Google Ads Bid Strategies: How to Choose the Right One

The bid strategy decides how Google Ads sets your bids in each ad auction. Which one suits you depends on what the campaign should deliver and how many conversions the account has. A conversion is a sale or enquiry that you measure in Google Ads.

My recommendation looks like this:

• If the campaign has no conversion data yet, Maximize clicks works while you build it up.
• If your conversion tracking is accurate, choose Maximize conversions. If your sales have different values, choose Maximize conversion value.
• If you know what a conversion may cost or what return you need, choose Target CPA or Target ROAS.
• If your ads need to show for your own brand name, Target impression share can be a good fit.

What is a bid strategy in Google Ads?

A bid strategy determines how Google Ads sets your bids in the ad auctions. You choose what the campaign should aim for and the strategy decides how the budget is used to get there.

The strategy affects what you pay per click and which auctions your ads win. That is why it should follow the goal of the campaign.

Automated or manual bidding in Google Ads

The difference is who sets the bids. With manual bidding you do it yourself and with automated bidding Google does it based on the goal you set.

Manual bidding

With Manual CPC you set a maximum bid per click for each ad group or keyword yourself. CPC stands for cost per click.

Enhanced CPC (ECPC) used to raise and lower manual bids automatically. Google removed it for Search and Display campaigns in the week of 31 March 2025. Campaigns that still used it have run on Manual CPC since then.

Advantages:

• You have full control over every bid.
• You can change the bid for a single keyword straight away.
• It suits advertisers with experience and time to follow the account.

Disadvantages:

• It takes a lot of time.
• It requires constant follow-up and adjustment.
• The risk of mistakes grows with the number of keywords.

Automated bidding

With automated bidding Google sets the bids based on your goal. The strategies that optimise for conversions or conversion value are called Smart Bidding and calculate a new bid in every auction. The bids then take signals such as device, location and time of day into account.

Advantages:

• You save time because Google manages the bids.
• Every bid is adapted to the individual auction.
• The strategy adjusts when demand changes.

Disadvantages:

• You have less control over individual bids.
• The strategy needs time to adjust after every major change.
• Your conversion tracking has to be accurate. Otherwise Google optimises towards the wrong goal.

The bid strategies and when they fit

In Search campaigns Google moved Target CPA and Target ROAS in 2021 so that they became optional targets within Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value. Since June 2026 the interface shows them as separate strategies again. According to Google they work exactly as before and you may see both names during the transition. Since August 2026 both bid towards the target even when the budget limits the campaign. So set the target based on your recent performance.

1. Maximize clicks

Goal: The strategy gets as many clicks as possible for your budget.

Best for: Campaigns that should drive traffic to your website. Google also mentions new campaigns that do not yet have conversion data.

How it works: Google raises and lowers your bids automatically to get as many clicks as possible within your average daily budget.

Tip: Set a maximum CPC bid limit so that you do not pay too much for expensive clicks. According to Google the strategy cannot reach its goal if the limit is too low.

2. Target CPA

Goal: The strategy gets as many conversions as possible at the average cost per conversion that you set. CPA stands for cost per action.

Best for: B2B companies that want enquiries and e-commerce businesses that want to keep the cost per order under control.

How it works: Google predicts how likely each auction is to lead to a conversion and sets the bid accordingly. Some conversions cost more than the target and others less.

Tip: Start with a target close to your current CPA. Google suggests a target itself based on the average over the last 30 days. After a change the campaign shows the Learning status for up to seven days. According to Google performance moves towards the new target within one to two conversion cycles, meaning the time it usually takes from click to conversion. Then evaluate over two conversion cycles or two weeks and choose whichever is longer.

3. Target ROAS

Goal: The strategy gets as much conversion value as possible at the return on ad spend that you set.

Best for: E-commerce businesses that advertise in Google Shopping and other businesses that can put a value on each conversion.

What is ROAS? ROAS stands for return on ad spend. Google divides conversion value by cost and expresses the target as a percentage. If you get £5 in sales for every £1 spent on ads, your ROAS is 500%.

How it works: Google sets bids based on the value each auction is expected to bring and tries to keep the average at your target.

Tip: Your conversion tracking and values have to be accurate. For Search and Shopping campaigns Google requires at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days. Start close to your current ROAS.

4. Maximize conversions

Goal: The strategy gets as many conversions as possible for your budget.

Best for: Campaigns where the number of conversions matters more than what each one costs.

How it works: Google tries to spend your whole average daily budget and sets bids to get as many conversions as possible.

Tip: The strategy requires conversion tracking. It is a good way to gather data before you set a Target CPA.

5. Maximize conversion value

Goal: The strategy gets the highest possible total conversion value for your budget.

Best for: E-commerce businesses and other companies where conversions have different values.

How it works: Google tries to spend your whole daily budget and puts the bids where conversion value is expected to be highest.

Tip: Make sure your values are accurate. If your range has different margins, the value can reflect gross profit. It is also a good way to gather data before you set a Target ROAS.

6. Target impression share

Goal: Your ad should show in a set share of the searches where it is eligible to show.

Best for: Campaigns on your own brand name where visibility matters more than direct conversions.

How it works: You choose how large a share the ad should get and where it should show. The placements are called Top, Absolute top and Anywhere. Impression share only covers the Google Search Network, excluding search partners.

Tip: Use the strategy for your most important brand keywords and expect clicks to cost more. Set a maximum CPC bid limit. If it is too low, the strategy will not reach the share you have chosen.

Bid strategies for YouTube and the Google Display Network

For video ads on YouTube and display ads on the Google Display Network (GDN) some of the strategies are different.

YouTube

The strategy depends on the type of video campaign you create.

• Target CPV: This strategy is used in video view campaigns. CPV stands for cost per view and you set what a view may cost on average. For in-stream ads a view counts after 30 seconds or when a shorter ad has played to the end. A click also counts.
• Target CPM: This strategy is used in video reach campaigns. CPM stands for cost per thousand impressions.
• Maximum CPV: A ceiling for what a view may cost. According to Google it is available in ad sequence campaigns.
• Conversions from video: Google has upgraded Video action campaigns to Demand Gen and the last campaigns were upgraded by April 2026. Demand Gen offers Target CPA and Target ROAS among other strategies.

The Google Display Network

• vCPM: A manual strategy where you set the highest amount you want to pay per 1 000 viewable impressions. Google recommends it for ads meant to build awareness when clicks and traffic matter less.
• Maximize conversions and Target CPA: These strategies also work in Display campaigns.

If you want to decide for yourself where your display ads appear, you can build your own publisher list.

My view: Smart Bidding once you have enough conversion data

My view is that Smart Bidding performs better than manual bidding in most accounts. That depends on two things. Your conversion tracking has to be accurate and the campaign needs enough conversions for the strategy to learn from.

According to Google the algorithms take more factors into account than a single person or team could calculate. If either of the two conditions is missing, Maximize clicks is a more sensible first step until the conversion data is there.