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Use bid simulations to estimate performance for your ad groups, criteria,
and campaigns under different bidding scenarios. You can use this information to
adjust and optimize your bidding strategy.
The bid simulations of Google Ads API predict how changing your bid in
various ways impacts cost, impressions, and clicks. This is analogous to
bid simulators in the
Google Ads UI and is based on historical data. For forward-looking predictions,
refer to the similar concept of
keyword planning.
Use case
Suppose you have an ad that's been running for a few weeks, and it is costing
a lot more than you expected or wanted to spend.
You want to test what might happen if you lower your bids a little. How many
fewer views and clicks would your ad get? How much less would it cost?
Conversely, what if your ad isn't getting the number of impressions and clicks
you expect? How do you know where you should set your bids to fix that
problem?
Bid simulations help you research these scenarios. When you fetch a bid
simulation, it shows projected views, clicks, and cost during the time period
your ad was showing.
With bid simulations, you can examine performance statistics for the past week
at the current level of bidding, alongside simulated performance over the same
time period using different bid amounts.
By analyzing how your ads might have performed differently in the past, you can
make more informed decisions about how to adjust your bids and campaign-level
bid modifiers for the future.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-09-03 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eBid simulations predict the impact of bid changes on your ad performance metrics like cost, impressions, and clicks.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThey use historical data to project how your ads would have performed with different bids over the past seven days.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBy analyzing these simulations, you can optimize your bidding strategy and improve campaign performance.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eBid simulations help answer "what-if" scenarios, such as how lowering or raising your bids would have affected your ads.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThey enable more informed decision-making for adjusting bids and campaign-level bid modifiers for future campaigns.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Bid simulations\n\nUse bid simulations to estimate performance for your ad groups, criteria,\nand campaigns under different bidding scenarios. You can use this information to\nadjust and optimize your bidding strategy.\n\nThe bid simulations of Google Ads API predict how changing your bid in\nvarious ways impacts cost, impressions, and clicks. This is analogous to\n[bid simulators](//support.google.com/google-ads/answer/2470105) in the\nGoogle Ads UI and is based on historical data. For forward-looking predictions,\nrefer to the similar concept of\n[keyword planning](/google-ads/api/docs/keyword-planning/overview).\n\nUse case\n--------\n\nSuppose you have an ad that's been running for a few weeks, and it is costing\na lot more than you expected or wanted to spend.\n\nYou want to test what might happen if you lower your bids a little. How many\nfewer views and clicks would your ad get? How much less would it cost?\n\nConversely, what if your ad isn't getting the number of impressions and clicks\nyou expect? How do you know where you should set your bids to fix that\nproblem?\n\nBid simulations help you research these scenarios. When you fetch a bid\nsimulation, it shows projected views, clicks, and cost during the time period\nyour ad was showing.\n\nWith bid simulations, you can examine performance statistics for the past week\nat the current level of bidding, alongside simulated performance over the same\ntime period using different bid amounts.\n\nBy analyzing how your ads might have performed differently in the past, you can\nmake more informed decisions about how to adjust your bids and campaign-level\nbid modifiers for the future."]]
