How do I lower or raise bids based on my targets?
Last updated: 31 October 2026 · The MargenOptimierer app is in German. Button and menu names are shown exactly as you see them, with the English meaning in brackets.
If a targeting's ACoS is above its target ACoS, or its clicks bring no sale, you lower its bid on the Optimierung (optimization) page. If its ACoS is well below target, or OTTO hardly shows the ad, you can raise its bid there. The page sorts every targeting into one of four rows, and one click changes all selected bids in a row by the same percentage. You decide whether the new bids go to OTTO right away.
How it works
- Open the Optimierung page. The Werbung (advertising) tab is already open.
- In a row, expand Betroffene Targetings (affected targetings). The new bid is shown next to each bid.
- All targetings are selected. Deselect the ones whose bid should stay as it is.
- Click the row's button, for example Gebote um 20 % senken (lower bids by 20%). To pick a different percentage, use the arrow on the button.
- In the window, click Jetzt an OTTO senden (send to OTTO now). With Erst in den Changelog (to the Changelog first), the change waits there with your other queued changes until you send it, as described in How do I send my changes to OTTO?
Example: Lowering and raising bids for garden furniture
Your garden furniture has a target ACoS of 25%. A targeting only enters a row from 10 clicks in the period, which is the default for minimum clicks. If its ACoS is above 25%, it's in the „Zu teuer“ (too expensive) row. If it had clicks but neither ad revenue nor an order, it's under „Klicks ohne Verkauf“ (clicks without a sale). If its ACoS is below 20%, it's under „Läuft gut“ (doing well), because by default that row takes anything below 80% of the target. A targeting that hasn't reached minimum clicks is under „Kaum gesehen“ (hardly seen) if it ran for the whole period and had, by default, fewer than 100 impressions. You change these values as described in When does MargenOptimierer start rating my targetings?
The keyword „gartentisch eiche“ has 680 clicks, 340 € of ad spend and 1,000 € of ad revenue in the period. That's 34% ACoS, more than the group's 25%, so it's under „Zu teuer“. You click Gebote um 20 % senken, 20% being the default, and 0.50 € becomes 0.40 €. No bid goes below OTTO's minimum bid, and the window tells you how many bids only go down that far.
The keyword „gartenstuhl klappbar“ in the same group has enough clicks and an ACoS below 20%, so it's under „Läuft gut“. For raising, 10% is the default, and Gebote um 10 % erhöhen (raise bids by 10%) turns 0.40 € into 0.44 €.
When Optimierung has nothing to offer
When a targeting isn't in any row
If you sent a targeting's bid to OTTO in the last 7 days, it isn't in any row, even if OTTO rejected the bid. That's the cooldown, and 7 days is the default.
When you see a sentence instead of the button
If OTTO's ad numbers are missing for a day in the selected period, you can't change bids in any row. Where the button would be, a sentence tells you the reason, such as the day from which a period is complete. If your account has no target ACoS yet, „Zu teuer“ and „Läuft gut“ show Ziele eintragen → (enter targets) instead of the button.
When MargenOptimierer asks again
When you raise bids, MargenOptimierer asks once more if a bid would end up above 2.50 €. If you raise by more than 200%, MargenOptimierer also asks, because the bid would then be more than three times as high. Both limits are defaults. If the value is right, click Trotzdem an OTTO senden (send to OTTO anyway) or Trotzdem in den Changelog (to the Changelog anyway).
Next
- How do I send my changes to OTTO?
- When does MargenOptimierer start rating my targetings?