About the Display Network ad auction

The Display Network ad auction shares many similarities with the AdWords auction. Your ads are ranked among other advertisers' ads based on Ad Rank, which is based on your Max cost-per-click (CPC) bid and Quality Score. This means that if your Quality Score is sufficiently better than the score of the advertiser immediately below you, you could rank higher than that advertiser, even if this person's bid is higher than yours.

Just like in the AdWords auction, your Max CPC bid isn't necessarily how much you'll pay per click. The price you pay -- Actual CPC -- depends on the outcome of the auction, and it’s often less than your Max CPC bid.

 This is how the Display Network ad auction differs from the AdWords auction:

●You'll pay what's required to rank higher than the next best ad position only for incremental clicks you get from being in the current position.

●You'll pay the price you would have for the next best ad position for the rest of the clicks.Learn more about theDisplay Network Ad Auction»