ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_micros and ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_source populated while BiddingStrategyType is some smart bidding strategy

[Mat]

Hi there,

I have 4 questions (regarding the Google Ads API):

1) Why are the fields "ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_micros" and "ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_source" beeing populated in an ad_group_criterion report for a keyword even if the actual BiddingStrategyType is some smart bidding strategy like "TARGET_CPA" or "MAXIMIZE_CONVERSION_VALUE? This does not seem to make any sense.

2) Where are those values coming from? Are these legacy values from before the BiddingStrategyType was set to a smart bidding type?

3) Are we able to mutate the "ad_group_criterion.cpc_bid_micros" value on a keyword even if the  relevant BiddingStrategyType is some smart bidding type? <- this does not seem to be possible in the Google Ads UI.

4) if 3) is not possible: what's the recommended way to determine, if  ad_group_criterion.cpc_bid_micros on a keyword may be mutated or not?

Regards

Mat

[Google Ads API Forum Advisor Prod]

Hi Mat,

1) Why are the fields "ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_micros" and "ad_group_criterion.effective_cpc_bid_source" beeing populated in an ad_group_criterion report for a keyword even if the actual BiddingStrategyType is some smart bidding strategy like "TARGET_CPA" or "MAXIMIZE_CONVERSION_VALUE? This does not seem to make any sense.
2) Where are those values coming from? Are these legacy values from before the BiddingStrategyType was set to a smart bidding type?

For the above items, I would recommend that you reach out instead to the Google Ads Product support team, via this link. This is because they should be able to provide more insight on the behavior of a criterion entity's different metrics and fields and how they are represented in either API or UI reporting.

3) Are we able to mutate the "ad_group_criterion.cpc_bid_micros" value on a keyword even if the  relevant BiddingStrategyType is some smart bidding type? <- this does not seem to be possible in the Google Ads UI.
4) if 3) is not possible: what's the recommended way to determine, if  ad_group_criterion.cpc_bid_micros on a keyword may be mutated or not?

For these items, you can check out this guide on setting/managing bids, "Bids can be set at different levels of the campaign hierarchy: campaign, ad group and ad group criterion. ". Also, in the said API document, there is no restriction mentioned regarding the bidding type.

Best regards,

Peter Laurence Napa Oliquino Google Ads API Team

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