Maximize Conversions in Google Ads is an automated bidding strategy whose job is to get a large number of conversions on the site after the ads are shown. Google Ads now has two conversion-based strategies: Maximize Conversions and Target CPA.
These strategies work not only in Search. They also run in Performance Max, Shopping, video in the Display Network, YouTube, and Discovery. Conversion strategies are quick to set up, often produce a solid result, and are frequently the first choice.
What a conversion is
A conversion is a user action on the site that has a real use for the business owner. Examples:
- a product purchase;
- adding a product to the cart;
- submitting a contact form;
- a request for a callback, a free consultation, or a site visit;
- a booking for training or a test drive;
- downloading a price list or a product catalog;
- registering on the site and leaving contact details;
- registering for a webinar, a workshop, or an event;
- buying tickets.
In other words, a conversion is a step a person takes toward becoming your customer. The advertiser still chooses which on-site actions count. A purchase is a more meaningful action than a bare registration.
How many conversions you need before choosing Maximize Conversions
This strategy works best when the business already gets at least 10 meaningful conversions a day. The absolute floor is 15 conversions a month. If conversions are rarer than that, do not use this strategy.
What I check before Maximize Conversions
I turn the strategy on only after I am sure the conversions column is filling with stable, comparable business actions. Before the switch I lock the set of goals, check data delay, and remove technical events that have no value on their own. Otherwise the strategy honestly maximizes whatever you fed it, even if those signals are accidental or too early in the path.
Google’s official documentation explains how automated strategies use conversions and budget.
Example: the business is selling luxury yachts. People buy them once or twice a year, and they leave a form 5 times a year. None of the conversion strategies will work in that case.
The difference between Maximize Conversions and Target CPA
Maximize Conversions is a strategy type where you can set a target CPA or leave it blank. In practice we split this strategy into 2 subtypes:
- If we do not set a target CPA, we just call it Maximize Conversions.
- If we set a target CPA, we call the strategy Target CPA, or Maximize Conversions with a target CPA (in June 2026 Google dropped the dual label in the interface and left only the Target CPA name, without the “maximize conversions” wording; the bidding logic itself did not change).
The practical choice is whether you let Google spend for volume with no price target, or you set a desired average cost per conversion. The two subtypes below show what each choice does to spend and to the average conversion cost.
First subtype: Maximize Conversions with no target CPA
In Maximize Conversions the advertiser sets neither a conversion price nor a conversion value, so Google can act as it sees fit. The job it is given is simple: find as many people who convert as possible and show them your ads.
What the advertiser gets:
- The main downside is that conversions can cost far more than under a strategy with a target CPA. Automated bidding pursues conversion volume within the available budget and may enter expensive auctions when it predicts a conversion. That price may not work for the business owner.
- Campaign spend can reach the available average daily budget, and Google may spend more than that average on some days under its normal budget rules. Every campaign has an average daily budget; the risk is choosing one the business cannot afford to spend. That is why untargeted Maximize Conversions is a poor long-term choice.
- The upside is that you can collect data on what conversions actually cost in the niche, but only after valid conversion signals are already arriving. A new account with no conversion data remains a poor fit. There is no universal number of days: switch only when enough comparable conversions have accumulated to support a defensible target CPA.
Second subtype: Target CPA
If you set a target CPA, the strategy is more defined and usually better for the business. The target guides Google toward the average conversion cost you want, but it is not a hard cap on every conversion. Individual conversions may still cost more or less than the target.
Typical mistakes with Maximize Conversions:
- The temptation is to set a very low target CPA, for example 10 cents. That is a mistake. Google will show the ad to one or two users. Not every one of them will click, so you get almost no conversions. Ad spend will indeed be tiny (3 cents a day, or $1 a month), but there will be no result.
- If you set a high target, reach and spend both jump. The ads can then cost so much that the owner is left with no profit.
When you run Maximize Conversions with a target CPA, the real job is to find the middle: Google still brings plenty of buyers to the site, and the business stays profitable after ad spend.
When to turn this strategy on and off
One table for the cases where untargeted Maximize Conversions actually works, and the cases where you should move to a target CPA or even back to manual bidding.
| Situation | Fit? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A new account with no conversion history, collecting the first data | No | Start with a click-based or manual strategy until meaningful conversion signals arrive; no fixed number of days can replace enough data |
| Fewer than 15 meaningful conversions a month | No | The algorithm does not have enough data to learn, bids get chaotic, and conversions get expensive |
| The conversion price is already known, and the budget is fixed and predictable | No, switch to a target CPA | A target guides Google toward the desired average CPA; the untargeted version puts the whole budget at risk |
| A short seasonal spike, and volume of form fills matters more than anything | Yes, temporarily | Spending the available average daily budget for volume can make sense in a short window, but that budget still has to be affordable |
| A large ad budget ($1M a month and up) | Almost never | At that scale almost all market spend already runs through targeted Smart Bidding; the untargeted version is a rare exception |
| Conversions differ in value (a call and a paid order are not worth the same to the business) | No | The strategy treats every conversion as equal; you need conversion value and a return-based target |
Conclusions and recommendations for Maximize Conversions
Use Maximize Conversions carefully: with an affordable average daily budget, and not for long. Target CPA is the more reliable strategy. The campaign then stands or falls on a well-chosen average conversion-price target. Neither strategy works if conversions are too rare, or if those actions are not tracked on the site at all.
Student question: how long to test a bidding strategy
“What is the minimum time you should give a bidding strategy before you can tell whether it works?”
I do not recommend a fixed number of days. I give the strategy as long as it needs to collect conversion data you can actually trust. The decision is made on statistics you can compare, not on the calendar. In a business with large daily spend, the test result shows up quickly. At about $1,000 of spend a year, you may wait as long as 2 years: the gap in how fast stats accumulate is huge.
Before the next change I ask one question: can I already judge the previous one with no ambiguity? If yes, the test did its job. If not, a new change just mixes causes and results.
▶ Answer from the live session: watch from 38:35 (Q&A live, July 2024).
Student question: should a new campaign start on Maximize Clicks
“New business, no history. Start on Maximize Clicks, collect queries and negatives, then move to conversions?”
Yes. For a brand-new business I accept a start on Maximize Clicks if you still do not know the real click price or whether the ads work at all. This is not a universal rule. It is a clear first step when history is empty: it gives you a factual picture of this specific business.
The switch itself is not the main thing at the start. Keyword quality is. The strategy brings clicks, but it does not decide which queries the business even wants to show on. Clicks alone also do not prove the ads work. Move to conversions when the collected data already answers the question about cost and result.
▶ Answer from the live session: watch from 09:12 (Q&A live, September 2025).
Student question: impressions on clicks, almost none on conversions
“On a click strategy, impressions start at once and keep coming. On a conversion strategy, impressions sit at the floor. I changed the conversion cost, and almost nothing moved. Why?”
The first place I look is conversion history. Were conversions coming in steadily, with no gaps, in the recent periods? For Google a conversion is a signal. If that continuous history is missing, the algorithm has nothing to stand on: it does not know whom to show the ads to, and impressions on a conversion strategy drop.
Do not hunt for one “always right” setting. Different industries and cities produce different results. Tests exist. Compare click optimization and conversion optimization on your own campaign, and keep the option that produces a business result.
▶ Answer from the live session: watch from 40:01 (Q&A live, May 2025, answer given in Ukrainian).
What next?
Navigation across all strategy types
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| Bidding strategies |  |
| Automated strategies |  |
| Manual CPC |  |
| Maximize Conversions |  |
| Target CPA |  |
| Target ROAS (Maximize conversion value) |  |
| Target impression share |  |
| Maximize Clicks |  |