Maximise Clicks Bid Strategy [Full Tutorial]
- Get the most clicks within your budget
- Best for new campaigns without conversion data
- Optional maximum CPC limit
Watch the step-by-step walkthrough below, then follow along with the guide to set up Target ROAS as a portfolio bid strategy in Google Ads and balance efficiency with sales volume.
Follow these steps alongside the video to set up Target ROAS in your Google Ads account.
Book a 90-minute coaching session and we'll work through your Google Ads account together!
Common questions about the Target ROAS bid strategy in Google Ads.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is a Smart Bidding strategy that automatically sets bids to help you achieve a specific return on ad spend across your campaigns. Google's AI adjusts bids at auction time to maximise conversion value while hitting your ROAS target — for example, a target of 400% means you want $4 in revenue for every $1 spent.
Google recommends having at least 15–50 conversions in the past 30 days before switching to Target ROAS, and the conversions must have associated revenue values. Without sufficient data, the algorithm has too little signal to optimise effectively and performance can become erratic.
Maximise Conversion Value spends your full budget to get the highest total revenue with no ROAS floor — it prioritises volume. Target ROAS adds a constraint by telling Google to hit a specific return target, which means it may spend less of your budget if the opportunities available don't meet your ROAS threshold. Use Target ROAS when efficiency matters more than pure volume.
If your target is set higher than your account can realistically achieve, Google will reduce bidding to only enter the most profitable auctions — leading to a significant drop in impressions, clicks, and spend. Your actual ROAS may improve but volume will fall. Start conservatively close to your recent average ROAS and gradually increase over time.
Setting a maximum CPC limit under Advanced options is optional and generally not recommended for most accounts. Capping bids can prevent Google's algorithm from winning auctions for high-value conversions, which undermines the strategy. Only use a max CPC limit if you have a strict business reason and understand it may constrain performance.
Yes. Setting Target ROAS via Tools > Bid strategies creates a portfolio bid strategy that can be shared across multiple campaigns. This lets Google pool conversion data from all assigned campaigns to hit your ROAS target more efficiently, which is particularly useful when individual campaigns have lower conversion volumes.
More step-by-step guides to get more from your Google Ads campaigns.
Need a hands-on walkthrough tailored to your account? Book a 90-minute coaching session and we'll set it up together.