Google Ads Bidding Strategies Explained: Which One Should You Use?

There is no single best Google Ads bidding strategy. The right one depends entirely on how much conversion data your account has, not how advanced the strategy sounds. Across the accounts we manage, most bidding problems come from switching to automated strategies before the account has enough data to support them.

This guide breaks down every Google Ads bidding strategy available, when each one actually makes sense, and the mistake we see most often when businesses switch too early.

In this guide:

What a Bidding Strategy Actually Controls

Google Ads bidding strategies dashboard reviewed by Australian small business owner

A bidding strategy is not a targeting setting. It tells Google's algorithm what outcome to optimise for and how much freedom to give it when adjusting your bids in real time.

This is where the confusion usually starts. Business owners often think of bidding strategy as "how much I pay per click." It is closer to "what instruction I am giving Google's machine learning to chase." Get the instruction wrong and the algorithm will optimise perfectly, just for the wrong thing.

Manual CPC: Still Has a Place, Just Not Where You Think

Manual CPC means you set the bid for each keyword yourself. Google does not adjust it automatically based on auction signals.

Most guides treat manual CPC as outdated. It is not outdated, it is just wrong for accounts with enough conversion data to feed an automated strategy. Where it still works is brand new accounts with little to no conversion history, or highly niche B2B accounts with very low search volume where the algorithm never gets enough signal to learn properly.

If your account is running fewer than 15 conversions a month, manual CPC, or Enhanced CPC as a step up, often outperforms automated bidding. The algorithm simply has not got enough data yet to make good decisions.

Maximise Clicks: Built for Traffic, Not Leads

Comparison infographic of Maximise Clicks versus Maximise Conversions bidding strategies

Maximise Clicks does exactly what it says. It sets bids to get you the most clicks possible within your budget.

This is where a lot of businesses go wrong early on. They see "maximise" in the name and assume it means maximise results. It means maximise traffic volume, which is not the same as maximise leads or sales. We have seen accounts running Maximise Clicks pull in plenty of visits and almost no conversions, because the strategy has no idea what a conversion even looks like.

Maximise Clicks makes sense in a narrow set of cases: brand awareness campaigns, driving initial traffic to a brand new site to generate signal for other campaigns, or when conversion tracking genuinely is not set up yet. Read our guide on setting up Google Ads conversion tracking if tracking is not in place, because bidding strategy is the wrong problem to solve before that.

Maximise Conversions: The One Businesses Jump to Too Fast

Maximise Conversions tells Google to spend your full daily budget getting as many conversions as possible, with no regard for cost per conversion.

This is the strategy most Australian small businesses switch to the moment they hear about automated bidding, and it is often too soon. Without a conversion or CPA target attached, Maximise Conversions will happily generate a pile of leads at whatever cost it takes, which can blow out your cost per lead fast if your budget is small.

It works well once you have baseline conversion volume, generally 15 to 30 conversions in the last 30 days, and want the algorithm to find more of the same without yet layering in a strict cost target.

Target CPA: Needs Data Before It Needs Trust

Data infographic showing conversion volume thresholds needed before switching to Target CPA

Target CPA tells Google to get you as many conversions as possible at or near a cost per acquisition you set.

The mistake here is not the strategy, it is the timing. Target CPA needs enough historical conversion data for the algorithm to understand what a good conversion looks like in your account. Set it too early, with too little data, and the algorithm restricts itself trying to hit a target it does not have enough information to reach. That throttles delivery.

Google's own guidance on how automated bidding strategies work confirms the same thing: the algorithm needs consistent conversion signal before it can optimise properly.

One of our appliance repair clients in north-west Sydney generated 123 leads over five months at roughly $63 cost per lead before we introduced a CPA target. That volume of historical data is what let Target CPA actually work when we layered it in, rather than fighting the algorithm during its learning phase.

Target ROAS: For eCommerce, Not Lead Gen

Target ROAS optimises for revenue return relative to ad spend, rather than cost per conversion. It requires transaction values flowing into conversion tracking, which makes it an eCommerce-specific strategy in almost every case.

If you are a lead gen business without dynamic transaction values, which covers most trades, most local services, and most professional services, Target ROAS is not the right fit. It needs real purchase value data to optimise against. Assigning arbitrary lead values just gives the algorithm bad signal to chase.

Which Strategy to Pick Based on Where Your Account Actually Is

Skip the "which is best" question. The right Google Ads bidding strategy for your account depends on what your account can currently support, not what sounds most advanced.

  • New account, little to no conversion history: Manual CPC or Maximise Clicks, purely to build signal.
  • Conversion tracking live, under 15 conversions a month: Maximise Conversions, no CPA target yet.
  • 15 to 30+ conversions a month, consistent volume: Maximise Conversions with a CPA target, or move to Target CPA.
  • eCommerce with transaction value tracking and consistent order volume: Target ROAS.

If your account is not hitting the conversion volume needed for a given strategy, that is a conversion tracking or budget problem, not a bidding strategy problem. Our guide on Google Ads conversion tracking setup covers getting tracking right before you touch bidding at all. If you are still weighing up how bidding fits into the bigger picture, our complete guide to Google Ads for Australian businesses covers the full account structure.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Ads Bidding Strategies

What is the best bidding strategy for Google Ads?

There is no single best strategy across all accounts. The right strategy depends on your conversion volume, whether you are eCommerce or lead gen, and how much historical conversion data your account has. Accounts with strong conversion volume generally do better on Target CPA or Target ROAS, while newer accounts do better starting with Maximise Clicks or unconstrained Maximise Conversions.

How many conversions do I need before switching to Target CPA?

Google recommends at least 15 to 30 conversions in the past 30 days before Target CPA has enough data to work properly. Switching earlier than this often throttles your campaign delivery because the algorithm restricts spend trying to hit a cost target it does not have enough information to reach.

Should I use Maximise Clicks or Maximise Conversions?

Maximise Clicks optimises purely for traffic volume and has no concept of what a conversion is. Maximise Conversions optimises specifically for conversions within your budget. If your goal is leads or sales rather than traffic, Maximise Conversions is almost always the better starting point, provided conversion tracking is set up correctly first.

Can I switch bidding strategies whenever I want?

You can, but every switch resets the algorithm's learning phase. This typically causes a temporary dip in performance for one to two weeks while it relearns. Frequent switching is one of the most common ways businesses accidentally damage their own account performance.

Is manual bidding better than automated bidding?

Not universally. Manual bidding gives you more direct control and can outperform automated strategies in accounts with too little conversion data for the algorithm to learn from. Once an account has consistent conversion volume, automated strategies generally outperform manual bidding because they respond to auction-time signals a person cannot track manually.

Get the Right Google Ads Bidding Strategy for Where Your Account Is

Google Ads bidding strategies only work when they match your account's conversion data and budget stage. We have managed this transition across dozens of Australian accounts, including moving a north-west Sydney appliance repair client from manual oversight to a data-backed CPA target once volume justified it.

If you are not sure which bidding strategy fits your account right now, talk to us about your Google Ads campaign.