This article covers Standard Shopping campaigns. To get the best of Google Ads' AI and serve ads on all Google properties, you can try Performance Max campaigns instead.
Shopping campaigns optimize for online sales. To optimize your campaign for additional goals, use conversion goals. With all Shopping campaigns, you'll gain reporting on the goals you select.
With Smart Bidding (Target ROAS and Smart Shopping campaigns), in addition to reporting on the goals you select, you can control your bids by setting a value for each goal. Since Smart Bidding campaigns maximize conversion value, Google uses your conversion value to determine your bid. These additional values won't affect your ability to report on sales (purchase conversions).
Which measurements can you track with conversion goals?
- Online sales to new and existing customers: any conversion action that you have selected to “Include in conversions’” on the "Conversions" page (under “Measurement” in “Tools & Settings”). This counts sales regardless of whether a customer is new to your business or has purchased from your business before.
- Store visits (physical store): visits to your physical store by people after they’ve clicked your ads. You set the value for a store visit, which can be based on estimated in-store revenue.
- New customers: first-time purchases from your website or app. This goal is available for Smart Shopping campaigns only. You set the value for a new customer acquisition, which can be based on expected lifetime value of the customer. Learn more about the new customer conversion goal
How to set up conversion goals
If adding conversion goals to a new campaign, start by creating your campaign:
In “Campaign settings”, after you’ve identified your “Bidding” preferences, you’ll see selectors for “Conversion goals” and can follow these steps:
- Under “Select the conversion settings you want to use for this campaign” select Campaign-level conversion goals.
- Under “Select the goals you want to focus on with this campaign", you'll see the following goals to choose from:
- “Online sales to new and existing customers”.
- “Store visits (physical store)”. For this goal, you can assign a value to each visit. Your campaign will then maximize the total conversion value, including the value of store visits. Your campaign will increase focus on store visits.
- “New customer acquisition” (used only in Smart Shopping campaigns). For this goal, you can assign a additional value for each new customer acquisition. Your campaign will then maximize the total conversion value, including the new customer value. Your campaign will increase focus on new customers as opposed to existing customers.
Tips on goal valuation
The value you designate for store visits or for new customer acquisition will act as the value for all campaigns in your account. Learn more about how to value your store visit conversions, and about the new customer conversion goal for Smart Shopping campaigns.
- To choose a store visits value, it’s common to multiply your average in-store conversion rate by your average in-store order value. This value is added to the conversion value column in Google Ads reporting. If you set a Target ROAS, make sure your target takes the store visit value into account to avoid unwanted changes in spend.
- It’s best practice to consider expected lifetime value of the customer when choosing how much value to add for new customer acquisition.
Note: The instructions below are part of the new design for the Google Ads user experience. To use the previous design, click the "Appearance" icon, and select Use previous design. If you're using the previous version of Google Ads, review the Quick reference map or use the Search bar in the top navigation panel of Google Ads to find the page you’re searching for.
If adding conversion goals to an existing campaign, follow the steps below:
- In your Google Ads account, from the workspace bar at the top, select Shopping campaigns.
- Click the Campaigns icon
from the left navigation menu.
- Click the Campaigns drop down in the section menu.
- Click Campaigns.
- Below the "Campaigns" page header, you'll see 3 tabs. Click the Settings tab.
- Select the campaign you want to opt into store visits bidding.
- Under “Bidding and budget” you’ll see “Conversion goals”.
- Under “Select the conversion settings you want to use for this campaign” select Campaign-level conversion goals.
- Under “Select the goals you want to focus on with this campaign”, you will see Online sales to new and existing customers preselected as a requirement for launching conversion goals, and you have the option to select Store visits, With Smart Shopping campaigns, you will also have the option to select the new customer acquisition goal.
- For Store visits, you need to set up Store visit conversion reporting. You can assign a value to each visit. Your campaign will then optimize for visits to your physical store by automating bidding that increases conversion value based on store visits. Learn more about how to value your store visit conversions
- For new customers, you need to have a purchase conversion action “Included in conversions” (this will make the conversion action biddable), and in some cases, you’ll need to provide additional information on which customers are existing customers. Learn more about setting up new customer reporting and about the new customer conversion goal.
Combine conversion goals for Smart Shopping campaigns
There are several supported combinations of conversion goals that you can use based on your overall Smart Shopping campaign goals. Combine goals when creating or editing campaigns.
- Sales only - click the box beside “Online sales to new and existing customers” and ensure that it’s checked and colored blue.
- Sales and Store visits - click the box beside “Store visit (physical store)" and ensure that it’s checked and colored blue. The sales goal will automatically be selected with a grey check box.
- Sales and new customer goals - click the boxes beside “New customer acquisition” and “Online sales to new and existing customers” and ensure that they are checked and colored blue.
- Sales, new customer, and store visit goals - click the boxes beside “New customer acquisition” and “Store visit (physical store)” and ensure that they are checked and colored blue. The sales goal will automatically be selected with a grey check box.
Note: Automated bidding for Smart Shopping campaigns instantly aligns with your conversion goals as soon as you select them.
Best Practices when changing goals or values
- Updating ROAS targets: Conversion value includes the value of all conversion goals that you select. When you change your goal selection, move between account level and campaign-level goals, or change store visit and/or new customer acquisition values, your conversion value reporting will reflect these changes. You’ll want to update your ROAS targets to reflect these changes and avoid sudden changes in bidding.
- If you’re unsure how to effectively adjust your ROAS target, remove it temporarily. You can still steer the campaign by changing the budget. Monitor performance with the new conversion goal selection and use that to inform your choice of a new ROAS target.
- Conversion values: You can track conversion values for store visits, and for new customers on your “Campaigns” page. Add the applicable columns by selecting the “Columns” icon at the top right of the metrics columns. Then select Conversions to open the conversion metric selector. Click the box beside “store visit value” and/or “new customer value”, and “Apply”.
