Smart Bids Overview

Updated
April 18, 2024

Merch Jar's Smart Bids feature offers a dynamic bid management system for your Amazon advertising campaigns. This guide details the Smart Bids system's two key components: Smart Bids for setting bid limits and Smart Bids+ for automated bid optimization.

Smart Bids

At the heart of your bid management strategy, Smart Bids enables you to set minimum and maximum bid limits. These limits act as guardrails, ensuring your bids remain within a range conducive to your financial strategy and campaign objectives.

Minimum Bid

Defines the floor for your bids. Any bid set below this value is automatically adjusted up to the minimum limit.

Maximum Bid

Sets a ceiling for your bids. Attempts to exceed this limit are automatically brought down to the maximum threshold.

These controls ensure consistency across manual adjustments, bulk actions, and Recipes, maintaining financial discipline within your advertising strategy.

Smart Bids+

Smart Bids+ automates the optimization of bids based on performance data.

Note: Smart Bids+ is a legacy feature, and we encourage transitioning to Recipes for advanced bid optimization.

Smart Bids+ Settings

  • Enabled by Default: New campaigns synced with Merch Jar will automatically have Smart Bids+ enabled.
  • Look Back Period: Determines the historical data range used for bid adjustments, excluding the most recent days.
  • Target ACOS Threshold: Provides a buffer to stabilize bids around your target ACOS.
  • Max Bid Adjustment: Caps the percentage change applied to bid adjustments.

For an in-depth look at how Smart Bids+ optimizes bids, consult our Understanding Smart Bids+ Automation document.

Smart Bid Profiles

Smart Bids utilizes a profile-based system in line with Merch Jar's Cascading Settings System (CSS). Each Smart Bid Profile includes settings for both Smart Bids and Smart Bids+.

Note: Only the minimum and maximum bid settings apply if Smart Bids+ is disabled for a campaign.

Profiles can be assigned at any level where the Smart Bid icon appears:

  • Ad Account: Default bid settings apply across all campaigns.
  • Campaign, Ad Group, Keyword/Target: Customize bid ranges for specific campaign elements.

If an item is inheriting a Smart Bid profile, the Smart Bid icon will be greyed out. If the Smart Bid profile is overridden at the level you’re viewing, the icon will be blue.

Utilizing Smart Bid profiles enables precise bid adjustments to align with your campaign goals, ensuring your advertising budget is used effectively.

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