Use a custom Floodlight dimension in a bid strategy

A bid strategy can optimize conversions for your CPA targets using the text values returned for a custom Floodlight dimension. To let a bid strategy optimize the conversions, you set a target CPA and use a formula column to indicate the importance of the values by weighting them.

The bid strategy will look at the valuations in the formula, and optimize conversions by bidding more for keywords that are more valuable to you and less for the least valuable keywords.

Use a custom Floodlight dimension in a bid strategy

1. Create Floodlight activity column that reports conversion for a specific dimension.
   Continuing the insurance quote example, a custom dimension could return  text values, "high", "medium", and "low". You can create a Floodlight activity column that reports the number of actions, transactions, or amount of revenue with "high" quotes.

   1. Click the Columns button in the toolbar above the performance summary graph.
      The column selection tool appears.

   2. Under Available columns, click ▸Custom conversions, then click Floodlight.
      A list of your existing Floodlight columns appears.

   3. Click Create a new column.

   4. Name your column and select the Floodlight activity whose data you want to include in the column.

   5. Use the Metric dropdown to select an Actions, Transactions, or Revenue metric you want to report on. Other metrics can't be used in bid strategies.

   6. Next to Custom dimension filter, click + Add Filter.

   7. Select the custom dimension in the dropdown list.

   8. Select one of the following match criteria:

      • Equals: The column counts only conversions for which the custom dimension exactly matches one or more of the values you enter. (The match is not case sensitive.)

      • Contains: The column counts conversions for which the custom dimension matches all or part of one or more of the values you enter.

   9. Enter one or more values to match. The filter is not case sensitive.
      Separate each value with | (vertical bar). For example:
      Northeast|Central

      In the example below, if you select:

      • Equals: The column reports only those Actions for which the Floodlight tag specified "Hi" or "hi" in the "Customer value" dimension.

      • Contains: The column reports those Actions for which the Floodlight tag specified "Hi", "hi", "High", "Thing", in the "Customer value" dimension. Note that the filter matches if the string occurs anywhere in the reported data. So "Hi" matches "Chicago" as well as "Highest."

      

   10. Optional. Use the Attribution model dropdown to apply a different model to the data.

   11. Don't select the Cross-device estimate checkbox. Estimated conversions can't be included in bid strategies.

   12. Click Save to add the column to your reporting table.

   13. Under Selected columns, drag and drop the new column to the desired location.

   14. Click Apply.
       The new column appears in your reporting table.

   15. Repeat the steps to create other columns that report the other variables.

2. Create a formula column that weights the values returned by the custom dimension.

   1. Click the Columns button in the toolbar above the performance summary graph.

      The column selection tool appears.

   2. Click Formula columns under the Available columns header.

      A list of your existing Formula columns appears.

   3. Click Create a new column.

      The pop-up with the settings for your new column appears.

   4. Name your column.

      This is the name that will appear in the reporting table, so make sure it's meaningful to all users who will see it.

   5. In the Enter equation box, add the desired functions using the Floodlight columns that report custom dimension values. For example, the formula for the insurance columns could be: (5*Floodlight column A) + (2*Floodlight column B) + Floodlight column C, where Floodlight column A = high insurance quote rating, Floodlight column B = medium insurance quote rating, and Floodlight column C = low insurance quote rating.

      See the list of functions you can use in formula columns.

   6. Next to When do you want to apply this formula?, specify how summary rows in a reporting table aggregate data from the formula column:

      • Before totaling data: summary rows sum the raw data in the individual rows and then apply the formula to the sum.

        For example, for a formula column that divides keyword cost by the number of days in a report, this option configures a summary rows to add the total cost and then divide by the number of days.

      • After totaling data: summary rows apply the formula to each row and then sum the formula results.

        For example, for a formula column that divides keyword cost by the number of days in a report, this option configures a summary row to divide each keyword's cost by the number of days and then add up the results.

      A message appears, indicating that the formula column can be used in a bid strategy with a conversions goal.

   7. Click Save.

      If an error occurs, click Select error to highlight the specific error, attempt to fix it, and then click Save again.

      Once you have resolved all errors, the column will automatically appear in the list of selected columns. If you're editing an existing column, you'll need to manually add it.

3. Create a bid strategy.

   1. Name your bid strategy.

   2. Select an engine account.

   3. Select a Conversions goal, and then click Next.

   4. Enter a target CPA.

   5. In the Conversion source list, click Formula columns.

   6. Click the formula column that weights the values returned by the custom dimension.

   7. Finish creating the bid strategy, and then save it.

4. Apply the bid strategy to campaigns or ad groups to optimize towards the custom dimension values.