We recommend that you review each of the good practices and think which of them will apply to your inventory.
If you have any questions about the above points, don’t hesitate to ask. We’ll be happy to answer any doubts.
