Google Expands Smart Bidding Exploration and Introduces Promotion Mode
Google is rolling out new updates to its Smart Bidding and budgeting tools, aiming to help advertisers discover new demand, capitalize on seasonal opportunities, and maintain predictable campaign performance. The enhancements include an expanded Smart Bidding Exploration feature, a new Promotion Mode beta, and adjustments to bidding target optimization for budget-constrained campaigns. These changes are designed to offer advertisers greater control over efficiency targets while scaling their campaigns.
Google has announced a series of updates to its Smart Bidding and budgeting functionalities, designed to assist advertisers in uncovering new demand, leveraging seasonal trends, and achieving more consistent campaign results.
The Smart Bidding Exploration feature has been expanded, allowing advertisers to set a return on ad spend (ROAS) tolerance. This enables campaigns to pursue additional conversion opportunities from search queries they might not currently be capturing. Google reports that campaigns utilizing this feature have seen, on average, an 18% increase in unique converting search query categories and a 19% increase in overall conversions. The capability is now available for Performance Max campaigns without product feeds, and a beta is being introduced for Shopping ads across both Performance Max and Standard Shopping campaigns.
A new Promotion Mode beta has also been launched. This feature allows advertisers to temporarily adjust ROAS targets and allocate additional daily budget during high-demand periods. These periods can include seasonal events, new product launches, or flash sales.
Further changes will affect bidding target optimization for campaigns limited by budget. Starting August 17, Google will update this optimization to deliver more consistent performance, better aligning with advertisers’ cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and ROAS targets. Advertisers will begin receiving notifications in Google Ads from July 6 if campaign adjustments are recommended.
These updates collectively aim to provide Google's AI bidding systems with increased flexibility to identify incremental conversions beyond existing keyword and audience patterns. The goal is to unlock new demand and help advertisers manage peak periods more effectively without requiring extensive campaign restructuring.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
