When setting up lead generation campaigns on Google Ads, choosing the right bidding strategy can significantly impact your campaign’s success. The right approach not only ensures you maximize your budget but also drives the highest-value conversions for your business. But how do you decide between Maximize Conversion Value and Target ROAS?

In this guide, we’ll explore how these two value-based bidding strategies work when to use them, and what factors to consider before making your decision. Whether you're aiming for maximum ROI or seeking the best way to manage your ad spend, we’ve got you covered.

Why Value-Based Bidding?
Value-based bidding lets you optimize for conversions that generate the most value for your business, like revenue, profit margins, or customer lifetime value. By assigning different values to various conversion actions, you gain better control over your bids and maximize your return on investment (ROI).

The strategy you choose will depend on a few key factors.

Let's explore the two options for lead generation campaigns:

1. Maximize Conversion Value
This strategy focuses on maximizing the overall value of conversions within your allocated budget.

When to Choose This Strategy:
You want to generate the highest possible value without worrying about a specific return on ad spend (ROAS).
Your primary goal is to spend your full budget while maximizing conversion values.
You don’t have a set ROI target in mind.

Why It Works:
Maximize Conversion Value works well for businesses looking to get the most out of their ad spend by driving as much high-value activity (like leads or sales) as possible within a defined budget.

2. Maximize Conversion Value with Target ROAS
This strategy allows you to set a specific ROAS target and Google Ads will optimize your bids to meet that target while maximizing conversion value.

When to Choose This Strategy:
You have a clear ROI goal and need your campaigns to hit a specific target return.
You want to prioritize conversions that meet profitability benchmarks (e.g., a $5 ROAS means you expect $5 in revenue for every $1 spent).

Target ROAS Pro Tip:
To use this strategy effectively, avoid setting a capped budget. Instead, let your ROAS target control the campaign's spend, allowing the system to bid more aggressively when opportunities for higher-value conversions arise.

Setting ROAS Targets
When setting your ROAS target, use your past 30-day ROAS as a benchmark. Google provides a recommended target based on historical performance. Keep in mind that ROAS recommendations exclude recent performance data, so they remain accurate even for longer conversion windows.

Experimenting Before Committing
Not sure which strategy to choose? Start with a small-scale experiment to compare the performance of value-based bidding against your current bid strategy. Google Ads lets you create quick or custom experiments, enabling you to make data-driven decisions before fully switching to a new bidding model.

Best Practices for Value-Based Bidding

• Jumpstart the System: Start with a low ROAS target or begin with Maximize Conversion Value to allow the system to gather data.
• Ramp-Up Period: Allow Google Ads at least two weeks or three conversion cycles to optimize your bids properly. Exclude this initial learning period from performance reviews.

By choosing the right strategy, you can ensure your lead generation campaigns deliver maximum value for your business while aligning with your goals and budget.