Google Bidding Update Triggers Rise in CPCs

The Google Ads August 17th bidding update has sparked significant changes in campaign performance. According to data collected by Mike Ryan from Smarter Ecommerce, CPCs are rising for budgeted-limited campaigns, and a sizable pool of cheap clicks have been liquidated and are now available to non-limited campaigns.

The update aimed to provide more predictable campaign performance by updating its bidding systems. It applied to Search, Shopping, Performance Max, and Demand Gen campaigns that use target-based bid strategies. The update completed on August 27th.

Kirk Williams observed that the data supports the notion that Google improved the overall system for non-limited-by-budget competitors. This is evident in the reversal of rank-limitation by CPC.