Device bid adjustments for desktop-heavy B2B

Pull your device performance report. Segment by device. Look at the closed-won column.

I'll tell you what you'll find: desktop is responsible for 85-90% of your actual pipeline revenue. Mobile is responsible for 5-15%. Tablets are mostly noise.

Now look at how your budget is allocated across devices. If it's relatively proportional to clicks, you're dramatically over-investing in mobile.

Why mobile underperforms in industrial B2B

When a VP of Engineering is evaluating a $20K piece of industrial equipment, they're at their desk. They have multiple tabs open. They're cross-referencing specs, downloading CAD files, comparing compliance certifications.

That research happens on a desktop computer.

Mobile traffic in industrial B2B is usually one of three things:

Field workers. Maintenance technicians looking up a manual or a part number on their phone while they're standing next to the machine. Informational intent, not purchase intent.

Accidental clicks. Banner ads or search ads that get tapped while someone is scrolling. Bounce rate on these is usually 80%+.

Job seekers. People using their phone to research companies for employment purposes.

None of these represent a procurement decision.

The exception

There's a segment of mobile traffic worth preserving: C-suite executives who do initial vendor research on mobile, then hand it off to their technical team. In some verticals, this represents real pipeline.

The way to identify it: look at mobile traffic that reaches your "request a quote" or "contact engineering" pages. If that traffic has a reasonable conversion rate and those conversions close in Salesforce, mobile deserves budget. If it drops off at the form, it doesn't.

The adjustment

For most B2B industrial accounts, I apply -50% to -70% mobile bid adjustments on core conversion campaigns.

This doesn't eliminate mobile. It means that when I'm willing to pay $8 for a desktop click, I'll pay $3-4 for a mobile click. Given the difference in conversion rates, the math works out to roughly equivalent cost per qualified lead.

On some campaigns where mobile conversion data is especially poor, I go to -100%. Effectively opting out.

In Campaign Settings, go to Devices. Set adjustments from there.

Check your actual data first. Don't copy my numbers directly — your vertical might be different. But in most industrial manufacturing accounts, the direction is the same.

Desktop converts. Mobile doesn't. Your bids should reflect that.