AVG Bid Floor Metric - Campaign Planning Guide

How to estimate campaign potential and optimize bidding strategies for maximum reach within your budget based on the bid floor metric.


Content

Overview

The AVG Bid Floor metric in the Analytics → BI screen shows the average minimum CPM that publishers accept for their inventory. This supply-side metric helps you understand market pricing, estimate campaign potential, and optimize bidding strategies for maximum reach within your budget.

Understanding Campaign Potential and Reach

What AVG Bid Floor Reveals About Market Opportunity

  • Market Access: Lower average floors indicate more accessible inventory with broader reach potential
  • Competition Level: Higher floors suggest premium inventory with limited but valuable reach
  • Budget Efficiency: Understanding floors helps maximize impressions within your budget constraints

Reach Estimation Using Bid Floor Data

  • Above-Floor Bidding: Bidding above average floors increases your potential reach and win rates
  • Budget Planning: Use floor data to estimate how much inventory you can access at different price points
  • Market Penetration: Compare floors across segments to identify untapped reach opportunities

Strategic Filtering for Actionable Insights

Why Proper Filtering is Critical

Unfiltered AVG Bid Floor data combines all inventory types, geographies, and formats into a single average, making it too broad for strategic decisions. Proper filtering reveals the actual market conditions for your specific campaign requirements.

Essential Filter Framework

Primary Filters (Always Apply):

Source Type:

  • App: Mobile application inventory - typically higher engagement, younger demographics
  • Site: Website inventory - broader reach, diverse audience segments
Media Type:
  • Banner: Standard display ads - broadest reach, lowest floors
  • Video: Video placements - premium pricing, higher engagement potential
  • Audio: Audio ads - specialized inventory, growing reach opportunity
Country:
  • Geographic targeting reveals regional pricing variations
  • Identifies cost-effective markets for budget expansion
  • Shows premium markets where higher floors limit reach

Secondary Dimensions for Deeper Analysis:

  • Publisher: Compare pricing strategies across different supply partners
  • App Bundle/Site: Identify specific high-value or cost-effective placements
  • Ad Size: Understand format-specific pricing and reach potential

Campaign Planning Workflow

Step 1: Define Your Reach Goals

  1. Target Audience: Determine geographic and demographic reach requirements
  2. Budget Allocation: Set spending limits for different market segments
  3. Performance Objectives: Balance reach quantity with audience quality

Step 2: Analyze Market Potential

  1. Go to Analytics → BI screen
  2. Apply inventory filters: Source, Media Type, Country
  3. Add the Publisher dimension to see supply partner variations
  4. Review the AVG Bid Floor across different segments

Practical Applications

Budget Allocation Strategy

Multi-Market Campaigns:
  • Allocate larger budgets to low-floor markets for maximum reach
  • Reserve premium budgets for high-floor, high-value inventory
  • Balance spend across floor tiers to optimize total reach

Bidding Strategy Development

Competitive Positioning:
  • Bid 20-50% above average floors for strong reach potential
  • Test bid levels against floor data to find the reach/cost sweet spot
  • Adjust bids seasonally as floor patterns change

Market Entry Planning

New Geography Assessment:
  • Compare floors across potential expansion markets
  • Estimate budget requirements for meaningful reach in new regions
  • Identify low-competition markets with reach opportunities

Advanced Analysis Techniques

Trend Analysis for Strategic Planning

  • Seasonal Patterns: Track floor changes to plan campaign timing for maximum reach
  • Market Evolution: Monitor floor trends to identify emerging reach opportunities
  • Competitive Intelligence: Rising floors may indicate increased competition limiting reach

Cross-Segment Comparison

  • App vs. Site Reach: Compare potential audience access across different source types
  • Format Optimization: Identify which media types offer the best reach for your budget
  • Geographic Opportunities: Find underpriced markets with strong reach potential

Key Insights for Campaign Success

Reach Optimization Strategies

Floor-Based Targeting:

  • Target inventory segments with floors matching your bid strategy
  • Avoid markets where floors exceed your profitability thresholds
  • Scale campaigns in segments with favorable floor-to-performance ratios
Dynamic Budget Allocation:
  • Shift budgets toward segments with improving floor conditions
  • Reduce spend in markets where rising floors limit reach efficiency
  • Test new segments when floors become more accessible

Performance Monitoring

Reach vs. Floor Correlation:
  • Track how bid levels above/below floors affect actual reach
  • Monitor fill rates at different floor price points
  • Adjust bidding strategy based on reach performance data

Common Analysis Scenarios

Scenario 1: Maximizing Reach with Limited Budget

Filter by low-floor markets (under $1.50 CPM) across multiple countries to identify where your budget can achieve maximum impression volume.

Scenario 2: Premium Campaign with Quality Focus

Target high-floor inventory ($3+ CPM) in tier-1 markets, budgeting accordingly for limited but valuable reach.

Scenario 3: Market Expansion Planning

Compare average floors across potential new markets to estimate budget requirements and reach potential for geographic expansion.

 


Key Takeaway: AVG Bid Floor data becomes a powerful reach planning tool when properly filtered by source, media type, and geography. Use this metric to estimate market potential, optimize budget allocation, and develop bidding strategies that maximize your campaign's reach within budget constraints.