AI Smart Bidding best practices and FAQs

This article answers common questions about Smart Bidding and shares best practices for using it.

Tips and best practices

Successful campaigns often rely on having access to a wealth of data. To benefit from Smart Bidding, rather than obtaining a high number of goals from just one keyword, it’s important that the campaign collects data across a broad spectrum of keywords. Ideally, a healthy campaign should see 30–40% of its traffic distributed among a diverse array of keywords. This approach prevents data from being overly concentrated on a single keyword, which can skew results and reduce the overall usefulness of the data.
Smart Bidding can be activated immediately for CPA-focused campaigns since it operates directly with data from Apple Ads and does not require MMP data. For the CPI mode, a brief waiting period is recommended to gather sufficient performance data. For CPG and ROAS modes, waiting around 20 days after starting the campaign may provide more accurate data for optimization.
Always make sure your campaign is active before you try to set up or modify Smart Bidding strategies. If your campaign or the Smart Bidding is paused, you'll need to activate both the campaign and the Smart Bidding for the tool to start working. Note that each active campaign can support only one Smart Bidding strategy.
Bid-changing automations can't be set up on campaigns with paused Smart Bidding; Smart Bidding must be stopped first. Also, activating Smart Bidding will disable existing bid automations, and a warning pop-up will notify you if there is an attempt to combine these actions.
When using Smart Bidding with CPI, CPG and ROAS modes, which rely on MMP data, it is advisable to choose the “without re-attribution” option. This setting excludes redownloads from the optimization process, allowing for more precise bidding in the optimization efforts.
Smart Bidding can assess paused keywords based on metrics like Share of Voice (SOV) and other performance indicators. If it detects potential, Smart Bidding can automatically activate these paused keywords. Although this feature can be toggled on or off, keeping it enabled is recommended for optimal results.
After Smart Bidding is set to active, initial cost fluctuations are normal as the tool adapts to campaign conditions during its learning phase. It is advised to allow 2 to 3 weeks for the tool to stabilize and show improvements.

If you have questions about which strategy to choose or what target value makes sense for your goals, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact support via live chat.

Frequently asked questions

What factors does Smart Bidding consider when optimizing bids?

Smart Bidding is designed to help you get the most out of your ad spend by considering a variety of important factors:

Keyword performance: We look closely at how each keyword is performing within your campaign or ad group and adjust bids to maximize effectiveness.
Share of voice (SOV): To ensure you're not overspending, we analyze and adjust your bids on keywords that might not significantly benefit from higher spending.
Cost-per-tap (CPT) and Conversion rate (CR): If certain high-potential keywords are underperforming, we tweak the bids to help them realize their potential.
Seasonality: We keep an eye on daily and weekly trends, adjusting your bids to adapt to these changes.
Traffic: By examining past traffic trends, we can time your bid adjustments to support the impact you want.
Sweet spot: For keywords that aren’t spending yet, we find the bid amount that’s just right to start generating activity and quickly improve their performance.

Can Smart Bidding optimize campaigns across multiple countries?

Yes. You can include multiple campaigns and ad groups targeting different countries within the same Smart Bidding group, allowing unified optimization across multiple regions. Smart Bidding can also be applied directly to multi-country campaigns, enabling consistent bidding strategies even when managing diverse markets simultaneously.

Does Smart Bidding change or exceed my budget?

No. Smart Bidding does not alter your total budget. Your overall budget is constrained by Apple, and the tool will not exceed this total budget. It’s possible for your daily budget to be exceeded (consistent with how Apple Ads operate), but your monthly budget will never be surpassed.

Can I set up automations while using Smart Bidding?

It’s recommended not to set up automations for changing bids when Smart Bidding is active. Automations related to managing your budget or setting up notifications can be implemented without interfering with Smart Bidding’s optimization process.

Should I manually intervene while Smart Bidding is active?

It’s best to keep manual interventions to a minimum to let Smart Bidding optimize your ads. If you spot a critical issue that might impact performance, it’s okay to step in—just be sure it’s truly necessary before making changes.

What challenges can arise with Smart Bidding?

When you start using Smart Bidding, you might notice an initial uptick in costs. This is part of the learning period as the system adjusts to find the most powerful bidding strategy for your campaigns. These costs typically stabilize once Smart Bidding has fine-tuned its approach.

When should I see the effects of Smart Bidding?

You might not see immediate changes. Typically, allow 2–3 weeks to assess the impact of Smart Bidding. If you notice a spike or drop in costs within the first few days, continue monitoring before drawing conclusions.

Need more help?

If you have further questions on the process, contact your dedicated Customer Success Manager or contact the support team via live chat.