Smart Bidding Strategies | What Each One Does

Smart bidding means letting the algorithm decide what to pay in every auction. It weighs signals like device, location, time of day, browsing history and search context together and adjusts the bid instantly — a calculation no human could do by hand.

This page explains what each strategy does. Which one to choose is covered on the bidding strategies page.

Maximize conversions

Aims to get as many conversions as possible from a given budget. It doesn’t consider cost per conversion; the target is volume.

This works well when your budget is fixed and conversions carry roughly equal value. If conversions vary in value — some sales far more profitable than others — this strategy can multiply the cheap ones and lower profit.

Target CPA

Aims to hit the cost per conversion you set. Set the target too low and the algorithm enters fewer auctions, dropping volume; set it too high and volume rises but so does cost.

The most common mistake here is setting the target far below current performance. The campaign barely serves. The target should be lowered gradually from the current average.

Target ROAS

Optimises for conversion value instead of conversion count. In e-commerce this is almost always the right choice, because if a $10 sale and a $1,000 sale aren’t the same, the algorithm needs to know that.

For it to work, conversion value has to be sent correctly. If the value is missing or wrong, the strategy promotes the wrong product. Covered in detail on the ROAS optimisation page.

Maximize clicks

Targets traffic, not conversions. It can be used temporarily in newly launched campaigns with no conversion data yet — useful for accumulating data.

Used as a permanent strategy it causes problems, because raising click count isn’t the same as raising conversions.

Target impression share

Aims to appear in a specific position; it’s visibility-focused, not conversion-focused. Makes sense for brand campaigns or when you want to hold position on a competitor’s brand searches.

Used in a general campaign it gets expensive: you pay to rank higher without profitability being the goal.

The common thread: the learning period

When a strategy changes, the campaign re-enters learning and performance fluctuates for a few weeks. That’s normal.

The real mistake is seeing the fluctuation and changing strategy again within days — every change resets the clock and the campaign never settles.

Want help? I can look at your conversion volume and work out which strategy is viable. You can reach me from the contact page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many conversions do I need for smart bidding?

An exact threshold would be misleading; the rule is the campaign should produce conversions steadily within its learning period. Single-digit monthly conversions is usually too early.

Is manual bidding completely gone?

Not gone, but narrowed. It’s still used in very low-volume accounts and in the early stage of new campaigns.

Can the same account use different strategies?

It should. Brand campaigns, new-customer campaigns and remarketing serve different goals, so they don’t need the same strategy.