Overview

This article explains how base bids, base budgets, and multipliers work together in Dayparting. Understanding these concepts is critical for configuring predictable schedules and avoiding unexpected bid or budget behavior when Dayparting is active.

Explanation

Dayparting does not set bids or budgets directly. Instead, it applies hourly multipliers to stored base values. These base values are maintained outside the Dayparting schedule and are used as the reference point for all calculations.

There are three core components involved:

• Base Bid

• Base Budget

• Multiplier

Each multiplier is applied to its corresponding base value for a specific hour and strategy.

Base Bid

Base Bid is the baseline bid value that Dayparting uses for calculating hourly bid changes at the keyword or target level.

How Base Bid is used:

• A multiplier of 1× applies the Base Bid without change

• A multiplier greater than 1× increases the bid

• A multiplier less than 1× decreases the bid

• A multiplier of 0× results in no bid during that hour

Base Bid is not dynamically read from recent bid changes. Dayparting always calculates from the Base Bid stored in Campaign Manager.

If bids are adjusted elsewhere without updating the Base Bid, Dayparting will continue to calculate using the previously stored Base Bid.

Base Budget

Base Budget is the baseline campaign budget that Dayparting uses for hourly budget calculations.

How Base Budget is used:

• 1× applies the Base Budget

• Values greater than 1× increase the available budget

• Values less than 1× reduce the available budget

• 0× results in no budget being allocated during that hour

Like Base Bid, Base Budget is maintained in Campaign Manager and is not changed by Dayparting schedules.

Multipliers

Multipliers define how aggressively Dayparting adjusts bids, budgets, or placements for each hour of the week.

Key characteristics of multipliers:

• Applied hourly, by day of week

• Calculated against base values

• Can be decimals (for example, 0.5 or 1.2)

• Allowed range is from 0 to 999

Common multiplier meanings:

• 1× → No change

• Greater than 1× → Increase

• Less than 1× → Decrease

• 0× → Pause behavior for that strategy during the hour

Multipliers do not permanently change values. They apply only while Dayparting is active and only for the scheduled hours.

Relationship Between Base Values and Multipliers

Dayparting always follows this calculation model:
Base Value × Multiplier = Applied Value

Because of this:

• Incorrect base values lead to unexpected results, even with correct multipliers

• Updating base values immediately affects future Dayparting calculations

• Setting future hours back to 1× allows performance to return to base behavior

Disabling Dayparting does not automatically revert bids or budgets. If the last applied multiplier was not 1×, the adjusted value may remain in effect.

First-Time Base Value Behavior

If a campaign, keyword, or target does not yet have a defined Base Bid or Base Budget, the system treats the current value as the starting base the first time Dayparting needs one.

Best practice:

• Ensure Base Bids and Base Budgets are explicitly set in Campaign Manager before activating Dayparting to keep multiplier behavior predictable.
  

Common Confusion: Bid vs Base Bid

You may see both “Bid” and “Base Bid” values in target or keyword views.

Difference:

• Bid: the current active bid value, which may change as Dayparting runs

• Base Bid: the stored baseline value used for multiplier calculations

When troubleshooting unexpected behavior, always verify the Base Bid and Base Budget first.

Summary

Base Bids and Base Budgets act as the foundation for all Dayparting calculations. Multipliers scale these base values hour by hour without permanently modifying them. Keeping base values accurate and understanding how multipliers apply ensures Dayparting schedules behave consistently and predictably.