Maximise Clicks vs Maximise Conversions: The Best Bidding Strategy for a New Google Ads Campaign

It's the question Ben gets in nearly every onboarding call: "When I launch this new campaign, should I use Maximise Clicks or Maximise Conversions?"

The wrong answer here will cost you weeks of wasted spend and a campaign that never escapes the learning phase. The right answer can have a new campaign producing profitable conversions inside 30 days.

This guide is built on Ben's experience launching 250+ Google Ads campaigns from scratch. It covers exactly when each strategy is right, the conversion thresholds Google's algorithms actually need, and the transition path that protects performance when you switch.

The question every new advertiser asks

Google Ads offers a long list of bidding strategies - Maximise Clicks, Maximise Conversions, Maximise Conversion Value, Target CPA, Target ROAS, Manual CPC, Enhanced CPC. For a brand new campaign with zero conversion history, only two of these are realistic starting points:

• Maximise Clicks - tells Google to get you as many clicks as possible within your budget.
• Maximise Conversions - tells Google to get you as many conversions as possible within your budget.

The other smart bidding options (Target CPA and Target ROAS) all require historical conversion data to work properly - typically at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days at the campaign level. A new campaign by definition doesn't have that.

So the real choice on a launch is binary: do you tell the algorithm to chase clicks, or to chase conversions?

How each bidding strategy actually works

Maximise Clicks

Maximise Clicks is the simplest automated strategy. Google sets bids dynamically to get the most clicks your budget can afford. It does not consider the quality of those clicks, the likelihood of conversion, the device, the time of day, or the audience signal. It just chases volume.

Under the hood, Google looks at every available auction and bids whatever's needed to win clicks at the lowest possible CPC across the board. You can optionally set a maximum CPC bid limit to stop it overspending on individual auctions.

Maximise Conversions

Maximise Conversions is a smart bidding strategy. It uses Google's machine learning to evaluate each auction in real time and bid based on the predicted likelihood of conversion. Inputs include search query, device, location, time, browser, audience signals, historical conversion data, and dozens of other variables Google doesn't fully disclose.

The crucial point: Maximise Conversions only works as well as the conversion data it has to learn from. With 100+ conversions a month, it's powerful. With zero, it's essentially guessing - and often spending your entire budget on a handful of expensive clicks while it tries to figure things out.

Maximise Clicks: when it's the right call

Maximise Clicks is Ben's default starting strategy for the vast majority of new campaigns. Here's why:

• It generates traffic fast. You need clicks to get conversions, and you need conversions to feed smart bidding. Maximise Clicks is the fastest way to get out of the gate.
• It's predictable. Costs are stable from day one. There's no "learning phase" volatility, no wild CPC swings.
• It surfaces real data. Within a week or two, you'll have search term reports, audience reports, and conversion patterns - the data you need to optimise everything else.
• You can cap it. Setting a maximum CPC bid limit (typically Ben sets this at 2-3x the average CPC for the keyword set) prevents runaway spend.

The trade-off is obvious: Maximise Clicks doesn't optimise for conversions. You'll get more low-quality traffic alongside the good stuff. That's fine, because in the launch phase your priority isn't ROAS - it's data accumulation.

When Ben uses Maximise Clicks

• Brand new accounts with no historical conversion data at all
• New campaigns inside established accounts targeting fresh keyword themes (different intent profile = different conversion behaviour)
• Low conversion volume verticals where reaching 30 conversions/month would take 90+ days on smart bidding
• Top-of-funnel campaigns where the goal is genuinely traffic and audience building, not direct conversion
• When testing a new landing page or offer and you need volume fast to assess conversion rate

Maximise Conversions: when to start here

Despite the rule above, there are scenarios where Maximise Conversions is the right starting point even on day one. The key is whether the algorithm has signal to work with - whether that signal comes from this campaign, the account, or transferable data.

When Ben starts on Maximise Conversions

• Account already has 50+ monthly conversions on similar campaigns - the algorithm can leverage account-level signal
• Branded search campaigns - intent is so high that conversions are essentially guaranteed, and Maximise Clicks would just inflate CPCs
• Performance Max campaigns - the strategy is built around smart bidding and there's no "Maximise Clicks" equivalent
• High-volume e-commerce launching a new product line within an established Shopping or PMax structure
• Re-launching a previously paused campaign with intact historical conversion data (Google retains learning for ~30 days)

If you don't tick at least one of these boxes, starting on Maximise Conversions on day one is usually a mistake. You'll spend two or three weeks in the learning phase, watching CPCs spike and CPLs swing wildly while the algorithm tries to find patterns in too little data.

The 30 conversions in 30 days rule

This is the single most important number in smart bidding. According to Google's own documentation, smart bidding strategies need a minimum of 30 conversions in the trailing 30 days at the campaign level to optimise effectively. Some strategies (Target ROAS, Target CPA) recommend 50+ conversions for stable performance.

Below 30 conversions/month, smart bidding strategies are operating on thin data. CPCs are volatile, CPA targets get missed, and you'll often see "Limited by bid strategy learning" warnings in your campaign status.

Realistic timelines to hit 30 conversions

This is the maths that determines your strategy:

• E-commerce, low AOV, high volume (CR ~3%, CPC ~£0.95): At £3,000/month spend, ~3,150 clicks, ~95 conversions. Maximise Conversions viable from day one if you have signal.
• Local services (CR ~5%, CPC ~£3.40): At £2,500/month spend, ~735 clicks, ~37 conversions. Reachable, but tight - start on Maximise Clicks for 30 days.
• B2B SaaS (CR ~2%, CPC ~£2.85): At £5,000/month spend, ~1,750 clicks, ~35 conversions. Start on Maximise Clicks until you confirm conversion volume.
• Legal services (CR ~6%, CPC ~£6.75): At £5,000/month spend, ~740 clicks, ~44 conversions. Start on Maximise Clicks - quality of clicks matters more than volume here.
• High-CPC lead gen (CR ~4%, CPC ~£10): At £4,000/month spend, ~400 clicks, ~16 conversions. Maximise Clicks is essential - smart bidding will fail.

If your maths puts you under 30 conversions/month, Maximise Conversions will not work properly no matter how well your campaign is structured. This is not a Google Ads opinion - it's a mathematical reality of how machine learning models train.

Ben's decision framework

Use this exact decision tree when launching any new campaign:

1. Does this campaign sit inside an account with 50+ monthly conversions on similar campaigns?
   • Yes → Maximise Conversions (with conservative budget for first 14 days)
   • No → Continue to step 2
2. Is this a Performance Max or branded search campaign?
   • Yes → Maximise Conversions
   • No → Continue to step 3
3. Based on industry CPC and conversion rate, will you generate 30+ conversions/month at your launch budget?
   • Yes (with margin to spare) → Maximise Conversions, with a reasonable max CPC limit
   • Borderline or no → Start on Maximise Clicks
4. If on Maximise Clicks, set a max CPC bid limit at 2-3x your expected average CPC to prevent runaway spend.
5. Plan the transition from day one. Set a calendar reminder for day 30 to review conversion volume and decide whether to switch.

This framework gets the right answer in roughly 90% of new campaign launches. The remaining 10% are edge cases (extremely seasonal campaigns, very long sales cycles, brand-new categories with no benchmark data) that need bespoke judgement.

How to transition from Maximise Clicks to Maximise Conversions

This is where most accounts get the transition wrong - they switch strategies overnight and watch performance collapse. The algorithm gets thrown back into a learning phase, CPCs spike, and the account spends a week or two recovering.

Ben's transition protocol:

Step 1: Confirm you have the data

Before switching, verify your campaign has generated at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days, with stable conversion patterns (not all from one day or one keyword). If conversion volume is patchy, give it another 2 weeks on Maximise Clicks.

Step 2: Audit your conversion tracking

Smart bidding is only as good as the conversions it optimises against. Before switching, audit your conversion actions:

• Are you tracking the right action? (Purchase or qualified lead, not "page view")
• Is the conversion fire firing reliably? (Test using Google Tag Assistant)
• Are you double-counting or missing conversions?
• Have you set conversion values where appropriate? (Critical for Maximise Conversion Value or Target ROAS down the line)

Step 3: Switch and hold

Switch to Maximise Conversions and do not change anything else for 14 days. No budget changes, no keyword changes, no ad copy tests. The algorithm needs a stable environment to learn. Expect a temporary 10-30% drop in performance during this learning phase - it's normal.

Step 4: Layer on Target CPA (optional)

Once Maximise Conversions has been running stably for 30+ days and you're consistently hitting your CPA target, you can add a Target CPA setting for tighter cost control. Set the target at the average CPA you've achieved, not what you wish you achieved - aggressive targets will throttle your campaign.

Step 5: Monitor for the next 60 days

Watch for:

• Conversion volume: Should increase or stay flat. If it drops more than 20%, the strategy isn't working - revert.
• CPA: Should trend toward your target. Some volatility is normal in week 1-2.
• Search Lost IS (rank): Should stay stable. A spike means the algorithm is bidding lower in some auctions.
• Auction insights: Watch for changes in your competitive position.

The 5 most common bidding mistakes on new campaigns

1. Starting on Target CPA or Target ROAS. These need conversion history to work. On a brand new campaign, they will either spend nothing (target too aggressive) or burn budget (target too loose).
2. Switching strategies every week. Every strategy switch resets the learning phase. Pick a strategy and commit for at least 30 days before evaluating.
3. Not setting a max CPC bid limit on Maximise Clicks. Without a cap, Maximise Clicks can pay £20+ for a single click in a competitive auction. Always cap.
4. Switching to smart bidding before conversion tracking is verified. If your tracking is broken, Maximise Conversions will optimise against the wrong signal - sometimes optimising for low-quality leads or cancelled orders.
5. Comparing performance across strategies in the first 14 days. The learning phase distorts everything. Always compare a stable 30-day window post-learning, not the first two weeks of a new strategy.

What Ben does for clients

Every campaign Ben launches inside the 90-Day Revenue Takeover follows the same playbook:

• Days 1-30: Launch on Maximise Clicks (unless one of the Maximise Conversions criteria is met). Set max CPC bid limits. Daily search term review and negative keyword additions. Heavy ad copy testing.
• Days 31-45: Audit conversion data. Confirm 30+ conversions/month at the campaign level. Verify tracking. Switch to Maximise Conversions.
• Days 46-75: Hold the strategy. Optimise audience signals, ad assets, and landing pages. Let the algorithm learn.
• Days 76-90: Layer on Target CPA or Target ROAS once stable performance is confirmed. Begin scaling budget on winning campaigns.

This is the same approach that has delivered an average 84% revenue growth at the 90-day mark across 250+ accounts. It's not magic - it's just respecting how Google's algorithms actually work, instead of fighting them.

The bottom line

For most new campaigns, the answer is simple: start on Maximise Clicks, switch to Maximise Conversions once you have 30+ conversions/month. Branded search and accounts with strong existing signal are the exceptions.

The biggest mistake isn't picking the "wrong" strategy - it's picking the right strategy and then sabotaging it through impatience, switching too early, or not pairing it with the proper account structure. Bidding is just one variable in a much bigger system.

If you'd like Ben to personally build a launch plan for your new campaign - including bidding strategy, conversion tracking audit, and 90-day projection - request your free 90-Day Growth Plan.