Note: Starting July, you’ll find optional target fields in Search campaigns for new Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value bid strategies. Be aware that for Video Action campaigns, these are 2 different bidding strategies. With an optional target, Smart Bidding will optimize to these goals the same way it would for Target CPA (cost per action) and Target ROAS (return on ad spend). Maximize conversions with a set target CPA will behave like a Target CPA strategy does today, and similarly, Maximize conversion value with a set target ROAS will behave like a Target ROAS strategy does today.
Hotel and Travel campaigns only support Maximize conversion value with a mandatory target ROAS.
Learn more about Changes to how Smart Bidding strategies are organized.
Maximize conversions uses Google's AI to set bids to help get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget.
- When you're using Maximize conversions without a Target CPA set, we'll aim to spend your budget to maximize conversions for your campaigns.
- When you're using Maximize conversions with a Target CPA set, we'll help to get as many conversions as possible at the target cost-per-action (CPA).
It uses advanced AI to optimize bids and offers auction-time bidding capabilities that tailor bids for every auction. This article explains how Maximize conversions work.
Bid adjustments and Maximize conversions
Bid adjustments allow you to show your ads more or less frequently based on where, when, and how people search. Because Maximize conversions help optimize your bids based on real-time data, your existing bid adjustments aren't used. There is one exception: You can still set device bid adjustments to -100%.
Note: If you switch to Maximize conversions bidding, you don’t need to remove existing bid adjustments, because they won’t be used.
How it works
Using historical information about your campaign and evaluating the contextual signals present at auction-time, Maximize conversions bidding finds an optimal bid for your ad each time it's eligible to appear. It uses advanced AI to optimize bids and offers auction-time bidding capabilities that tailor bids for every auction to help get the cheapest conversions available for your budget.
Before switching to Maximize conversions:
- Check your average daily budget amount. Maximize conversions will try to fully spend your average daily budget, so if you’re currently spending much less than your budget, Maximize conversions could increase spend significantly.
- Check your return-on-investment (ROI) goals. If you have an ROI goal for your campaign, such as a target cost per install (CPI), target cost-per-action (CPA), or return on ad spend (ROAS), you may want to switch to a Target CPI, Target CPA, or Target ROAS bid strategy. Like Maximize conversions, these strategies set bids for each auction, but the goal will be to achieve the average CPI, CPA, or ROAS target you set, rather than spending your full budget to maximize conversions. For Search and Shopping campaigns, you can choose to set a Target CPA or Target ROAS bid strategy.
Note: When using Maximize conversions bidding or Maximize conversions value bidding, we recommend that you use tools such as budget simulator and impression share metrics to understand the budget opportunity available on your campaign. This only applies when the Target CPA or Target ROAS isn't set to Maximize conversion strategies.
We don’t recommend using the impression share “Lost IS (budget)” column in Google Ads with Maximize conversions because the column is incompatible with the bid strategy. Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value bid strategies are designed to spend the full daily budget, and are ”limited by budget” by design as campaigns are considered constrained by the budget you set. Whereas the budget simulator accounts for this, the “Lost IS (budget)” column doesn't currently account for this, and uses a different definition to account for lost impressions.
Maximize conversions versus Maximize conversion value
- Maximize conversions bidding, or customer actions that convert to sales or service, will help you optimize towards conversions.
- You have the option to set a Target CPA on your Maximize conversions bidding strategy, which means Smart Bidding will try to get as many conversions as possible at the target CPA that you set. If the Target CPA option isn't set, then Maximize conversions will aim to spend your budget to get as many conversions as possible.
- Maximize conversion value bidding will still occur for every conversion, but the value varies on the type of conversion, or low impact versus high impact, and the cost stays within your specified budget. When you create a maximize conversion value bid strategy, you'll set a Target ROAS.
- When you are using Maximize conversion value without a Target ROAS set, we'll aim to spend your budget to maximize conversion value for your campaigns.
- When you are using Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS set, we'll help to get as much conversion value as possible at the target ROAS. You’ll need to provide transaction-specific conversion values.
Before you begin
If you don’t know what type of automated bid strategy is right for you, refer to About automated bidding.
Create a Maximize conversions bid strategy
You can create a Maximize conversions bid strategy in the following ways:
- Create through a new campaign.
- Create or change from campaign settings.
- Create from the Shared library “Bid strategies” page.
To create a bid strategy, refer to Set up Smart Bidding.