A new advertising account has not generated sales yet. Or the business wins only a few large orders each month, with results arriving after a delay. Should you manage bids manually, focus on clicks or use conversion optimization straight away?
The answer depends on your goals, measurement quality and acceptable spend. A low sales count alone does not determine one suitable strategy.
Before choosing bids, make sure conversions are measured correctly. A purchase should not be duplicated when the page is refreshed, and a button click should not count as a submitted enquiry.
Check:
If sales happen after negotiations, connecting advertising with CRM outcomes is useful. We discuss these enquiries in Google Ads for high-value B2B services.
Do not add page views to primary goals just to increase conversion volume. The system could then optimize for activity with little connection to a purchase.
If conversion measurement is not ready, make fixing it the priority. If a limited Search advertising launch is necessary, consider Manual CPC or Maximize clicks, where available for the chosen campaign type.
Manual bidding offers control through the settings available, but requires regular work. Maximize clicks automatically aims to get more clicks within the budget. In supported formats, you can set a CPC limit; setting it too low can restrict traffic. Google's strategy guide.
This kind of launch is for checking relevant demand and the user journey. A cheap click does not mean a qualified enquiry. Limit spend in advance, review search terms and set a date to reassess the strategy.
If a useful goal is measured correctly, consider optimizing for conversion volume. Do not automatically treat a low sales count as a reason to rule out all Smart Bidding: suitability depends on the specific strategy and campaign type.
Maximize conversions aims to get more of the selected actions while spending the available budget. It requires conversion tracking and does not guarantee an acceptable cost for every lead. If the campaign previously spent much less than its set budget, spending may rise after the switch. Google's strategy guide.
Start with a budget the business is willing to spend on the evaluation. If enquiries have different values, their count is not enough: quality and subsequent outcomes also matter.
Target CPA sets a target for the average cost per conversion. It should reflect actual history and business economics, rather than just a desired lead price. An overly restrictive target may reduce volume.
Target ROAS directs the system towards a ratio of conversion value to advertising spend. This requires accurate conversion values. Google sets different conversion-history requirements for different formats, so check eligibility against current documentation and your account. Target ROAS requirements and operation.
Assigning the same notional value to every enquiry does not turn the metric into an actual measure of sales profitability. With varying order values, consider Maximize conversion value, but the quality of submitted values remains critical. Google's guide to value optimization.
The interface may show target strategies separately or as settings within maximization strategies: Google is updating the labels. Compare the actual objective and constraints, rather than just the name in the menu.
Available strategies depend on the format. For example, you cannot transfer a manual bidding option from a Search campaign to Performance Max. We explain the differences in Performance Max or a Search campaign.
Suppose €900 is allocated to the evaluation. If the average CPC is €3, that pays for roughly 300 clicks. At an assumed website conversion rate of 2%, this would mean about six enquiries.
This is a calculation scenario, not a forecast. Actual clicks and enquiries may differ. Six leads are not six customers, and may not provide enough data for a reliable conclusion.
The example helps assess the scale of the evaluation before launch. Our article on calculating an advertising budget explains how to connect spend with enquiries and sales.
Before changing anything, record the hypothesis, baseline metrics and evaluation criteria. Where possible, keep other significant settings unchanged so you can understand the cause of the result.
Do not assess a new strategy solely on its first few days if enquiries and sales arrive later. The observation period should reflect the conversion cycle and data volume. However, a technical error or spending beyond the agreed risk requires an immediate response.
Changing bids will not fix irrelevant search terms, a weak offer or a broken form. If clicks produce no results, start with a campaign and website review.
When arranging advertising setup and management, agree on the optimization goal, budget, conditions for strategy changes and reporting on enquiry quality. You can discuss the scope using our commercial offer.