How Do I Lower Google Ads Bids on Mobile or Exclude a Device? (2026)

To lower your Google Ads bids on mobile, set a device bid adjustment on the campaign or ad group: open the Devices view, click the pencil in the "Bid adj." column for Mobile phones, choose Decrease and enter a percentage. To stop showing ads on a device altogether, set its adjustment to -100%. Before you change anything, check which bid strategy the campaign uses, because Smart Bidding ignores every device adjustment except -100%. Adstudio does all of this from a chat: you ask "lower mobile bids by 20% on this campaign", review the before → after card, approve, and it reads the change back from Google.

TL;DR

• Device bid adjustments run from -90% to +900%, plus -100% to opt a device out entirely. Only device adjustments allow -100% (About bid adjustments).
• Smart Bidding mostly ignores them. Target ROAS, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value only honour a -100% device adjustment; Target CPA uses device adjustments to change the CPA target, not the bid (About Smart Bidding).
• Ad group beats campaign for the same device, unless the campaign is set to -100% (Add or remove a bid adjustment).
• Performance Max and Demand Gen use device targeting instead: you choose which devices the campaign shows on, not a percentage.
• Decide from the Devices report, comparing cost per conversion or conversion value per device over a full conversion cycle, not from click-through rate.

What is a device bid adjustment in Google Ads?

A device bid adjustment is a percentage Google applies to your bid when the search or placement happens on a particular device type. Google's About bid adjustments page lists three device types you can adjust in Search and Display (computers, mobile phones and tablets) and a range of -90% to +900%, with -100% available only for devices.

The arithmetic is a plain multiplier. A -20% mobile adjustment on a $1.00 bid makes the mobile bid $0.80; +50% makes it $1.50. When several adjustments apply at once, such as a device, a location and an ad schedule adjustment, Google multiplies them together, and the combined increase is capped at +900%. Google's own example: a $1 bid with +900% for a device and +900% for a location still bids only $10.

In the Google Ads API the same setting is a bid modifier, where 0.8 means -20% and 0.0 is "equivalent to a -100% bid adjustment in the Google Ads UI" (Bid modifiers). That matters if you read changes in scripts or exports: a modifier of 0 is an exclusion, not "no adjustment".

How do I lower my Google Ads bids on mobile?

Google's Add or remove a bid adjustment page describes the flow. Menu names have moved between Google Ads versions, so look for the Devices view rather than a fixed path:

1. Open the Devices view. In the left menu, open Insights and reports, then When and where ads showed, then Devices.
2. Pick the level. Filter to the campaign, or to one ad group if only part of the campaign behaves differently on mobile.
3. Edit the Bid adj. column. Click the pencil next to Mobile phones.
4. Choose Decrease and enter the percentage, for example 20 for -20%.
5. Save, then annotate the date so you compare like with like later.

To remove an adjustment, clear the value and save. To change several campaigns at once, Google Ads Editor takes device adjustments per campaign or ad group, with -100% to opt a device out (Set device bid adjustments in Google Ads Editor).

Campaign-level or ad group-level adjustment?

Both exist, and they don't add up. If a campaign and one of its ad groups both have a mobile adjustment, Google uses the ad group's. The exception is -100%: when the campaign excludes a device, the ad group's adjustment for that device is not used (Add or remove a bid adjustment).

Our rule of thumb: set the campaign level first and add an ad group adjustment only when one ad group clearly converts differently on mobile, for example a product that people research on a phone but buy on a computer. Ad group adjustments that nobody remembers are a classic reason a campaign-level change "does nothing".

Can I exclude mobile or tablets from a Google Ads campaign?

Yes. In Search, Shopping and Display campaigns, set that device's adjustment to -100% ("Decrease by 100%"). Google's help pages describe this as the way to stop ads from showing on a device, and it is the only adjustment that works under every bid strategy.

Three cautions before you switch a device off:

• Exclusion is all or nothing. -100% removes every impression on that device, including people who would have converted. A partial cut such as -30% keeps the reach while paying less for it.
• "Computers" means screens larger than 7 inches, and some phones fall into "Other" in device reporting rather than "Mobile phones" (About device targeting). Small numbers under "Other" are normal.
• People switch devices. Someone may click on a phone and finish the purchase later on a laptop, so a device that looks weak on its own can still start sales. Check that tracking is healthy before you cut a device; our guide on how to check Google Ads conversion tracking walks through it.

Do device bid adjustments work with Smart Bidding?

Mostly no, and this is where most "my mobile adjustment isn't working" questions come from. Google's About Smart Bidding page says the strategies set bids for every auction themselves and don't use your existing bid adjustments, with one exception for devices:

So on Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value, a -20% mobile adjustment sits in the account and changes nothing. If mobile returns less on those strategies, your options are to exclude the device with -100%, to move mobile traffic into its own campaign with its own target, or to let the strategy keep bidding on mobile auctions it values. Smart Bidding already uses the device as a signal in every auction, which is why Google doesn't apply a manual percentage on top.

On Target CPA, the adjustment is a way to say "I'll accept a higher or lower CPA on this device". A +20% mobile adjustment on a 30 target CPA lets the strategy aim for 36 on mobile.

How do I decide how much to lower mobile bids?

Use the Devices report, over enough time to cover your conversion lag, and compare the metric your bidding is built on:

1. Pick the window. At least one full conversion cycle; for most accounts that means 30 days or more, and longer for low-volume campaigns.
2. Compare cost per conversion (or conversion value / cost) by device, not click-through rate or cost per click. A cheap mobile click that never converts is the expensive one.
3. Size the adjustment from the gap. If mobile's cost per conversion is higher than the campaign average, an adjustment of roughly (campaign CPA ÷ mobile CPA) − 1 brings mobile bids in line. As an illustration with made-up numbers: a campaign CPA of 40 and a mobile CPA of 50 gives 40 ÷ 50 − 1 = -20%.
4. Move in steps. Change one device at a time, wait another cycle, and read the result before the next change. Bids that move a lot at once make it hard to tell which change did what.

If mobile is cheaper per conversion, the same formula gives a positive adjustment. Remember the budget side: raising mobile bids in a campaign that is already capped by its budget mostly moves spend around rather than buying more conversions; see why a Google Ads campaign is limited by budget.

When a device is losing money outright, look at the search terms and placements behind it before cutting bids. Our guide on finding wasted ad spend in Google Ads covers the search term side.

How do I exclude devices in Performance Max and Demand Gen?

Performance Max and Demand Gen don't take device bid adjustments. They use device targeting: in the campaign settings you choose whether ads show on all eligible devices or on the ones you pick.

• Performance Max: Google's campaign settings step lists computers, mobile phones, tablets and TV screens as devices you can target.
• Demand Gen: the same four device types, set at campaign level, with optional operating system, device model and network targeting for phones and tablets (About device targeting).

Because these are on/off choices, the decision is coarser: you're choosing whether a device is worth reaching at all. Check the device split first; for Performance Max, our guide to where your Performance Max budget goes shows how to read its channel and segment reports.

How do I change device bids and device targeting with Adstudio?

Adstudio connects to your Google Ads account, and to Meta Ads and TikTok if you run them, so device decisions start from the numbers and end with a verified change:

• "Show me last 30 days' conversions and cost per conversion by device for my Search campaigns." Adstudio breaks Google Ads results down by device, and Meta results by device and placement, so you can compare mobile against desktop across platforms in one answer.
• "Lower mobile bids by 20% on Brand – Search." Adstudio reads the current adjustment from Google first, so a relative change is calculated from what is actually set, and shows the change on a card, for example "Mobile · bid adjustment: No adjustment → -20%".
• "Stop showing the Shopping campaign on tablets." An exclusion is set as -100% and read back from Google after the change.
• Strategy-aware. On a Shopping campaign running Target ROAS or Maximize conversion value, Adstudio tells you a percentage adjustment would be ignored and offers the exclusion or a bidding change instead of making a change that does nothing.
• Devices on Performance Max, Demand Gen and Display. "Turn off TV screens on this Demand Gen campaign" or "only show this Display campaign on computers" works the same way, as a before → after card.
• Nothing changes until you approve. Every change is validated with Google before you see the card, and read back afterwards so the card shows what Google actually stored.

To compare device results across Google, Meta and TikTok in one view, read how to see Google, Meta and TikTok spend in one report. For Meta, see Adstudio for Meta Ads. Plans start at $19/month.

FAQ

Why is my mobile bid adjustment not doing anything?

The campaign is most likely on Target ROAS, Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value. Those strategies ignore device bid adjustments except -100%. The other common cause is an ad group-level adjustment for the same device, which overrides the campaign's.

Does -100% on mobile stop all mobile ads?

Yes, for that campaign or ad group. Ads stop showing on mobile phones under any bid strategy. If the campaign level is -100%, ad group adjustments for mobile are not used.

Can I set device bid adjustments in Performance Max?

No. Performance Max uses device targeting instead: you choose which devices the campaign shows on (computers, mobile phones, tablets, TV screens) in the campaign settings, without a percentage.

What is the maximum device bid adjustment in Google Ads?

+900%, which bids ten times your base bid on that device. The lowest is -90%, or -100% to exclude the device. Combined adjustments are also capped at +900%.

Should I lower mobile bids if mobile has a lower conversion rate?

Only if mobile's cost per conversion or return on ad spend is worse too. A lower conversion rate with much cheaper clicks can still give mobile the best cost per conversion. Compare by device over at least one full conversion cycle before changing bids.

Do device bid adjustments affect Target CPA?

Yes, differently from manual bidding. On Target CPA, a device adjustment changes the CPA target on that device rather than the bid, so +20% lets the strategy accept a 20% higher CPA there.

Steps and rules reflect Google Ads Help and Google Ads API documentation as of November 4, 2026.