Should you use Maximize Conversions or Manual CPC bidding in Google Ads?

By: Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads Coach

If you are still clinging to Manual CPC because you want to "control your costs," you aren't just losing time - you are likely losing your best customers. Your obsession with cheap clicks is the fastest way to starve your account of high-quality traffic, and therefore kill any chance of getting high quality customers.

Success today isn't about how little you can pay for a click; it's about how effectively you can tell Google which clicks are actually worth the premium. In this post, we will look at why bid limits are actually sabotaging your results, how to handle the "High CPC" anxiety, and why your conversion tracking is the only thing standing between you and a profitable campaign.

What is Manual CPC bidding in Google Ads?

A Manual CPC bid strategy means that you are telling Google the maximum amount you’re willing to pay per click. If your bid is $3, you are telling Google you won’t pay a penny more. If the next bid in the auction is $3.01, you lose, and you don't get the click.

Nowadays, Manual CPC bidding is almost always a mistake. With click-based bidding, conversions are an accident. These algorithms don't even look at your conversion data; they just look for the cheapest traffic. Maximize Conversions bidding, however, ensures the algorithm remains focused on your actual business goal.

What is Maximize Conversions bidding in Google Ads?

Maximize Conversions is a Smart Bidding strategy. This means the system takes millions of signals into account - not just the keyword, but the user's device, time of day, and browsing history. It determines the best bid for every single user in every single auction, optimizing for a conversion.

With Maximize Conversions, high CPCs are a feature, not a bug

The number one fear advertisers have about Maximize Conversions is rising CPCs. But you must remember my mantra: "High CPCs are not the enemy, low quality traffic is."

Maximize Conversions will purposefully bid higher on certain clicks because Google projects those users are much more likely to convert. Lower CPCs are not always better. Getting the cheapest clicks often brings you the lowest quality traffic. If you are selling something for $1000, you should be willing to pay $10 for a high-quality click that actually results in a sale.

Why you should avoid Portfolio Bid Strategy "Workarounds"

In the past, some advertisers used a Portfolio Bid Strategy to apply Smart Bidding while also setting a maximum CPC bid limit. While I used to recommend this, I now generally advise against this.

Bid limits defeat the purpose of Smart Bidding. In a recent case study, I saw that removing a strict CPC bid limit caused average CPCs to skyrocket by 5x. However, it also resulted in 4x as many conversions in half the time and cut the CPA in half. If you want the algorithm to work, you have to let it bid.

The prerequisite of pristine Conversion Tracking

Maximize Conversions will do exactly what you tell it to do. If you track simple page views instead of actual leads, you will get a 95% conversion rate of useless traffic. For lead generation businesses, using Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) or Enhanced Conversions for Leads is now critical. This ensures the algorithm learns to bid on actual customers, not just bots filling out forms.

What if I have low volume or a small budget?

I generally recommend having at least 30 conversions in 30 days for Smart Bidding to work best. If you can't hit this volume, do not revert to Manual CPC. Instead, optimize for micro-conversions. Adding actions like "add to cart" or "begin checkout" gives the algorithm the data it needs to learn. And yes, I still recommend starting on Maximize Conversions.

Are there any exceptions?

There are only two cases where I still recommend Manual CPC (or Maximize Clicks):

1. When you are launching a brand new Standard Shopping campaign.

2. In highly specific, low-volume industries where CPCs are hundreds of dollars.

Even for Brand campaigns, Smart Bidding (Target ROAS or Target CPA) is superior. It accounts for intent and protects you from matching to irrelevant "close variants" that Manual CPC might let through.

Stop chasing cheap clicks and start focusing on the data that grows your business.