{"id":2727,"date":"2025-03-07T22:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/?p=2727"},"modified":"2025-02-27T23:01:46","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T23:01:46","slug":"google-ads-now-runs-separate-auctions-for-each-ad-placement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/ppc\/google-ads-now-runs-separate-auctions-for-each-ad-placement\/","title":{"rendered":"Google Ads Now Runs Separate Auctions for Each Ad Placement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Google just quietly dropped a <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-ads-srun-different-auctions-for-each-ad-location-452749\">big update<\/a>, and if you\u2019re running search ads, you need to pay attention. Turns out, Google runs <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/6366577\">separate auctions<\/a> for each ad placement on the search results page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That means the top ad spots, bottom ad spots, and other placements aren\u2019t competing against each other. So if you\u2019ve been bidding aggressively to win a top spot, thinking you\u2019re beating out bottom-position ads\u2014yeah, that\u2019s not how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each position has its own auction, its own level of competition, and its own pricing structure. If you\u2019re not actively adjusting bids based on where your ads are showing, you\u2019re probably overspending in some areas and missing easy wins in others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com\/docsz\/AD_4nXc-YadmvhC8bGlEnszyn1hdvWbuO_FksYyhzYw6YvBzheP6zDTQWnC0Rx1QFYpVIGJkBhR4zKlnebQGtR5HJJABe--438iTPz58PKvukqwqWT1KMoc8flVz689Pgo_EceAiHdgjfg?key=lE1FBujM21r2itTBIeeu8A-O\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Via Google Ads Help<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Happening?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Google just clarified how its ad auctions work, and it changes how you should think about bidding. Here\u2019s what\u2019s different:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Top ads and bottom ads don\u2019t compete against each other. Google runs completely separate auctions for each ad position. You\u2019re not fighting against all other advertisers\u2014you\u2019re just bidding for a specific placement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your ad could show more than once for a single search. Since these are different auctions, it\u2019s possible for the same advertiser to win multiple placements in different spots on the page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Each position has its own pricing and competition level. Bidding for position #1 is completely separate from bidding for position #4. You\u2019re not just bidding for visibility\u2014you\u2019re bidding within specific placement groups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re not adjusting your bids based on placement, you might be throwing money away on expensive top spots or missing better opportunities in lower positions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How It Affects Your Campaigns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This completely changes how search ad bidding works and has some serious implications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>You might be overpaying for top placements. If you\u2019ve been maxing out your bids to secure top-of-page positions, you might be wasting budget on an auction that isn\u2019t even competing with lower placements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower placements could be a goldmine. If top placements are overpriced, but positions lower on the page convert well at a lower CPC, you might get better results by shifting your budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your bidding strategy needs to be more targeted. If you\u2019ve been treating all positions the same, it\u2019s time to rethink how you allocate spend based on where your ads actually perform best.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Bottom line\u2014you can\u2019t afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach to bidding anymore. With each placement running its own auction, blindly chasing top positions could mean wasted spend, while lower placements might be delivering better returns. If you\u2019re not actively analyzing performance by position, you\u2019re leaving money on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What You Should Do Next<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re advertising on Google Search, now\u2019s the time to start bidding smarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>Check Your Performance by Ad Position\n<ul>\n<li>Look at your conversion rates, CPCs, and <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/2615875?hl=en\">CTR<\/a>s for different placements. Are you paying more for worse results at the top?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Test Adjusting Your Bids for Lower Placements\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t assume the top spot is the best. If lower placements are driving cheaper, high-converting clicks, reallocate budget accordingly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Watch for Pricing &#038; Competition Shifts\n<ul>\n<li>Since each auction is separate, monitor how <a href=\"https:\/\/advertising.amazon.com\/library\/guides\/cost-per-click#:~:text=CPC%20(cost%20per%20click)%20is,of%20clicks%20the%20ad%20receives.\">CPC<\/a>s change across different placements and adjust your strategy as needed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use Automated Bidding Carefully\n<ul>\n<li>If you\u2019re relying on <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/6268637?hl=en\">Target ROAS<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/google-ads\/answer\/7381968?hl=en\">Max Conversions<\/a>, make sure it\u2019s actually prioritizing profitable placements and not just throwing your budget at the top of the page.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This completely changes how advertisers should approach bidding. If you\u2019ve been assuming all ad positions compete in the same auction, it\u2019s time to rethink your strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to make sure you\u2019re not wasting budget and are actually bidding where it matters? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.digitalposition.com\/book-your-call\">Let\u2019s talk.<\/a> We\u2019ll help you dial in your bidding strategy, maximize efficiency, and make sure you\u2019re competing in the right auctions\u2014without overspending.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google just quietly dropped a big update, and if you\u2019re running search ads, you need to pay attention. Turns out, Google runs separate auctions for each ad placement on the search results page. That means the top ad spots, bottom ad spots, and other placements aren\u2019t competing against each other. So if you\u2019ve been bidding&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":2729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[],"thumbnail_src":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design-2-300x225.jpg","thumbnail_medium_src":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design-2-768x576.jpg","featured_image_src":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Untitled-design-2.jpg","author_avatar_src":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/john1.webp","author_name":"John Vickery","category_labels":["News","PPC"],"tag_labels":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2727"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2727"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2728,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2727\/revisions\/2728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.digitalposition.com\/resources\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}