Free tool
How The Google Ads Auction Works
Every time someone searches, Google runs an auction between advertisers. Move your ad on the chart: your position changes live, and the price you actually pay shows up on the drawing.
Google Ads ranks ads by Ad Rank, which combines your bid with the quality of your ad measured at the time of the search: expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. You then pay the minimum needed to clear the Ad Rank thresholds and rank above the advertiser just below you, within your max bid.
Move your ad
Position
1st of 4
You pay per click
€2.03
You pay the minimum to rank above Advertiser A.
Advertiser C bids €4.00 and ranks below you.
The ranking
- 1You17.6pays €2.03
- 2Advertiser A16.2pays €1.67
- 3Advertiser B15pays €2.01
- 4Advertiser C12pays €2.01
Simplified model, example figures: Ad Rank = bid × quality, and the price you pay is the smallest amount, to the cent, that puts you above the ad ranked just below you. In the real auction, Google combines your bid with the quality it estimates at the time of the search (expected click-through rate, ad relevance, landing page experience) and other signals, such as the context of the search, and your price also depends on Ad Rank thresholds and on the ads ranked further down. The price you pay always stays within your max bid. Quality Score itself is a diagnostic tool, separate from the auction. Google Ads Help: actual cost per click
How To Read The Simulator
Ad Rank = bid × quality Price paid = next Ad Rank ÷ your quality, rounded up to the cent
Each competitor is a curve: every combination of bid and quality that gives their Ad Rank. Move above their curve and you rank above them. The gradient bar is the price you pay: it stops where your line crosses the curve of the competitor ranked just below you.
Raise your quality and keep the same bid: the bar gets shorter. In the example, the same 1st place costs €3.25 per click when you bet on the bid, and €2.03 when you bet on quality. Google says it in its own help pages: your ad can win a higher position at a lower cost, even against higher bids.
The 3 Quality Signals Google Measures
- Expected click-through rate: how likely someone is to click your ad when it shows.
- Ad relevance: how closely your ad matches the intent behind the search.
- Landing page experience: how relevant and useful your page is to the people who click.
- These three signals also make up Quality Score, a 1 to 10 rating used for diagnosis. The auction measures them at every search.
Your Cost Per Click Rises While Your Bid Stays The Same?
Google says it in its help pages: your actual cost per click depends on the ad ranked just below yours, and on the ones below it too. Your ads, your pages and your competitors tell where the rise comes from.
Get Clear On My Bidding
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Théo MaupiléFreelance Paid Media
Google PartnerSuperMalter
