When maximizing the effectiveness of value-based bidding, your data foundation is everything. The better your data, the smarter Google's AI can become in driving results. In this post, we’ll cover the key steps to set up a winning data strategy for value-based bidding, helping you get the most out of your marketing campaigns.

Tighten Up Your Tracking
Your priority should be ensuring your Google Tag or Google Tag Manager is installed correctly and functioning on your website. This small snippet of code is vital as it tracks essential user interactions, such as lead form submissions. These interactions are key to identifying conversion actions that will fuel your value-based bidding strategy.

Share Offline Conversion Data
Not all conversions happen online, and it's important to track offline interactions, such as phone calls or in-person meetings. Each stage of your sales cycle – from lead generation to closed deals – has its value. Sharing these offline conversions back into Google Ads enables the platform to better understand which leads are most valuable to your business, allowing for more refined bid optimization.

One efficient way to track offline conversions is through Enhanced Conversions for Leads. This feature allows you to connect offline actions, like closed deals, to the Google Ads campaign that drove the original lead. It’s privacy-friendly, supports cross-device tracking, and can be implemented without modifying your CRM system.

Use Google Ads Data Manager
Managing data is now easier with the Google Ads Data Manager. This tool centralizes your first-party data sources, such as BigQuery, Google Cloud, HubSpot, and more. You can even connect through tools like Zapier if your preferred data source isn’t listed. Ensuring all your conversion data flows seamlessly into Google’s AI helps improve the platform's decision-making process.

Implement Data-Driven Attribution
Understanding the customer journey is crucial to any value-based bidding strategy. A data-driven attribution model takes into account every touchpoint a user interacts with before converting. Whether it's a click from a Search ad, a YouTube view, or an interaction on your site, this model gives credit to each action that contributes to a conversion.

Unlike last-click attribution, which credits only the final touchpoint, data-driven attribution paints a fuller picture of what’s truly driving conversions. This nuanced understanding is critical in helping Google allocate its ad spend more effectively.

Setting the Right Goals
Once your data flows smoothly, it's time to tell Google’s AI what to focus on. Choose a single, primary conversion goal that occurs frequently enough for Google to gather sufficient data—ideally, at least 15 conversions per month. For businesses with longer sales cycles, consider using other high-volume actions, such as lead form submissions or product demo requests, as primary goals for bid optimization.

Keep Your Data Fresh
Lastly, remember to upload conversion data frequently. Ideally, this should happen daily. By keeping your data fresh, Google AI can continuously optimize your campaigns in real time, ensuring that your bid strategy stays up to date.

By following these steps, you’ll set a strong data foundation for value-based bidding, helping you maximize the effectiveness of your campaigns and drive more conversions.