If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the options inside the New Google Ads account, you’re not alone. When it comes to Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising Google Ads Bidding is something I get asked about constantly. Many small business owners get stuck trying to figure out which options to choose, they usually choose Maximize Clicks Bidding and hope for the best. The truth is, choosing the right bidding strategy isn’t about luck, it is about aligning the campaign setting with your specific business goals. This blog post will clear up the confusion and show you exactly which strategy to use, and when.
Visual Learner? Watch the Video Tutorials Instead 🙂
- Maximize Clicks VS. Maximize Conversions
- Maximize Conversions VS. Maximize Conversions Value
- What is Target Impression Share? When to Use It?
- Maximize Clicks VS. Maximize Conversions Value
Understanding Your Ultimate Objective = Goal
Before you choose any bidding strategy, you must answer one critical question, what is the main goal of this campaign? The entire auction system is built to achieve a specific outcome. Picking the wrong strategy is like using a hammer to turn a screw. You might get there eventually, but it’s going to be messy and inefficient. Your goal will generally fall into one of four categories “traffic, actions, profit, or visibility”.
The Main Automated Bidding Strategies
Google has pushed its automated, machine-learning AI driven strategies hard over the past couple of years, and for good reason. When set up correctly, they work very well. Here are the main ones you will encounter and how to think about them in plain English.
Maximize Clicks for Driving Traffic
This is one of the most straightforward bidding strategies available. You tell Google to get you the most clicks possible according to your daily budget. Think of it like handing out thousands of flyers on the busiest street in Melbourne. The goal is ‘volume’ and getting as many people to your website as possible.
- Use this when your main objective is brand awareness
- Use this when you want to drive a large volume of traffic to a new blog post
- Use this when you want to build up an audience for remarketing
It’s a simple approach, but remember, it doesn’t factor the quality of the click, it just focuses on quantity of traffic.
Video Tutorial: Maximize Clicks VS. Maximize Conversions
Maximize Conversions for Generating Actions
This is where things get smarter. With Maximize Conversions, you’re telling Google, “Don’t just get me visitors, get me visitors who will do something important.” That “something” is a conversion, which you define. It could be a form submission, a phone call, or a product purchase. For this to work, you absolutely must have conversion tracking installed properly on your website.
- Use this when you want to generate leads for your service business
- Use this when your products all have a similar prices
- Use this when all leads are of equal value to you
Maximize Conversion Value for Boosting Profits
For eCommerce sites or businesses where leads have different monetary values, this new bidding strategy is really a game-changer for most eCommerce operators. It takes the “Maximize Conversions” idea one step further. It tells Google to find people who are not just likely to convert, but likely to be high-value customers. It prioritizes revenue, for example: instead of focusing on getting $20 sale 10times, it will focus on getting a single $500 sale because the total revenue would be higher. This strategy focuses directly on your profitability and Return On Ad Spend (ROAS).
- Use this when you run an e-commerce store with different product prices
- Use this when you can assign different values to different types of leads (1 off customer versus repeat customers, or, 1 off customer versus repeat customer with higher lifetime value)
- Use this when your main goal is maximizing revenue, not just the number of sales/conversions
Video Tutorial: Maximize Conversions VS. Maximize Conversions Value
Target Impression Share For Maximum Visibility
Sometimes, your goal isn’t a direct click or sale, but simply to be seen by the masses. Target Impression Share is built for visibility. Think of it as buying the most prominent billboard on the freeway. You tell Google you want your ad to show up a certain percentage of the time for specific keywords, and you can even tell it you want to be at the absolute top of the page. It’s an aggressive strategy focused on awareness.
- Use this when defending your own brand name from competitors
- Use this when you want to consistently appear when people search for your top competitors
- Use this when brand recall and market presence is your number one priority
Video Tutorial: What is Target Impression Share? When to Use It?
Which Google Ads Bidding Strategy Should You Choose?
Here is a simple breakdown to help you decide.
- If your goal is Traffic and Awareness start with Maximize Clicks.
- If your goal is Leads or Sales (all with equal value) use Maximize Conversions.
- If your goal is Revenue and Profit (varied value) use Maximize Conversion Value.
- If your goal is Dominating Search Results use Target Impression Share.
Google Ads Bidding: Maximize Clicks VS. Maximize Conversion Value
Although this shouldn’t be a point of confusion, because the choice comes down to a simple question, do you want the most website traffic, or the most profit? As you now know that Maximize Clicks Bidding is designed to get as many people to your website as possible according to your budget. In contrast, Maximize Conversion Value tells Google to ignore the small fish and focus exclusively on finding customers who will generate the most revenue for your business. The video below simplifies exactly when to use each one.
Video Tutorial: Maximize Clicks VS. Maximize Conversions Value
Google Ads Best Practices
For beginners: ensure your account is setup correctly as you’re agreeing to Google Advertiser Program Terms. Then, ensure that you have turned on Enhanced Tools and Conversions. Start building your Remarketing List as early as possible.
For Advanced Users: ensure your website (or your clients website) is fully optimized. Focus on using the latest advanced features such as Set up AI Max and other dynamic bidding strategies.
As a Google Product Expert and web developer who specializes in WordPress optimization, I always tell my valued clients that the best Ad Campaign in the world can’t help with low Quality Score or fix a slow website. Before you spend a single $ dollar on PPC ads, make sure your site is fully optimized, is fast, secure, and provides a great user experience across all devices (mobile desktop tablet). Fully optimized website leads to better conversion rates, which makes every single one of the above bidding strategies perform better.
