Conversion goals provide a way to categorise your conversion actions and control campaign optimisation. To improve performance and better align Google AI to your business objectives, you may occasionally want to make changes to conversion goals used for Smart Bidding. This page provides best practices that should be followed for the type of change you intend to make.
Some of these changes include the following:
- Changing bid strategies. For example, moving from maximise conversions with a target CPA to maximise conversion value with a target ROAS.
- Change to a new conversion goal by adding or removing a conversion goal from your campaign settings. For example, switch from the upper funnel event like 'Add to basket' to lower funnel events such as 'Purchases'.
- Modify the composition of your goal while maintaining the existing conversion goal settings, whether account-level default or campaign-level setting. For example, adding or removing conversion actions from a conversion goal, or updating the action optimisation setting of a conversion action (primary, secondary or custom), changing your conversion source or changes to your conversion volume or value scales.
Smart Bidding will take some time to learn after any changes made to conversion goals or actions. The best practices below will allow you to better understand the implications of these changes on Smart Bidding and help you mitigate performance disruption. There are different approaches to take based on the kind of change that you want to implement and your account's current state. Before making any change to conversion tracking, ensure that budgets are set to the amount you intend to spend.
This document applies to search campaigns and Shopping campaigns, but not to Search Ads 360. The workflows below reference conversion goals but are applicable to any combination of changes described above.
Change bid strategies while the conversion goal remains the same
Transition to a new bid strategy and keep your campaign's conversion goal and primary conversion action.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions with an optional target CPA and want to do the following:
- Switch to maximise conversion value with an optional target ROAS bid strategy.
- Continue to target the same conversion goal for your campaign.
- Keep the same conversion actions primary within the conversion goal, but you want to start passing values for those conversion actions.
For example, you’re using maximise conversions with a target CPA to bid for online sign-ups. You now want to track values with those sign-ups and use maximise conversion value to optimise bids.
Learn more about how to change your bid strategy while the conversion goal remains the same.
You can transition to a new bid strategy to achieve one of the following:
- Optimise your whole account to either a new conversion goal.
- Change a conversion goal by adding a new primary conversion action.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions with an optional target CPA and want to do the following:
- Switch to a maximise conversion value with an optional target ROAS bid strategy.
- Change conversion goal. For example, optimise to a new primary conversion action.
For example, you’re currently using maximise conversions with a target CPA to bid to your 'Submit lead form' goal to track the online form fills. You now want to track online subscriptions using 'Paid subscription' goal on maximise conversions with a target ROAS to optimise bids.
Learn more about how to change bid strategies and change the conversion goal (account-level optimisation).
Optimise specific campaigns to a new conversion goal or add a new primary conversion action to an existing conversion goal when your bidding strategy is using campaign-level optimisation.
We recommend an account-level switch as the workflow is simpler to execute, but if you're interested in transitioning campaigns gradually, you can follow the campaign-level workflow.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions with an optional target CPA and want to do the following:
- Switch to a maximise conversion value with an optional target ROAS bid strategy.
- Change conversion goal. For example, optimise to a new primary conversion action.
For example, you’re currently using maximise conversions with a target CPA to bid to your 'Submit lead form' goal to track online form fills. You now want to track online subscriptions with values using 'Paid subscription' goal, on maximise conversions with a target ROAS using a campaign-level switch.
Learn more about how to change Smart Bidding strategies and change the conversion goal (campaign-level optimisation).
Optimise your campaigns to a new account-level conversion goal or change an existing account-level conversion goal by using a new conversion action with a similar conversation rate or value.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions (with an optional target CPA) or maximise conversion value (with an optional target ROAS) and want to do the following:
- Keep using the same bid strategy.
- Change conversion goal. For example, optimise to a new primary conversion action.
For example, you’re currently using maximise conversion value to bid to values from a lead form. You now want to optimise for paid subscription values, but the conversion rate and value are very similar.
Learn more about how to stay on the same bid strategy and change the conversion goal (account-level optimisation).
Optimise specific campaigns to a new conversion goal, or modify an existing conversion goal using a new conversion action with a different conversion rate, volume or value.
It is recommended to use the account-level switch detailed above as it is a simpler workflow, but if you want to transition campaigns gradually, you can follow the campaign-level workflow here.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions (with an optional target CPA) or maximise conversion value (with optional target ROAS) and want to do the following:
- Keep using the same bid strategy.
- Change conversion goal. For example, optimise to a new primary conversion action with a different conversion rate, such as volume or value, or change the category of an existing action.
- Implement campaign-level changes.
For example, you’re currently using maximise conversion value to bid to values from a lead form. You now want to optimise for paid subscription values, but the conversion rate and value are very similar.
Learn more about how to stay on the same bid strategy and change conversion goal (campaign-level optimisation).
You want to change your conversion goal such that you are moving from an upper to a lower funnel goal while on maximise conversions with a target CPA.
Bidding scenario
You’re currently using maximise conversions with a target CPA and want to do the following:
- Keep using the same bid strategy.
- Change conversion goal from upper funnel to lower funnel ('Purchase', 'Qualified lead', 'Converted lead').
For example, you’re currently using maximise conversion value with a target CPA and bidding to an upper funnel conversion category such as 'Page views', and you want to bid lower-funnel using the conversion category 'Purchase', 'Qualified lead' or 'Converted lead'.
Learn more about how to stay on maximise conversions with a target CPA and change conversion goal from upper to lower funnel goal.
To determine the right bid strategy for you, you must understand when to use maximise conversions or maximise conversion value with or without a target.
When to use maximise conversions or maximise conversion value without a target
- You’re comfortable with the bid strategy having full control during the bidding transition.
- You don’t have to make large-scale budget adjustments within the next 4–6 weeks.
- You’re willing to let the bidder find the maximum level of conversions or conversion value at the set budget.
When to use maximise conversion or maximise conversion value with a target CPA or target ROAS
- You would prefer to closely monitor and adjust targets during the bidding transition.
- You’ll have to make large-scale budget adjustments within the next 4–6 weeks.
- You want to achieve a specific CPA or ROAS target.
