How the auction works

Every time a page loads on the network, an auction runs in the background. The winning ad gets shown. Here's what happens in those few hundred milliseconds.

Step by step

1. A visitor lands on a page (e.g. cgmimm.com plumbers in Austin)
2. Cgmimm asks: "which ads are eligible to show on THIS page, to THIS visitor?"
3. The system checks every ACTIVE campaign:
   • Does the campaign target this geography (Austin, TX)?
   • Does the campaign target this category (Plumbers)?
   • Does the campaign target the search keyword (if there is one)?
   • Does the campaign still have daily and total budget left?
4. Eligible campaigns enter the auction. They're sorted by bid amount, highest first.
5. The highest bidder wins. Their ad is rendered. They're charged the bid (CPC) or a portion of it (CPM, prorated per impression).

"First-price" vs "second-price" auctions

Cgmimm runs a first-price auction — you pay your bid when you win. Most platforms (Google included) have shifted to first-price in the last few years because it's more transparent. You set your max bid, and that's what you pay if you win.

Why does this matter? You won't be surprised by spend. If you bid $1.25 CPC, every click costs $1.25 — never more.

Why your ad sometimes doesn't show

If you check your dashboard and see zero impressions, one of these is happening:

• Bid too low. Higher bidders keep winning the auction. Raise your bid by 25–50%.
• Targeting too narrow. Few pages match your geo + topic + keyword combo. Broaden one dimension.
• Daily budget hit. You used today's allocation. Resumes tomorrow.
• Campaign paused. Check status — DRAFT or PAUSED won't serve.