What are Different Google Ads Bidding Strategies? A Complete Guide

Published Dec 13, 2019 | Updated Apr 22, 2026

Last updated: April 2026. By Leadsmount Marketing Team

When setting up Google Ads campaigns, most advertisers default to an automated bidding strategy without evaluating which option actually fits their goal. This guide covers every active Google Ads bidding strategy, when to use each one, what prerequisites apply, and how to choose the right starting point.

What is a bidding strategy?

A bidding strategy is how Google Ads determines the maximum amount to bid for each auction. Your choice of strategy directly controls what you are optimizing for — clicks, conversions, conversion value, impressions, or views — and how much automation Google applies to reach that goal.

There are two primary groups:

1. Automated bid strategies — Google sets bids automatically based on your stated goal, using auction-time signals like device, location, time of day, and user behaviour.
2. Manual bid strategies — You set your own maximum cost-per-click for each ad group or keyword, with full control and no automation.

Smart Bidding vs. automated bidding

Smart Bidding is a subset of automated bidding that uses Google’s machine learning to optimise for conversions or conversion value at auction time. Not all automated strategies qualify as Smart Bidding. The four Smart Bidding strategies are:

• Target CPA
• Target ROAS
• Maximize Conversions
• Maximize Conversion Value

Smart Bidding requires conversion tracking to be configured. Without it, Google has no signal to optimise against and will default to other bidding behaviour.

Google Ads bidding strategies: at a glance

Strategy	Type	Optimises For	Best For	Key Prerequisite
Target CPA	Smart Bidding	Conversions at target cost	Lead gen, fixed CPA goals	30–50 conversions/month + conversion tracking
Target ROAS	Smart Bidding	Conversion value at target return	E-commerce with varying order values	Conversion value tracking, 15–50 conversions/month
Maximize Conversions	Smart Bidding	Most conversions within budget	Campaigns with flexible CPA targets	Conversion tracking
Maximize Conversion Value	Smart Bidding	Highest total revenue within budget	E-commerce prioritising revenue over volume	Conversion value tracking
Maximize Clicks	Automated	Most clicks within budget	Brand awareness, traffic volume	None
Target Impression Share	Automated	Ad visibility at target share	Brand defence, top-of-page presence	Search Network only
Viewable CPM	Automated	Viewable impressions	Brand awareness on Display	Display Network only
Manual CPC	Manual	Cost per click (you control)	Experienced advertisers, tight bid control	None
Enhanced CPC (ECPC)	Semi-automated	Conversions via manual bid adjustments	Transitioning from manual to Smart Bidding	Conversion tracking (being phased out)
CPV Bidding	Automated	Video views or interactions	TrueView video campaigns	Video campaigns only

Target CPA (cost-per-action)

Target CPA is a Smart Bidding strategy that sets bids automatically to get as many conversions as possible at or near your target cost-per-action. Google Ads adjusts bids at auction time — some conversions will cost more than your target, others less, but the average across the campaign should track toward your set CPA.

For example, if you set a target CPA of $10, Google Ads will bid to acquire conversions around that cost. The actual CPA on any individual conversion may vary, but the strategy targets the average across a sufficient number of conversions.

When to use: Lead generation campaigns where you have a clear maximum acceptable cost per lead. Works well when your CPA goal is based on actual margin data rather than a guess.

Prerequisites: Conversion tracking must be configured. Google recommends at least 30–50 conversions in the past 30 days before enabling Target CPA, so the algorithm has sufficient data to optimise effectively. Setting an unrealistically low CPA target will restrict auction eligibility and reduce conversion volume.

Target ROAS (return on ad spend)

Target ROAS is a Smart Bidding strategy that optimises bids to maximise conversion value while achieving your target return on ad spend. Unlike Target CPA which focuses on conversion volume, Target ROAS focuses on the value of each conversion — making it the right choice when your conversions have different monetary values.

How ROAS is calculated:

Return on Ad Spend = Revenue ÷ Ad Spend × 100

For example, if you spend $10 on an ad and it generates $100 in revenue: ROAS = $100 ÷ $10 × 100 = 1,000%

Google Ads uses historical conversion value data to set a maximum CPC bid at auction time that targets your average ROAS. Bids vary per auction based on predicted value of each click.

• Search Network: Google Ads optimises for average ROAS across all campaigns, ad groups, and keywords using this strategy.
• Display Network and Shopping: All campaigns and ad groups are optimised toward your target ROAS.

When to use: E-commerce campaigns where products have different price points and you want to maximise total revenue, not just conversion count. Particularly effective for Shopping campaigns.

Prerequisites: Conversion value tracking must be set up (not just conversion counting). Google recommends 15–50 conversions with value data in the past 30 days. Setting an overly aggressive ROAS target will cause the strategy to under-deliver.

Maximize Conversions

Maximize Conversions is a Smart Bidding strategy that automatically sets bids to get the most conversions possible within your daily budget, using advanced machine learning and auction-time signals. It does not target a specific CPA — it simply spends your full budget to maximise conversion volume.

You can optionally set a target CPA within this strategy to add a cost constraint while still maximising volume. Without a target CPA, the strategy will spend your full budget regardless of the resulting CPA.

When to use: Campaigns where your primary goal is conversion volume and your budget is the primary constraint — not CPA. Good starting point when you have conversion tracking but not yet enough data for Target CPA.

Prerequisites: Conversion tracking must be configured. No minimum conversion volume is required to enable the strategy, but performance improves significantly with more conversion history.

Maximize Conversion Value

Maximize Conversion Value is a Smart Bidding strategy that automatically sets bids to achieve the highest total conversion value within your budget. It is distinct from Maximize Conversions: instead of maximising the number of conversions, it maximises the total revenue or value generated.

For example, given a fixed daily budget, the strategy will prioritise higher-value conversions over lower-value ones, even if that means fewer total conversions.

You can optionally set a target ROAS within this strategy to constrain the return while still maximising value.

When to use: E-commerce campaigns where you want to prioritise revenue over conversion volume. Use this instead of Maximize Conversions when your products have meaningfully different price points and total revenue is your primary KPI.

Prerequisites: Conversion value tracking must be set up — conversion counting alone is not sufficient. This strategy requires value data to make meaningful optimisation decisions.

Maximize Clicks

Maximize Clicks is an automated bidding strategy that sets bids to get as many clicks as possible within your daily budget. Google Ads controls all bid adjustments automatically.

You can set an optional maximum CPC bid limit to prevent bids from exceeding a certain amount. Setting a bid limit gives more cost control but may reduce the total clicks won.

When to use: Brand awareness campaigns where driving traffic volume is the goal and conversion rate is not the primary metric. Also useful when a campaign has a strong existing conversion rate and you want to increase volume without changing the conversion setup.

Prerequisites: None. This strategy is available for most campaign types. Not available for Display campaigns with “Engage with content” objective or App campaigns. Day-parting bid adjustments are not supported.

Viewable CPM

Viewable CPM (cost per thousand viewable impressions) lets you pay for ad impressions that meet Google’s viewability threshold, rather than paying for every impression served regardless of whether it was seen.

According to Google Ads, an ad counts as viewable when at least 50% of the ad is visible on screen for one second or longer for Display ads, and two seconds or longer for Video ads.

When to use: Display Network brand awareness campaigns where reach and visibility matter more than clicks or conversions. Useful for upper-funnel messaging to broad audiences.

Prerequisites: Available on the Display Network only. Not suitable for conversion-focused campaigns.

Manual CPC

Manual CPC gives you complete control over your maximum cost-per-click bids at the ad group or keyword level. Google Ads does not adjust your bids automatically — every bid reflects exactly what you have set.

You can enable Enhanced CPC (ECPC) as an optional layer on top of Manual CPC, which allows Google Ads to adjust your manually set bids based on the likelihood of conversion.

When to use: Campaigns where you have strong keyword-level performance data and want precise bid control. Appropriate for experienced advertisers who monitor and adjust bids regularly. Also a reasonable starting point for new campaigns where Smart Bidding lacks sufficient conversion data.

Prerequisites: None. Requires active management — without regular bid adjustments, performance will drift as auction dynamics change.

Enhanced CPC (ECPC)

Enhanced CPC is a semi-automated strategy that modifies your manually set keyword bids based on each auction’s likelihood of resulting in a conversion. Google Ads raises bids for clicks it predicts are more likely to convert and lowers them for clicks less likely to convert, while you retain control over the base bid.

ECPC works by raising your maximum CPC bids for clicks that are more likely to lead to conversions, and lowering bids for clicks less likely to convert — without you having to adjust bids manually for every signal.

Note: Google has been phasing out ECPC as a standalone strategy since 2023. For new campaigns, Google recommends moving directly to Maximize Conversions or Target CPA rather than relying on ECPC as a long-term strategy.

When to use: As a transitional strategy when moving from Manual CPC to Smart Bidding. Provides some automated optimisation while you accumulate the conversion data needed for full Smart Bidding.

Prerequisites: Conversion tracking must be set up for ECPC to make meaningful bid adjustments.

Target Impression Share

Target Impression Share is an automated strategy that sets bids to show your ad at a specific location on the search results page — top of the page, absolute top of the page, or anywhere on the page — for a target percentage of eligible auctions.

Placement options:

• Absolute top of the page (position 1)
• Top of the page (positions 1–3)
• Anywhere on the page

For example, setting a 50% impression share target at the absolute top means Google Ads will bid to show your ad in position 1 for 50% of the total eligible auctions.

When to use: Brand defence campaigns where you need to appear above a specific competitor, or brand awareness campaigns requiring guaranteed top-of-page visibility. Not suitable as a primary conversion strategy — optimising for position does not optimise for cost.

Prerequisites: Search Network only. Set a maximum CPC bid limit to prevent unbounded spend when competing for high-volume branded terms.

CPV (Cost Per View) Bidding

CPV bidding applies to TrueView video campaigns on Google Ads. You pay when someone watches your video or interacts with it — including clicks on call-to-action overlays, cards, or companion banners.

According to Google Ads, a view is counted when someone watches 30 seconds of your video ad (or the full duration if it is shorter than 30 seconds), or interacts with the ad — whichever comes first.

When setting up an ad group with CPV bidding, you specify the maximum amount you are willing to pay per view. You will be charged your actual max CPV or less.

When to use: Video brand awareness or consideration campaigns on YouTube and the Google Display Network where video views or engagement are the primary goal.

Prerequisites: TrueView video campaigns only.

Deprecated strategies

Two strategies that were previously available in Google Ads are no longer offered for new campaigns:

Target Search Page Location — Automatically bid to show ads at the top of the page or on the first page of Google search results. Discontinued June 2019. Existing campaigns using this strategy were migrated to Target Impression Share.

Target Outranking Share — A portfolio bid strategy designed to outrank a specific competitor domain in search results. Discontinued June 2019. Existing campaigns using this strategy were migrated to Target Impression Share.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Google Ads bidding strategy for beginners?

Maximize Conversions is the most practical starting point for most new campaigns. It requires only conversion tracking (no minimum conversion volume), spends your full budget, and gives the Smart Bidding algorithm data to learn from. Once you have 30–50 conversions per month, you can layer in a Target CPA to add cost control.

What is the difference between Target CPA and Maximize Conversions?

Both optimise for conversions, but Target CPA adds a cost constraint: Google Ads will aim to keep your average cost-per-conversion at or near your target. Maximize Conversions has no CPA target — it simply spends your full budget to get as many conversions as possible, regardless of cost. Use Target CPA when CPA is a hard business constraint; use Maximize Conversions when volume is the priority.

What is the difference between Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value?

Maximize Conversions optimises for the number of conversions. Maximize Conversion Value optimises for the total revenue or value of conversions. If all your conversions have the same value, the results will be similar. If your conversions have different values — for example, different product price points — Maximize Conversion Value will prioritise higher-value conversions even if that means fewer total conversions.

How many conversions do I need before switching to Smart Bidding?

Google recommends at least 30–50 conversions per month for Target CPA, and 15–50 conversions with conversion value data for Target ROAS. Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversion Value have no hard minimum, but performance improves with more conversion history. If you are below these thresholds, start with Maximize Conversions to accumulate data before switching to a target-based strategy.

Should I use Manual CPC or automated bidding?

Manual CPC makes sense when you have granular keyword-level data and the time to actively manage bids. For most campaigns, Smart Bidding outperforms manual bidding once sufficient conversion data exists, because it can factor in dozens of auction-time signals that manual bidding cannot. Start with Smart Bidding if you have conversion tracking set up; use Manual CPC only if you need precise control during a testing phase or have limited conversion volume.

What is Smart Bidding?

Smart Bidding is Google’s term for the four automated bidding strategies that use machine learning to optimise for conversions or conversion value at auction time: Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, and Maximize Conversion Value. All four require conversion tracking. Smart Bidding is distinct from other automated strategies like Maximize Clicks or Target Impression Share, which optimise for visibility and traffic rather than conversions.

Conclusion: how to choose the right bidding strategy

Use this as a starting framework:

• No conversion tracking yet: Start with Maximize Clicks or Manual CPC while you set up tracking.
• Conversion tracking set up, low conversion volume (<30/month): Use Maximize Conversions to accumulate data.
• 30–50+ conversions/month, fixed CPA goal: Switch to Target CPA.
• E-commerce with conversion value tracking: Use Maximize Conversion Value, or Target ROAS once you have 15–50 value-tracked conversions per month.
• Brand awareness, no conversion goal: Use Maximize Clicks (traffic) or Target Impression Share (visibility).
• Video campaigns: Use CPV bidding.

The comparison table at the top of this post summarises prerequisites and use cases for each strategy. When in doubt, start with Maximize Conversions, monitor CPA for two to four weeks, and then apply a target once you have a realistic baseline.