Google Ads bidding strategies come in two kinds: Manual CPC, where you set maximum cost-per-click bids yourself, and automated strategies, where Google sets bids for each auction. Pick by goal: Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA and Target ROAS for conversions, Maximize clicks or Manual CPC for traffic, and impression-based bidding for awareness.
Here's what many guides still get wrong. Enhanced CPC is no longer available for Search and Display campaigns, effective the week of 31 March 2025. Campaigns that weren't moved to another strategy before then are now effectively using Manual CPC, so if you set up ECPC a while back and never looked again, check what you're running.
Which bidding strategy for which goal
Google groups its strategies around five basic goals. Here's how they map, as of October 2026.
| Your goal | Strategies Google suggests | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Conversions | Target CPA, Maximize conversions | Needs conversion tracking, with the actions you care about set as Primary |
| Conversion value | Target ROAS, Maximize conversion value | Every conversion needs a value; best when sales are worth different amounts |
| Website traffic | Maximize clicks, Manual CPC | Target CPC exists too, but only on Demand Gen campaigns |
| Visibility and awareness | Target impression share, CPM, tCPM, vCPM | Target impression share runs on the Search Network only |
| Video views or interactions | CPV, CPM | With CPV you pay for views and interactions such as clicks on the call-to-action overlay |
Manual CPC vs automated bidding
Manual CPC lets you set different bids for each ad group, keyword or placement. Google's own example: even if your ad group has 15 keywords, you can set a higher bid on just the one that sells best. It suits you if you want that control and don't need to hit a set monthly budget.
Maximize clicks is the simplest automated option. You set an average daily budget and Google sets bids to get as many clicks as possible within it. Google suggests it for new campaigns without enough conversion data for Target CPA or Target ROAS, or if you're new and don't know what to bid. It isn't a good fit if you need a specific Ad Rank or cost per conversion, and you can't set individual bids, only a maximum CPC for the whole campaign.
How Smart Bidding works
Smart Bidding is the set of automated strategies that optimise for conversions or conversion value in every auction, which Google calls auction-time bidding. It looks at signals such as device, location, time of day, remarketing list, language and operating system. Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value are all Smart Bidding strategies.
Google says that where Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value is available for your campaign type, it recommends using that rather than Target CPA. Maximize conversions without a target spends your budget to get as many conversions as possible. Add a Target CPA and it aims for the most conversions at that cost. Maximize conversion value works the same way with an optional Target ROAS.
Names are changing too. Starting in June 2026, Maximize conversions with a Target CPA is being relabelled Target CPA, and Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS becomes Target ROAS. Google says the bidding behaviour stays exactly the same and you don't need to do anything. Separately, from 17 August 2026 Google is updating its bidding systems for budget-limited campaigns using Target CPA or Target ROAS, which may cause temporary fluctuations, with a new Bid Target Adjustment Tool available from 6 July 2026.
Target ROAS: the minimum conversions you need
Before you can use Target ROAS you need to set values for the conversions you track, and those values must be greater than zero to count. Google then sets minimums by campaign type.
| Campaign type | Conversions needed for Target ROAS |
|---|---|
| Search and Shopping | At least 15 in the past 30 days at the conversion tracking level |
| Display | At least 15 with valid values in the past 30 days across all campaigns; new Display campaigns no longer need a history |
| App | At least 10 a day, or 300 in 30 days |
| Demand Gen | At least 50 in the past 35 days in the campaign, with 10 in the past 7 days, or 100 in 35 days across all Demand Gen campaigns |
| Video action | At least 30 in the past 30 days |
| Hotel | At least 50 a week at campaign level |
| Travel | At least 50 in the past 7 days at campaign level |
Google also recommends being comfortable spending up to 2 times your average daily budget on a given day. Over a month-long billing cycle you won't be charged more than your average daily budget allows for over 30.4 days. Most of your existing bid adjustments aren't used under Target ROAS, but you don't need to remove them.
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How to set a Target ROAS
- Bid towards your conversion goal with Target CPA first, if you can.
- Report conversion values across all relevant campaigns for 4 weeks or 1 to 2 conversion cycles, whichever is longer.
- In the Columns drop-down, select Modify columns and add Conv. value/cost from the Conversions columns.
- Multiply that figure by 100 to get your Target ROAS as a percentage, leaving out the most recent conversion delay period.
- Create the strategy for one campaign, or a portfolio across several, and consider Save as experiment to test it against your current settings.
- Give any later target change 1 to 2 conversion cycles before judging it.
Setting the target too high can limit your traffic. To get more conversions, Google suggests gradually lowering Target ROAS; to get more value, raise it. Portfolio strategies aren't available for Performance Max, Hotel or Travel campaigns, and Google doesn't recommend bid limits with Target ROAS because they restrict the AI.
My verdict on Google Ads bidding
If you're starting from scratch, I'd run Maximize clicks while you collect conversion data, then move to Maximize conversions once tracking is reliable. Only switch to Target ROAS when your sales are worth different amounts and you clear the minimums above. None of it works without solid conversion tracking, and it's worth knowing how Quality Score affects what you pay per click.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Enhanced CPC still available in Google Ads?
No. Effective the week of 31 March 2025, Enhanced CPC is no longer available for Search and Display campaigns. Campaigns that weren't migrated are now effectively using Manual CPC.
How many conversions do I need for Target ROAS on Search?
At least 15 conversions in the past 30 days at the conversion tracking level, as of October 2026.
Which Google Ads bid strategy is best for new campaigns?
Google suggests Maximize clicks can be useful for new campaigns that lack sufficient conversion data for Target CPA or Target ROAS.
Is Target CPC available on Search campaigns?
No. Target CPC is only available on Demand Gen campaigns, at campaign or ad group level.
What are the four Smart Bidding strategies?
Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value.
