An automated Smart Bidding strategy that uses AI to get the most conversions possible while spending your entire daily budget.
What is Maximize Conversions bidding in Google Ads? Maximize Conversions is a Smart Bidding strategy that uses AI to get the most conversions possible while spending your full daily budget. Ideal for new campaigns building data (first 30-50 conversions). Can add optional Target CPA for cost control once data accumulates.
Maximize Conversions is a Smart Bidding strategy that uses Google's AI to set bids to help get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget. According to Google, Maximize Conversions "uses advanced AI to optimize bids and offers auction-time bidding capabilities that tailor bids for every auction." Unlike Target CPA which optimizes for conversions at a specific cost, Maximize Conversions prioritizes volume—getting as many conversions as possible regardless of individual conversion cost, as long as the budget lasts. The algorithm analyzes conversion probability signals (device, location, time, audience, etc.) and bids aggressively for high-probability clicks, spending your full daily budget.
Maximize Conversions includes an optional Target CPA field (added in 2022). Without a target set, the strategy pursues maximum volume and will fully spend your budget—potentially increasing spend significantly if you're currently spending less than your full daily budget. With an optional Target CPA set, it behaves identically to the old "Target CPA" strategy, optimizing bids to hit your target while maximizing volume. This makes Maximize Conversions versatile: use without target for new campaigns building conversion data (prioritize learning), or with target once you have 30+ monthly conversions (prioritize efficiency).
As of 2026, Maximize Conversions is one of four Smart Bidding strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value), used by advertisers who want to scale conversion volume without manual bid management. Industry data shows Maximize Conversions delivers 15-35% more conversions compared to manual bidding at similar total spend, primarily because the algorithm reacts to conversion probability signals in real-time across billions of auctions daily.
Official Source: Definition verified from Google Ads Help Center (Last verified: January 2026)
"Maximize conversions uses Google's AI to set bids to help get the most conversions for your campaign while spending your budget. It uses advanced AI to optimize bids and offers auction-time bidding capabilities that tailor bids for every auction."
A new online course platform launches Google Ads for the first time. Course price is $299, and they want to scale quickly but have zero conversion history. They use Maximize Conversions to build data, then transition to Target CPA.
Month 1: Maximize Conversions (No Target) - Building Data Setup: - Campaign: "Search - Online Courses" - Bidding: Maximize Conversions (no target CPA set) - Daily Budget: $300/day ($9,000/month) - Goal: Gather 30+ conversions quickly to enable Target CPA Week 1-2 Results (Learning Phase): - Spend: $4,200 (14 days × $300) - Conversions: 18 course enrollments - CPA: $233.33 - Revenue: $5,382 ($299 × 18) - ROAS: 1.28x - Note: High CPA expected during learning Week 3-4 Results (Optimization): - Spend: $4,200 - Conversions: 24 course enrollments (+33% vs Week 1-2) - CPA: $175 (-25% improvement as algorithm learns) - Revenue: $7,176 - ROAS: 1.71x Month 1 Totals: - Total Spend: $8,400 (spent 93% of $9,000 budget) - Total Conversions: 42 enrollments - Average CPA: $200 - Total Revenue: $12,558 - ROAS: 1.50x Analysis: Successfully accumulated 42 conversions (exceeds 30 minimum for Target CPA). CPA of $200 is acceptable for first month but needs improvement (40% margin = need <$180 CPA for profitability). Month 2: Maximize Conversions WITH Target CPA - Adding Efficiency Setup Change: - Bidding: Maximize Conversions with Target CPA set at $160 - Daily Budget: $300/day (unchanged) - Goal: Maintain volume while improving efficiency Results: - Total Spend: $8,700 - Total Conversions: 58 enrollments - Actual CPA: $150 (better than $160 target!) - Revenue: $17,342 - ROAS: 1.99x - Improvement: +38% more conversions at -25% CPA vs Month 1 Month 3: Transition to Target CPA Strategy - Maximum Control Setup Change: - Bidding: Switched to dedicated "Target CPA" strategy at $140 - Daily Budget: $300/day - Goal: Further improve efficiency while maintaining volume Results: - Total Spend: $8,550 - Total Conversions: 64 enrollments (+10% vs Month 2) - Actual CPA: $133.59 (better than $140 target!) - Revenue: $19,136 - ROAS: 2.24x - Cumulative: 164 conversions over 3 months, average CPA decreased from $200 → $133 (33% improvement) Strategy Evolution Summary: Phase 1 (Month 1): Maximize Conversions (no target) - Purpose: Rapid data collection - Result: 42 conversions at $200 CPA Phase 2 (Month 2): Maximize Conversions + Target CPA - Purpose: Add efficiency while maintaining volume - Result: 58 conversions at $150 CPA (-25% CPA, +38% volume) Phase 3 (Month 3+): Dedicated Target CPA - Purpose: Maximum cost control with proven strategy - Result: 64 conversions at $134 CPA (-11% CPA, +10% volume) Key Insight: Starting with Maximize Conversions enabled fast data accumulation (42 conversions in 30 days vs typical 20-25 with manual bidding), then smooth transition to Target CPA for efficiency without resetting learning phase.
Maximize Conversions solves the cold-start problem for new campaigns: you need conversion data to use Target CPA effectively, but you need to run campaigns to get conversion data. Maximize Conversions breaks this catch-22 by optimizing for volume without requiring a target—perfect for gathering initial data quickly. The strategy is aggressive about finding conversions, bidding higher than you might manually to test which traffic converts, then learning from that data to improve efficiency over time. Industry data shows new campaigns using Maximize Conversions accumulate 30-50 conversions 25-40% faster than manual bidding, enabling quicker graduation to Target CPA (which needs 30+ conversions minimum).
The optional Target CPA field makes Maximize Conversions a "two-in-one" bidding strategy: volume mode (no target) for new campaigns, efficiency mode (with target) for mature campaigns. This flexibility means advertisers can use one strategy throughout a campaign's lifecycle instead of switching strategies and resetting learning phases. However, the full-budget-spending behavior requires careful budget management. If your daily budget is $200 but you typically spend $120, enabling Maximize Conversions will increase spend to $200—fine if you want to scale, problematic if $120 was intentional. The key strategic insight: Use Maximize Conversions when your limiting factor is conversion data or volume, not when it's budget or efficiency (use Target CPA for the latter).
Using Maximize Conversions without realizing it will fully spend your budget (can dramatically increase costs)
Keeping Maximize Conversions indefinitely instead of switching to Target CPA after 30-50 conversions
Setting daily budget equal to current spend (Maximize Conversions will try to spend more to find conversions)
Using Maximize Conversions when you have strict CPA requirements (use Target CPA instead)
Not monitoring CPA—Maximize Conversions prioritizes volume, not efficiency
Enabling on campaigns with broken conversion tracking (optimizes toward garbage data)
Using for campaigns with widely varying conversion values (use Maximize Conversion Value instead)
Use Maximize Conversions for new campaigns until you have 30-50 conversions, then switch to Target CPA
Set daily budget 20-30% higher than you want to spend (Maximize Conversions will fully spend budget)
Monitor actual CPA daily during first 2 weeks—if it's unacceptably high, add Target CPA or reduce budget
Give strategy 14-21 days to learn before judging performance (early results are volatile)
Ensure conversion tracking is accurate before enabling (bad data = bad optimization)
Use portfolio bid strategies to share conversion data across multiple campaigns (faster learning)
Graduate to "Maximize Conversions with Target CPA" once you have 30+ monthly conversions
For campaigns with 50+ monthly conversions, consider switching to full Target CPA strategy for better cost control
An automated bidding strategy that sets bids to get as many conversions as possible at your target cost per acquisition.
A subset of automated bid strategies that use machine learning to optimize bids for conversions or conversion value in every auction.
A free tool that measures valuable actions users take after clicking your ads, such as purchases, sign-ups, or phone calls.
The average amount you're willing to spend on a campaign each day over the course of a month.
Maximize Conversions (without target set) prioritizes volume—get as many conversions as possible by spending your full budget, regardless of individual conversion cost. Target CPA prioritizes efficiency—get conversions at or below your target cost, even if that means getting fewer total conversions. Use Maximize Conversions when: (1) You're starting a new campaign and need to build conversion data quickly (first 30-50 conversions); (2) Volume matters more than cost (you'll accept $100-150 CPA as long as you get maximum conversions); (3) You want to fully spend budget to capture all available demand. Use Target CPA when: (1) You have 30+ monthly conversions and proven efficiency; (2) You have strict profitability requirements (can't exceed $80 CPA); (3) You want cost predictability over volume. As of 2022, you can set an optional Target CPA within Maximize Conversions strategy, making it behave like Target CPA while technically still being "Maximize Conversions." The practical recommendation: Start with Maximize Conversions (no target) for rapid data collection, add Target CPA field after 30 conversions, then eventually switch to dedicated Target CPA strategy for maximum control.
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