Smart Bidding
Smart Bidding is the group of Google Ads bid strategies that use Google AI to set a separate bid in each auction, aiming to maximise conversions or conversion value. The four strategies are Maximise conversions, Target CPA, Maximise conversion value and Target ROAS.
How does Smart Bidding work?
Google calls it auction-time bidding: instead of one bid per keyword, the system predicts how likely each individual search is to convert, or how much the conversion is worth, and bids for that search alone. It draws on signals a person managing bids by hand could not combine in real time, including these.
- Device, browser and operating system
- Physical location and location intent
- Day of the week and time of day
- Remarketing lists and interface language
- The actual search query, on Search and Shopping
What does it need to work well?
Conversion tracking is required. Google recommends judging performance over at least 30 conversions, or a month or longer, and 50 conversions for Target ROAS. The strategy learns from whatever is counted as a conversion, so if low-value actions such as page views or brochure downloads are included, it will buy more of them.
Google says Smart Bidding works best with broad match, because a wider set of searches gives it more to learn from. From June 2026 Google began renaming Maximise conversions with a target CPA to Target CPA, and Maximise conversion value with a target ROAS to Target ROAS, with no change to how the bidding behaves.
Example
Two people search 'boiler replacement cost' within a minute of each other. One is on a phone in the advertiser's service area at 8pm and has visited its quote page before. The other is on a desktop in a region it does not cover. Smart Bidding can bid high for the first and low, or not at all, for the second, using the same keyword.
Related terms
Further reading
Our Pay Per Click service puts this into practice for brands in the UK and US.
