Google to remove bid multipliers from DV360 in May 2025

Starting May 2025, Google will remove bid multipliers from Display & Video 360 (DV360), the company's enterprise programmatic advertising platform. According to the announcement in Google's Help Center, "Bid multipliers will no longer be available starting May 2025. Use auto bidding or custom bidding with rules as an alternative." This change, which comes nearly four years after Google expanded its automated bidding capabilities, will significantly impact advertisers who still rely on fixed CPM bidding strategies.

Bid multipliers have been a staple feature in DV360, allowing advertisers to automatically increase or decrease a line item's fixed CPM bid based on different criteria, including date and time, device types, geography, audience lists, demographics, apps and URLs, public exchanges, and private auctions. The functionality made it possible to have a single line item for many different contexts, rather than using multiple line items for each permutation of targeting parameters.

Bid multipliers functioned as a tool for fine-tuning fixed bids, enabling advertisers to adjust bidding based on the perceived value of different impression opportunities. For example, if mobile devices tended to perform better, advertisers could target both mobile and desktop devices in a single line item, then set a bid multiplier to increase the bid for mobile devices, reflecting their higher value. Without bid multipliers, advertisers would need separate line items with different bids for mobile and desktop inventory.

The current implementation allowed for multipliers ranging from 0.1 to 10.0. If a line item's bid was $5 CPM and an advertiser set a multiplier of 2.0 for a particular dimension, the bid would increase to $10 CPM for impressions matching that dimension. Line items could be multiplied by a combination of more than one multiplier simultaneously, though the combined total multiplier was capped at 10.0.

Transition to automated bidding

This deprecation aligns with Google's long-term strategy of pushing advertisers toward automated bidding solutions. In August 2021, Casper Verhoofstad, Senior Product Manager for Display & Video 360, introduced improvements to automated bidding solutions, stating, "Automated bidding in Display & Video 360 helps advertisers improve performance by adjusting bids in real time to achieve the results they care about. Using Google's advanced machine learning, it evaluates and tailors your bids for every auction to help predict the likelihood of a conversion."

The 2021 updates included a simplified setup for Custom Bidding, outcome-based buying for branding campaigns, and a new reporting tool called Bidding Insights to provide more visibility into how automated bidding algorithms place bids.

The announcement has generated significant discussion within the programmatic advertising community. On Reddit's r/programmatic forum, one user expressed frustration with the change, stating, "Insane that DV360 is removing bid modifiers next month. They seem hell bent on not offering features that are table stakes in every other DSP."

Another industry professional commented, "I'm convinced they're trying to make this platform as dumbed down, tedious, and feature-lacking as possible." The sentiment reflects broader industry concerns about Google potentially limiting advertiser control while pushing toward more automated, black-box solutions.

However, not all professionals view the removal as negative. One commenter questioned, "Why do you care about bid modifier so much? It's such an old school concept and works with fixed bids only." Others defended the deprecation as a standard process that "removes bloat and allows the team to focus on more important things."

Another industry expert noted, "Let's be real, nobody really used this feature given its mandatory use of fixed bidding to consider. Custom Bidding for sure is better but is not perfect."

Google recommends two alternatives for advertisers currently using bid multipliers:

1. Auto bidding: Google's machine learning algorithms automatically adjust bids based on the likelihood of achieving desired campaign objectives.
2. Custom bidding with rules: This more advanced option allows advertisers to assign values to different events and create rule-based bidding strategies tailored to their specific needs.

Custom Bidding was enhanced in 2021 to allow advertisers to assign values to different events, such as conversions or purchases, through an easy-to-use interface rather than requiring technical resources to build custom scripts. This improvement made Custom Bidding more accessible to advertisers without extensive technical support.

Market implications

The removal of bid multipliers represents a continued shift in the programmatic landscape away from manual controls toward machine learning-driven automation. For advertisers and agencies, this change necessitates adjusting campaign strategies and potentially restructuring how they approach bidding optimization.

Google's strategy involves simplifying its demand-side platform offerings while focusing on its owned and operated inventory. As one Reddit user observed, "On search they make like 70-90% gross profit, on open web programmatic they have to actually compete and their gp take is much lower. They hang in there to maintain their hands on more levers but they don't want to sell anything but O&O if they can help it."

The shift has particular significance for sophisticated programmatic buyers who value granular control over bidding strategies. While Google positions automated solutions as more efficient and effective, some advertisers express concern about diminished transparency and control.

What marketers should know

For marketing professionals, this change highlights several important considerations:

1. Timeline for action: With the May 2025 deadline just one month away, advertisers have a very limited window to transition strategies away from bid multipliers.
2. Potential restructuring needed: Campaigns currently using bid multipliers will need to be reconfigured. According to Google's announcement, "To avoid disruption, remove bid multipliers from your line items or switch to custom bidding. Otherwise, these line items will be archived."
3. Opportunity to evaluate DSP partners: For agencies and brands dissatisfied with the direction of DV360, this change may prompt evaluation of alternative demand-side platforms that offer different approaches to bid customization.
4. Skill development in automated bidding: Marketing teams may need to develop expertise in setting up and optimizing automated and custom bidding strategies to maintain performance.

The continued expansion of automated bidding solutions across the programmatic ecosystem underscores the increasing role of machine learning in digital advertising. While automation promises improved efficiency and performance, the transition requires advertisers to develop new competencies and potentially sacrifice some level of direct control over their campaigns.

Timeline

• August 2021: Google introduced improvements to automated bidding in Display & Video 360, including simplified Custom Bidding setup and new reporting tools.
• April 2025: Google announces the upcoming removal of bid multipliers from Display & Video 360, giving advertisers approximately one month to prepare.
• May 2025: Bid multipliers will no longer be available in DV360. Line items using bid multipliers will be archived if not transitioned to auto bidding or custom bidding.