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Which Google Ads Bid Strategy Should You Use?

📅 18 January 2025⏱ 8 min read✍️ Rob Sanders
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Choosing the Right Bid Strategy

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Your bid strategy is how you tell Google's auction system what to optimise for — and it's one of the most consequential settings in your entire account. Get it right and Google's AI works with you to find the most valuable clicks. Get it wrong and you'll either spend too much for too little, or choke your campaigns with targets the algorithm can't realistically hit.

Think of bid strategies like cruise control in a car. Manual CPC is like driving with your foot on the pedal at all times — complete control, high effort. Smart Bidding strategies hand the pedal over to an AI co-driver who uses real-time data to constantly adjust speed. How much you trust that co-driver depends on how much data you have to teach it.

The Strategy Options — Explained

Manual CPC
Manual
You set a maximum bid for each keyword. Google won't go above that amount per click. No AI involved — every bid is what you decide.
Use when: New accounts with no conversion data, testing keyword performance, campaigns requiring precise bid control, or low-volume brand campaigns where you want exact cost management.
Maximize Clicks
Automated
Google automatically sets bids to get the maximum number of clicks within your budget, with no consideration for conversion quality. It's good for generating traffic data quickly, but be cautious — more clicks doesn't mean more customers.
Use when: Building initial traffic data on a new account, brand awareness campaigns where clicks matter more than conversions, or temporarily while gathering conversion data to switch to a conversion-based strategy.
Maximize Conversions
Smart Bidding
Google automatically sets bids to get the most conversions possible within your daily budget, using real-time signals. It doesn't target a specific CPA — it just tries to maximise volume. Requires conversion tracking to be set up correctly.
Use when: You have conversion tracking set up but not yet enough data to know your target CPA. A good bridge strategy between Maximize Clicks and Target CPA. Typically needs 30+ monthly conversions to work well.
Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
Smart Bidding
You tell Google your target cost per conversion, and it automatically adjusts bids to hit that target on average. Actual CPAs will vary — some conversions will cost more, some less — but over time Google aims for your target.
Use when: You have 30–50+ monthly conversions and know what a lead or sale is worth to you. Best for lead generation businesses (services, B2B, professional services) where the conversion value is consistent.
Maximize Conversion Value
Smart Bidding
Like Maximize Conversions, but optimises for total revenue rather than conversion volume. Requires you to pass revenue values to Google through conversion tracking. Prioritises high-value orders over lower-value ones.
Use when: Running ecommerce campaigns with variable order values and you want to maximise revenue within budget — without setting a specific ROAS target yet.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
Smart Bidding
You set a target ROAS (e.g., 500% means $5 revenue for every $1 spent), and Google adjusts bids to hit that target on average. The most sophisticated ecommerce bidding strategy — and the most data-hungry. Setting the target too high will restrict volume; too low loses profitability.
Use when: Established ecommerce accounts with 50+ conversions per month, accurate revenue tracking passed to Google, and a clear understanding of your target margins. Requires regular monitoring and target adjustments as performance evolves.
Target Impression Share
Awareness
Google automatically bids to ensure your ad achieves a target percentage of available impressions — at the top of page, or anywhere on page. Not tied to conversions at all.
Use when: Brand campaigns where you want to dominate your own brand name searches, or awareness campaigns where visibility is the primary goal rather than direct conversions.

Quick Decision Guide

Your SituationRecommended Strategy
New account, no conversion data yetManual CPC or Maximize Clicks
Have some conversions, no CPA targetMaximize Conversions
Lead gen with a clear cost-per-lead targetTarget CPA
Ecommerce, want to maximise revenueMaximize Conversion Value
Ecommerce with strong data and margin targetsTarget ROAS
Brand campaign, want to own your nameTarget Impression Share

Important note: Enhanced CPC (ECPC), which was a hybrid between Manual CPC and Smart Bidding, was sunset for Search campaigns in March 2025. If you were using ECPC, you'll have been automatically migrated to Maximize Conversions or Manual CPC depending on your campaign settings.

The Most Common Mistake: Setting Targets Too Aggressively

When advertisers switch to Target CPA or Target ROAS, the temptation is to set an ambitious target immediately — a CPA half what they're currently paying, or a ROAS double their current return. This backfires badly. Google's algorithm restricts bidding aggressively to hit the tight target, traffic drops, and the campaign stalls in a low-volume state.

The right approach: start with a target close to your current actual CPA or ROAS, let the campaign stabilise for 2–3 weeks, then gradually tighten the target (5–10% at a time). This gives the AI room to learn and maintain volume while gradually improving efficiency.

💡 Pro Tip

Use Bid Strategy Simulator (available in Google Ads) to see how different CPA or ROAS targets would affect your estimated volume and spend before committing to a change.

Sources & Further Reading

Google Ads Help: About bid strategies · Bid Strategy Simulator · Enhanced CPC sunset announcement

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this topic.

What Google Ads bid strategy should a new advertiser start with?

New advertisers without conversion history should start with Maximise Clicks to gather data, or Manual CPC if they want tighter control over individual keyword bids. Once the account has at least 30–50 conversions in 30 days, transition to a Smart Bidding strategy like Maximise Conversions or Target CPA. Jumping straight to Target ROAS or Target CPA without sufficient conversion data often results in poor performance during the learning phase.

What is the difference between Target CPA and Maximise Conversions?

Target CPA (cost per acquisition) tells Google to aim for a specific cost per conversion — for example, $50 per lead. Maximise Conversions tells Google to get as many conversions as possible within your budget, without a specific cost target. Use Target CPA when you have a clear maximum acceptable cost per conversion. Use Maximise Conversions when your main goal is volume and you're still calibrating your target CPA.

When should I use Target ROAS bidding?

Target ROAS (return on ad spend) is best for ecommerce accounts with high conversion volume — typically 50+ conversions per month, ideally 100+. It works best when conversion values vary (different products have different prices) and you want Google to optimise for revenue, not just conversion count. If your account has low volume or consistent conversion values, Target CPA often performs comparably with lower variance.

What happens during the Google Ads bidding learning phase?

When you switch bid strategies or change a Target CPA/ROAS target significantly, Google enters a learning phase of up to 2 weeks while its algorithm adjusts to new signals. During this period, performance may be inconsistent. Avoid making major changes (pausing keywords, changing budgets by more than 20%, adding ad groups) during the learning phase — it resets the clock and extends the instability period.

Is Manual CPC bidding still worth using in Google Ads?

Manual CPC remains useful for accounts where you have strong keyword-level data and want precise control over individual bids — for example, high-value exact match keywords where you know the optimal bid from experience. However, for most accounts, Smart Bidding strategies outperform Manual CPC once sufficient conversion data exists, because Google's real-time signals (device, time, location, audience) exceed what manual management can account for.

Not sure which bid strategy is right for your account?

Choosing and transitioning bid strategies correctly is one of the highest-leverage decisions in Google Ads. I help businesses get this right.

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