Google Ads bidding strategies can be broadly divided into manual CPC and Smart Bidding. With manual CPC, the advertiser sets the maximum cost per click for each ad group or keyword directly, while with Smart Bidding, the advertiser sets a goal and Google AI sets the bid in each auction. In this post I'll cover the difference between the two, what Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value each aim for, and what criteria to use when choosing.
When you set up a campaign, you've probably hesitated at least once at the "Which bidding strategy?" option. There are several options and the names are similar, so people often just leave the default and move on. But the bidding strategy is the setting that decides where and how much of your ad spend goes, and if it doesn't match your campaign goal, your performance metrics can move in the wrong direction, so it's worth going over the differences at least once.
1. What does a bidding strategy decide?
The help article on choosing a bid strategy explains that the right bidding strategy depends on whether your campaign focuses on clicks, impressions, conversions or views. Combining the categories from this article and the automated bidding help article, strategies break down by goal like this.
| Goal | Main strategies |
|---|---|
| Site visits (clicks) | Maximize clicks, manual CPC |
| Ad position (visibility) | Target impression share |
| Conversions | Maximize conversions, Target CPA |
| Conversion value | Maximize conversion value, Target ROAS |
Let me use driving as an analogy. Manual CPC is like a manual transmission where you shift gears yourself and control the speed on each stretch, while Smart Bidding is closer to entering a destination and arrival time into a navigation system that adjusts the route and speed for you. The more you control directly, the more control you have but the more you have to keep an eye on; the more you hand off, the easier it gets, but if you enter the wrong destination, you end up somewhere you didn't intend.
2. How does manual CPC work?
According to the manual CPC help article, with manual CPC the advertiser sets the maximum CPC, the most they're willing to pay for a single ad click. You can set the same bid for an entire ad group, or set different bids for each keyword or display placement. The amount you're actually charged is at most the minimum needed to clear the Ad Rank thresholds and beat the competitor just below you, so it's often lower than your max CPC.
The help article on choosing a bid strategy says manual CPC fits when you want to adjust bids yourself by ad group, keyword or placement, and suggests that Maximize clicks is better if you don't know which keywords are profitable or don't have time to manage bids. Also, according to the learning period help article, the automated bidding learning period doesn't apply to manual CPC.
※ For reference, Enhanced CPC (ECPC), which used to be added on top of manual CPC, is no longer offered for Search and Display campaigns starting the week of March 31, 2025, according to the official help article. Campaigns that weren't moved to another strategy beforehand are reportedly running as manual CPC in effect. The help article on choosing a bid strategy still lists ECPC as an option, but I followed the more recent guidance in the ECPC and automated bidding help articles.
3. What strategies does Smart Bidding include?
The Smart Bidding help article describes Smart Bidding as bid strategies that use Google AI to optimize for conversions or conversion value in each auction, which it calls auction-time bidding. It says it takes into account signals at the time of the auction, such as device, location, time of day, remarketing list, language and operating system. Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value are the four strategies in this group.
Bringing over the comparison table from the Target ROAS help article makes the differences clear.
| Strategy | Goal | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Maximize conversions | As many conversions as possible within budget | Getting as many conversions as possible while spending the full budget is the priority; no specific efficiency target |
| Target CPA | As many conversions as possible at the target CPA | You have a specific efficiency target; all conversions are treated as equal in value |
| Maximize conversion value | As much conversion value as possible within budget | Conversions vary in value; no specific efficiency target |
| Target ROAS | As much conversion value as possible at the target ROAS | Conversions vary in value and you have a specific efficiency target |
In short, the four strategies split along two questions: "Do you look at the number of conversions or their value?" and "Is spending the full budget the priority, or is hitting an efficiency target?"
There's also one change in 2026. According to the renaming notice, starting June 2026, in Search campaigns, "Maximize conversions with a target CPA" is renamed "Target CPA" and "Maximize conversion value with a target ROAS" is renamed "Target ROAS," and they appear as separate options. Only the names change and the behavior stays the same, so don't be surprised if you see both names mixed together on screen.
4. Manual CPC or Smart Bidding: how do you choose?
Pulling together the conditions in the official help articles, there are three things to check first.
- Is conversion tracking set up?: the Smart Bidding help article says conversion tracking is required to use Smart Bidding. If you don't measure conversions, click-focused manual CPC or Maximize clicks are the realistic options.
- Do conversions vary in value?: if they vary and you're reporting conversion values, choose Maximize conversion value or Target ROAS; if you treat all conversions as equal, choose Maximize conversions or Target CPA.
- Do you have an efficiency target to hit?: if you have a clear target CPA or target ROAS, use a target strategy; if getting as much as possible within budget is the priority, use a maximize strategy.
You should also look at how much conversion data you have. The Target CPA help article says you can start Target CPA even with no conversion history, but Target ROAS has a requirement of at least 15 conversions in the last 30 days for Search and Shopping campaigns.
In my view, a natural flow is to start with manual CPC if you want to adjust bids yourself at the keyword level or conversion tracking isn't ready yet, then move to the Smart Bidding strategy that fits your goal once conversion tracking and conversion data are in place. That said, the official help article recommends Maximize clicks if you don't have time to manage bids yourself, so I'd suggest also considering how much time you can spend running the campaign.
5. What should you check after switching to Smart Bidding?
- Learning status: according to the bid strategy status help article, when you create a new strategy or change its settings, you may see a "Learning" status, and key metrics may fluctuate during this period. The learning period help article explains that it usually takes about 1 to 2 conversion cycles.
- Setting target values: each help article notes that setting Target CPA too low can cause you to miss clicks that would have led to conversions and reduce total conversions, and setting Target ROAS too high can limit traffic.
- Changes for budget-limited campaigns: according to the notice on target strategy changes, starting August 17, 2026, budget-limited Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns run closer to the targets you set (excluding App campaigns and some Video campaigns). For example, if your Target CPA is 10 dollars but your actual CPA was 5 dollars, the campaign will now run closer to 10 dollars, so for campaigns that were outperforming their targets, it's a good idea to recheck the target values.
Summary
Manual CPC is an approach where you set bids yourself and keep a lot of control, while Smart Bidding is an approach where Google AI sets bids in each auction with conversions or conversion value as the goal. If you first check whether conversion tracking is in place, whether conversion values differ, and whether you have an efficiency target to hit, you can narrow down which of the four Smart Bidding strategies to choose. For each strategy's requirements and setup steps, please refer to the official Google Ads help articles linked in this post.
FAQ
- Can I use Target CPA without conversion data?
- The Target CPA help article says you can start even without conversion history. However, conversion tracking needs to be set up first.
- Is Enhanced CPC (ECPC) still available?
- According to the official help article, it's no longer offered for Search and Display campaigns starting the week of March 31, 2025. Campaigns that weren't moved run as manual CPC in effect.
- What's the difference between Target CPA and Maximize conversions?
- Maximize conversions aims to get as many conversions as possible while spending the full budget, while Target CPA aims to get as many conversions as possible while keeping to the average cost per conversion you set. Starting June 2026, Target CPA appears as a separate option from Maximize conversions in Search campaigns, and the old names may appear mixed in during the transition.
Related posts
- What Are the Ways to Optimize Search Ads? - search ad operating items to review alongside bids
- GA4 Conversion Lookback Window Can Now Be Set by the Day - the basis for the conversion data Smart Bidding learns from
- Getting to Know Google Ads Scripts - how to automate bidding and reporting with code