ReferenceMicrosoft Advertising delivery status
Below first page bid
Below first page bid means a keyword's bid in Microsoft Advertising is too low for its ads to appear on the first page of search results. Raise it from the Keywords table with Edit, then Change current bid, and choose the estimated first page bid. If the ads already show on page one, the keyword has competed in only a few auctions.
At a glance
- Where it shows
- In the Delivery column of the Keywords table, and for dynamic ad targets in their own table.
- What stops
- Nothing stops. The keyword can serve, mostly below the first page, where few people look.
- How serious
- Low to medium. On a keyword that brings leads, it is lost volume.
What it means
Microsoft Advertising estimates the bid a keyword needs for its ad to reach the first page of results, and marks the keyword when its bid is under that estimate. The ad can still show, lower down or on later pages, where few searchers reach it.
Microsoft adds a case that puzzles people: the status can show while the ads are on page one. That means the keyword competed in only a small number of auctions, so the estimate rests on little data.
What actually triggers it
The bid is under the estimate
The plain case. Other advertisers bid more on the same searches, so this keyword's ad ranks below the first page.
A low quality score raises the bid needed
Microsoft says a low quality score makes ads less competitive. A keyword whose ad and landing page match the search poorly needs a higher bid to reach the same spot.
The keyword enters few auctions
With little auction history, the estimate is rough, and the status can show while the ad appears on page one.
A dynamic ad target
The same status applies to dynamic ad targets, whose bids are changed from their own table rather than the Keywords table.
Fix it in this order
- Go to Campaigns, then Keywords, and find the keywords marked Below first page bid in the Delivery column.
- Check whether each one brings calls and forms. A keyword that does not is cheaper left below the first page, or paused.
- For the ones worth more traffic, select the checkbox, then Edit, Change current bid, and Increase to estimated first page bid or Increase to estimated top of page bid.
- Where the quality score is low, improve the ad's match to the search and the landing page before paying a higher bid.
- For a dynamic ad target, select it in its table, then Edit and Change bids.
The estimate moves with the auction, so a keyword raised to it today can read below first page again later. Check the status alongside the keyword's leads, not on its own.
Running Microsoft Advertising beside Google is one of the things we sell. A status like “Below first page bid” is the kind of problem we sort out as part of that work, in an account that stays in your name.
Often confused with
Low quality score
Microsoft's separate status for a keyword whose quality score is making its ads less competitive. The two often appear together.
The keyword is inactive because almost nobody searches it. No bid fixes that.