Get the most out of your monthly ad spend
Introducing monthly budget averaging for priority campaigns.
What you need to know
We've updated our budget management model for priority campaigns, moving from weekly to monthly budget averaging. This change allows you to optimise your ad spend effectively to enhance your marketing strategy.
How it works
Our new pacing model uses your target daily budget as a guideline to efficiently plan your monthly advertising spend. This refreshed approach helps you get the most out of your monthly budget by increasing spend on days with high potential and reducing it on with lower expected returns. We’ve also introduced safeguards to help maintain steady pacing and avoid using up your budget too early in the month.
Rest assured – your spend will never exceed 30.4 times your target daily budget in a calendar month, or more than twice your daily target in a single day. This smarter approach helps maximise campaign performance by making the most of high-traffic periods while keeping your overall budget in check.
Keep in mind that adjusting your target daily budget during the calendar month may affect this distribution, so adjustments should be made thoughtfully to maintain optimal pacing.
Understanding changes made during the month
With the shift to monthly budget pacing, your ad spend is now calculated based on the calendar month. Here’s how it works across different scenarios:
Your total monthly spend won’t exceed your target daily budget multiplied by the remaining days in the calendar month, including the start day.
For example: If you start a new campaign with a $10 target daily budget on 15 January, there are 17 days left in the month (including the 15th & 31st). Therefore, the maximum spend for the remainder of the month would be $170 ($10×17 remaining days).
Your total monthly spend won’t exceed the amount already spent, plus your new target daily budget multiplied by the remaining days in the calendar month.
For example: If you’ve already spent $150 and then raise your campaign's target daily budget from $10 to $15 on 15 January, your total monthly budget will increase from $304 to $405 [i.e. $150 + ($15x17 remaining days)]. Therefore you will have $255 left to spend for the rest of the month.
Your total monthly spend won’t exceed your target daily budget multiplied by the number of days from the start of the calendar month up to and including the campaign's end date.
For example: If your campaign starts on the 1st with a $10 daily budget and is set to end on the 15th of the month, the maximum spend for the month would be $150 ($10×15 days, including the 15th).
Next steps
No action is required on your part. Your priority campaigns have automatically begun using a monthly budget pacing window. We recommend monitoring performance and adjusting your strategy to align with your goals. For more details on this update, please visit our ads blog.
FAQs
What is the maximum my priority campaign can spend each day?
Your target daily budget is a guideline, not a fixed daily limit. Our pacing system may spend less on some days and more on others, up to twice your highest daily budget for that day. Over the month, your total spend won’t exceed 30.4 times your daily budget, unless you change the budget during the month.
Will I always be charged my full daily budget?
Not necessarily; your target daily budget is averaged over the calendar month, so daily spend may vary. Some days you might spend less than your daily budget, and on others, up to twice the amount – depending on campaign performance and opportunity.
- For example: If your daily budget is $10, your campaign could spend up to $20 on a single day. However, over the course of a month, your total spend won’t exceed $304 ($10x30.4, based on the average month length of 30.4 days).
We define a month as starting on the 1st and ending on the last day, regardless of the number of days in that month.
What factors influence how eBay paces my spend?
We use real-time platform data and forecasted traffic to predict high-engagement periods and adjust your budget accordingly. Our systems also factor in past performance, seasonal trends, and category-specific activity to shift your spend towards times with higher sales potential.
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