Reach The Right Customers With Google Smart Bidding

Google Smart Bidding claims to drive significantly better results across advertising networks – we’ve pulled together a guide on how to choose the right smart bidding strategy for your Google Ads campaign.

Save time and money with Google smart bidding

Machine learning can ‘learn’ quicker than we can, it’s able to identify patterns, automate tasks to save time and bring together sets of data. Google smart bidding machine learning helps to discover user intent and conversion paths to eliminate wasteful spending, automate bids and choose the best relevant creatives.

Using Target CPA as a bidding strategy, Google claims you can generate up to 20% more conversions for around the same cost per conversion. And with display campaigns, it can potentially increase conversions by up to 50% due to personalisation of ads and inventory.

How to choose the correct bidding strategy for your business goals?

There are three key bid strategies to consider:

Maximum Conversions (Max Conv.)
Target Cost-per-Acquisition (tCPA)
Target Return on Ad Spend (tROAS)

1. Max Conversions:

Up to 20% increase in conversions within the same budget for Search campaigns.

This bidding strategy aims to drive as many conversions as possible within the campaign budget. There is no minimum number of conversions, so it’s great if you don’t already have a CPA or ROAS in mind.

Also, it works well within a ‘limited by budget’ campaign or campaigns with less than a 90% impression share as it allows room for growth.

2. Target CPA:

Up to 20% increase in conversions at similar CPA for Search and Display campaigns.

This bidding strategy is ideal if you are looking to lower your existing CPA or keep it at a similar level. It works well for display campaigns, as well as search and has no minimum number of conversions.

3. Target ROAS:

Up to 35% increase in conversion value for Shopping campaigns.

This bidding strategy is aimed at getting you the highest conversion value possible, increase revenue based on ad spend. Set an achievable ROAS target based on what you are currently achieving and then amend at a later date.

There needs to be a minimum of 15 conversions passing through the account over a period of 30 days, ideally at campaign level. This can be done by grouping campaigns together with a portfolio bid strategy.

6 Smart Bidding Top Tips:

Do not analyse campaign performance results right away. There is a 10-14 day learning period to consider, for smart bidding strategies.
Do not overlook high conversion delays. For some, the conversion cycle can be quite long and it could take a couple days/weeks for a user to convert.
Do not set tCPA or tROAS below the past CPA/ROAS for that campaign. Set as the current level for a starting point and optimise from there.
Do not make major changes to campaigns during the learning phase. Every time you make a major change you set the learning period start back to day 1.
Do not be afraid to apply smart creatives to make the campaign/strategy as efficient as possible (eg. responsive ads).
Finally, do not focus on a metric that isn’t your goal. If your bidding strategy is optimizing for conversions, that is what you should be looking at.

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