Improve campaign performance with Microsoft Advertising Suggestions

Keyword, bid, and budget suggestions provide quick and easy ways to improve campaign performance. You can find keyword suggestions on the Recommendations tab, and keyword bid and campaign budget suggestions on the Keywords and Campaigns tabs.

Keyword suggestions

Note

Keywords can only be added to Search campaigns. It's not possible to add keywords to other campaign types.

• Keyword suggestions are words and phrases that might be relevant to your campaigns based on the keywords and ads that you’re already using in each ad group. Adding these keywords can help boost impressions and clicks, improve ad position, and increase click-through rate (CTR).

• If Microsoft Advertising has keyword suggestions for you, you'll see a message at the top of the Campaigns page.

  Selecting the message link takes you to the Recommendations tab.

• When you've reviewed the keyword suggestions and made any changes you want, you can accept the suggestions and add them to your keywords list, or stick with the keywords you currently have.

• Use Keyword suggestions to update your keyword list

  1. From the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Keywords > Keywords.

  2. If Microsoft Advertising has keyword suggestions, the Increase traffic message appears at the top of the page. Select the view link.

  3. In the Keyword suggestions list, select the keywords you want to accept, modify, or reject.

  4. For the selections, do one or more of the following:

     • To use the suggested keywords in your campaigns, select Apply.
     • To first enter a different bid for a keyword, in the First page bid column, select the current bid and type a new amount. Then select Apply.
     • To reject the selected keywords, select Reject and select a reason.

  Note

  • If you change the suggested bid to a lower amount your ads may not run as frequently.
  • To associate a dynamic text variable with a suggested keyword, in one of the param columns, type the word or phrase you want to use. To learn more, see Automatically customize your ads with dynamic text parameters.
  • Suggestions in the keyword suggestion list are now available for exact, broad, and phrase matches. For more information on match types, see What are keyword match types, and how do I use them?

Bid suggestions

• Microsoft Advertising tracks your keyword bids and suggests changes based on the past performance of keywords. These can increase impressions, clicks, and ad position for your ads.
• You can review these suggestions on the Keywords tab. Microsoft Advertising offers bid suggestions for each keyword with a delivery status of Below first page bid.
• After you review the suggestions, you can apply them to the keywords, enter different bid amounts, or simply leave the current bids as they are.

Note

Bid estimates are based on performance during the last seven days, assuming you were using your current bid. These estimates do not guarantee similar results in the future.

• Use Bid suggestions to update your keyword bids

  1. From the navigation menu on the left, hover over Campaigns and select Keywords > Keywords.
  2. From the table toolbar, click Add filter.
  3. Click Attributes > Delivery > Eligible-limited >Below first page bid, then click Apply.
  4. Click the arrow to the right of Below first page bid and review the recommended bid.
  5. To use the recommended bid or one of your own, click the Current bid (Max. CPC) box for the keyword you want to update, place your cursor in the field, and then type the bid you want.
  6. Click Save to apply the changes.

Budget suggestions

• Budget suggestions are estimated changes based on past performance that may prevent your campaigns from pausing unexpectedly and can help increase impressions and clicks for your ads.

• If Microsoft Advertising has budget suggestions for you, you'll see a message at the top of the Campaigns page.

  Clicking the message link displays budget suggestions on the Campaigns tab. Microsoft Advertising offers suggestions for each campaign with a delivery status of Limited by budget.

• You can accept the suggested budget amount to your campaign, change the amount, or stay with your current budget.

Note

• Several factors affect how much of your budget is actually spent, so the budget amount you actually spend may not equal the recommended budget.
• Budget estimates are based on performance during the last 15 days, assuming you were using your current budget. These estimates do not guarantee similar results in the future.

• Use Budget suggestions to update your budget

  1. From the main menu on the far left, select Campaigns.

  2. If Microsoft Advertising has budget suggestions, the Your ads aren't receiving as many impressions as possible message appears at the top of the page. Select the review link.

  3. Select the arrow to the right of Limited by budget for the campaign you select, then do one of the following:

     • Select Accept to apply the budget amount suggested by Microsoft Advertising.
     • Enter your own updated budget amount, and then click Accept to apply it to the campaign.
     • Select Close to keep the existing budget amount.
     • Select See more suggestions to view the budget suggestions feature on the Recommendations tab of the Campaigns page.