How to pick the right Google Ads bidding strategy?

Google Ads is full of options, and one of the first questions it asks you is: “What Google Ads bidding strategy do you want to use?”

Most business owners click whatever sounds familiar (or let Google decide), without really knowing what it means. Then later:

• Ads are running, but nothing’s converting
• Cost-per-click seems high
• Or there are too many leads, but none of them are good

Here’s how to choose a bidding strategy that fits your actual goals, not just what Google recommends.

Understand what a bidding strategy does

Your bidding strategy tells Google how to spend your money. Some strategies aim for clicks, others for conversions. Some rely on past data. Others give you full control.

The right choice depends on:

• What you want to achieve (leads, traffic, awareness)
• Whether you have conversion tracking set up
• How much historical data you’ve got

Google Ads bidding strategies overview

Don’t let Google pick bidding strategy for you by default

When setting up a campaign, Google will recommend bidding strategies like Maximise Conversions or Performance Max, especially if you’re in Smart Mode. Don’t blindly accept it.

Switch to Expert Mode so you can choose what’s best for your business.

How to switch to Expert Mode

Know the 4 most common bidding strategies

Here are the ones you’re most likely to use, explained simply.

Maximise Conversions

Best if: You want more leads and have conversion tracking in place.

Google tries to get you the most conversions for your daily budget. Great if your website or landing page is already performing well.

Maximise conversions strategy

Target CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

Best if: You’ve got consistent data (at least 30+ conversions/month).

You tell Google your ideal cost per lead or sale, and it tries to hit it. Works best when your campaign has data to learn from.

About Target CPA

Manual CPC

Best if: You want full control and are still testing.

You set your own bids for keywords. Good for beginners or those who want to test carefully before handing control to Google.

Manual CPC explained

Maximise Clicks

Best if: You want traffic quickly but don’t have tracking set up yet.
Google gets you as many clicks as possible for your budget. Use this only if you’re not tracking conversions or just want eyeballs on a page.

Maximise Clicks overview

Match your strategy to your business stage

Not every business is ready to use advanced bidding. Here’s a simple decision guide.

Just starting with Google Ads?

Use Manual CPC or Maximise Clicks. Focus on testing keywords and checking what brings in quality traffic.

Got tracking in place and a few conversions per week?

Try Maximise Conversions. Let Google use the data to optimise spend.

Seeing consistent leads and want to scale profitably?

Switch to Target CPA. Set a realistic cost per lead based on your margins.

Google Ads bidding strategy mistakes to avoid

• Starting with Target CPA too early, it needs data to work. Otherwise, it guesses.
• Using Maximise Conversions with bad tracking, garbage in, garbage out.
• Relying only on what Google recommends, Google optimises for Google, not necessarily for your business.

What Google Ads bidding strategy I recommend (if you’re a service business)

For most small businesses:

• Start with Maximise Conversions once tracking is set up
• Use Manual CPC if you want to stay lean and in control
• Move to Target CPA only once you’re consistently getting 30+ conversions/month

And always watch your search terms, your Google Ads bidding strategy doesn’t matter if you’re targeting the wrong keywords.

Final thoughts

Your bidding strategy won’t make or break your campaign, but it does influence how quickly you burn through your budget. Picking the right one gives you a foundation you can build from.

If you’d rather have an Google Ads freelancer run your campaigns for you, I’m here to help. I’m a Melbourne-based Google Ads expert who works with businesses that want better leads, clearer results, and less guesswork