Using conversions with automated bidding

Conversion-based bidding strategies (including target CPA and target ROAS bidding strategies), consider only conversions reported in the 'Conversions' or 'Client account conversions' column when optimising towards your target. Machine learning bidding models take time to adapt to any changes you make to your conversion configuration. This is true for all conversions settings in a campaign. If you decide to change your search campaign's conversion actions, you should update your targets gradually over time as the bidding models adjust to newly reported conversion data. Otherwise, you may see unwanted fluctuations in performance.

Google Ads shop visits and shop sales differ from other conversions in that the automated bidding system will react immediately to adding or removing the conversion action. You should update your targets as soon as shop visits or shop sales are added or removed from the 'Conversions' or 'Client account conversions' column.

Example: At the sub-manager account-level, you include purchases that have a historical cost per action (CPA) of $100 in the 'Conversions' column (or client account conversions column). You decide that you’d like to include sign-ups (which are a more frequent customer action and thus have a lower CPA) in the 'Conversions' column for a specific campaign rather than purchases. When you change your conversions setting in the campaign to include only sign-ups in the 'Conversions' column, instead of setting a much lower target CPA right away, you adjust your target CPA down gradually over time to keep your campaign spend roughly stable.

Related links

• About conversion goals
• Create or edit a custom goal
• About the campaign-level conversions setting
• Stop reporting Google Ads conversions with Search Ads 360 conversions