The Secret to Lower CPCs and Higher Conversions: PPC Bid Management Explained

Every time you advertise online, you’re entering an auction. And like any auction, winning or losing comes down to your bidding strategy.

As platforms like Google, Microsoft, and Meta advance, we’re at a fascinating crossroads between human intuition and machine learning. Some campaigns thrive on smart automation that processes thousands of signals in real time. Others benefit from a more hands-on approach to strategy.

So, how do you manage bids in a way that drives results? When does manual bidding make sense, and when should you let automation take over? Let’s break down what goes into a winning bid strategy.

What is PPC bid management?

PPC bid management is the process of strategically setting and adjusting bids for your ads in platforms like Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, etc. The goal is to maximize ad visibility while controlling costs, ensuring you get the best ROI for every click.

And bids matter—they help determine both where your ad shows up and how much you’ll actually pay when someone clicks. The challenge is that bidding is dynamic. What works today might be too expensive tomorrow or too low to keep your ad visible.

Effective bid management means staying ahead of these shifts, using automation wisely, and making data-driven adjustments to ensure your campaigns deliver results.

Types of bid management

There are three primary approaches to managing bids, each offering different levels of control and automation. The right choice depends on your campaign goals, available data, and how much hands-on management you prefer.

1. Manual bidding

Manual bidding gives you complete control over your bids. You set and adjust your bids at the keyword, ad group/ad set, or campaign level based on your own analysis.

This is ideal for advanced advertisers who know their bids should be and are comfortable adjusting bids based on market conditions. You can layer in bid adjustments, such as for device type or location, but it requires ongoing monitoring and frequent tweaks.

The strategy requires time and expertise, but that doesn’t mean you must do everything by hand. Many advertisers build their own automated bidding systems using scripts and rules. Optmyzr makes this even easier with ready-to-use strategies that help you stay on top of shifting factors like seasonality, competitor activity, and user behavior.

2. Automated bidding

Automated bidding simplifies bid adjustments by using predefined strategies to optimize for specific goals, such as increasing traffic or maintaining ad visibility. Instead of manually setting bids, advertisers choose a strategy that aligns with their objectives, and the system automatically adjusts bids based on performance signals.

Unlike Smart Bidding, which focuses on getting conversions, automated bidding is more about hitting broader goals. You choose a strategy that fits your goal, whether it’s getting more clicks, showing your ads more often, or staying within a budget, and the system adjusts your bids accordingly.

Different platforms offer a variety of automated bidding strategies. Here’s the breakdown:

📌Google Ads: Options like Maximize Clicks (aims to get the most clicks within budget) and Target Impression Share (adjusts bids to maintain ad visibility in a specific position) help advertisers optimize for reach and traffic

📌Amazon Ads: Features like Dynamic Bidding – Up and Down automatically increase bids when an ad is more likely to convert and decrease them when it’s less likely. This approach helps sellers compete for high-intent traffic while controlling cost

📌Meta Ads (Facebook & Instagram): You can use Lowest Cost Bidding (bids are set to get the most results at the lowest cost) or Bid Cap (sets a maximum bid to maintain cost control). These strategies focus on balancing reach, engagement, and cost efficiency

📌Other Platforms (LinkedIn, TikTok, Microsoft Ads, etc.): Each platform has variations of automated bidding, often with options to maximize clicks, impressions, or engagement based on advertiser goals

Choosing the right automated bidding strategy for your goals

• Want more traffic? → Use Maximize Clicks (Google), Lowest Cost Bidding (Meta), or Dynamic Bidding – Up and Down (Amazon)
• Want to keep costs in check → Use Bid Cap (Meta) or Fixed Bidding (Amazon) to control maximum bids. In Google Ads, Smart Bidding strategies like Maximize Conversions with a Target CPA aim to hit a specific cost per acquisition
• Focusing on visibility? → Use Target Impression Share (Google), Reach & Frequency Buying (Meta), or Sponsored Brands (Amazon)

3. Smart bidding (conversion-driven)

Smart Bidding is all about helping you get more conversions, like sales or sign-ups, by automatically adjusting your bids in real-time. Instead of manually setting bids, it uses machine learning to figure out the best bid for each situation based on the chances of a conversion happening.

It looks at things like user behavior and auction data to make sure your ads are shown to the right people at the right time. This makes it a great choice if your main goal is to drive more valuable actions from your ads.

While Smart Bidding can be highly effective, many advertisers default to it without checking if they have enough data. Our research revealed that smart bidding works best with at least 50+ conversions per month. Without this, performance can be volatile and unpredictable.

It also revealed that many advertisers start with one strategy and then transition to the other as their campaign picks up. This approach allows them to maintain control early on and switch once they have enough data for automation to work effectively.

If you’re considering Smart Bidding, here are the key strategies to know:

📌Maximize Conversions (with optional Target CPA): This strategy automatically adjusts your bids to get the most conversions (sales, sign-ups, leads) possible within your budget. It’s a good option if you are focused on driving volume and have a consistent budget.

While it aims to maximize conversions, it’s often beneficial to pair this strategy with a Target CPA. This tells Google the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for each conversion, and it will try to get you as many conversions as possible at that cost.

The combination is ideal when you have a specific CPA goal in mind and want to maximize conversions within that cost constraint.

📌 Maximize Conversion Value (with optional Target ROAS): Instead of just increasing the number of conversions, this strategy focuses on driving the highest total revenue from your ad spend. It’s ideal if you have different conversion values (e.g. different purchase amounts) and want to prioritize higher-value conversions.

It’s often recommended to use this strategy with a Target ROAS. Target ROAS lets you set a specific return you want to achieve on your ad spend (e.g., a 300% ROAS). Smart Bidding will then optimize your bids to maximize conversion value while trying to hit your target ROAS.

This combination is best when you have a specified ROAS target and want to maximize the overall value of your conversions.

Conversion-focused bidding strategies on other platforms

While Google Ads offers Smart Bidding, other advertising platforms also provide automated bidding strategies designed to help you achieve similar conversion-focused goals. Here’s a look at what some other platforms offer:

📌Meta ads (Facebook and Instagram): If your goal is to drive conversions or maximize the conversion value of Facebook and Instagram, Meta Ads offers several relevant bidding strategies. Highest Value Bidding optimizes your bids to target users most likely to make high-value purchases.

This is particularly useful for eCommerce businesses with varying product prices. Meta also offers other conversion-focused strategies like Lowest Cost and Value Bidding.

📌Amazon ads: For sellers on Amazon, Dynamic Bidding can help optimize conversions. The Up and Down variation automatically adjusts your bids on the likelihood of a conversion, increasing them when a sale is highly probable and decreasing them when it’s less so. This allows you to compete effectively for high-intent shoppers.

📌LinkedIn ads: If your focus is on lead generation or other B2B conversions, LinkedIn’s Bid for Conversions is designed to optimize your campaigns for specific actions, such as form submissions, sign-ups, or website visits.

📌Microsoft ads: Microsoft ads offer a similar suite of conversion-focused bidding strategies. Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, and Maximize Conversions Value function much like their Google Ads counterparts, allowing you to optimize for specific cost or return targets.

Choosing the right conversion-focused bidding strategy for your goals

• Increase overall conversion volume within a set budget→ Maximize Conversion (Google Ads), Lowest Cost (Meta ads), Maximize Conversion (Microsoft ads)
• Maximize the value of conversions from online sales→ Maximize Conversion Value (Google ads), Highest Value (Meta ads), Maximize Conversion Value (Microsoft ads), Dynamic Bidding- Up and Down (Amazon ads)
• Achieve a specific CPA for lead generation campaigns→ Target CPA (Google ads), Cost Cap (Meta ads)
• Achieve a specific ROAS for shopping campaigns→ Target ROAS (Google ads), ROAS targeting (Meta ads)
• Drive conversions while prioritizing high-value customers who spend $A or more per purchase→Value Bidding (Meta ads), Target ROAS (Google ads), Maximize Conversion Value (Microsoft ads)
• Maximize conversions for product sales on Amazon with a specific ACoS target→Dynamic Bidding- Up and Down
• Drive a specific number of conversions (e.g. 500 sales) within a timeframe of X days/weeks/months→Maximize Conversions (Google Ads)- requires careful monitoring and budget adjustments. Consider adding a Target CPA after enough conversion data is gathered

Manual Bidding vs. Automated Bidding vs. Smart Bidding: When should you choose which?

Choosing between manual, automated, and Smart Bidding depends on your goals, experience, and the level of control you need.

When to use manual bidding?

Manual bidding can be suitable in the following instances:

📌Limited data availability: Smart Bidding relies on conversion data to optimize bids. When there’s not enough data, bids may be set too high or too low based on incomplete signals. In such scenarios, manual bidding gives you control to align bids with actual auction conditions rather than relying on uncertain automation

📌Targeting brand keywords: For campaigns targeting brand-specific keywords, manual bidding can offer tighter control over bids, ensuring optimal positioning without over-reliance on automated systems.

📌Resetting data: When there’s a need to reset or clear historical data, manual bidding can be employed temporarily to establish a new performance baseline before transitioning back to automated strategies.

📌Ensuring specific ad positions: If maintaining a particular ad position is crucial, manual bidding provides the control necessary to achieve and hold desired placements.

📌Managing low-performing segments: In scenarios where certain segments underperform, manual bidding allows for targeted adjustments to improve efficiency and performance.

Shawn Walker of Symphonic Digital suggests manual bidding can be especially valuable when you’re just starting with a new campaign: * *

“A lot of the time if we’re starting a brand new campaign where there’s not much background and the client doesn’t know exactly who the audience is, we will start with manual bidding… just to get some volume out there.”

When to use automated bidding?

Automated bidding is ideal when you want to optimize for clicks or visibility without constant manual adjustments. It’s a great fit:

📌 When your goal is traffic or visibility (brand awareness campaigns) – Strategies like Maximize Clicks and Target Impression Share prioritize getting the most clicks within your budget or securing a specific ad placement. However, remember that more clicks don’t always equal more conversions. These strategies are less focused on direct conversions and more on expanding reach.

📌 When you don’t have enough conversion data – If you lack sufficient conversion data to leverage Smart Bidding, automated bidding can be a good starting point. It allows you to optimize for clicks or impressions while you gather more conversion data. However, note that these strategies do not optimize for conversions. They are a stepping stone towards conversion-focused bidding once you have enough data.

📌 When you’re managing large-scale campaigns – If you’re running campaigns with a lot of keywords and ad groups, it can be overwhelming to adjust bids manually. Automated bidding can help by adjusting bids across all your campaigns to save you time. However, if you have enough conversion data, Smart Bidding can take it a step further and optimize specifically for conversions, helping you meet your goals more effectively.

📌When competition and costs keep changing: In industries where CPCs are constantly shifting, automated bidding can help you stay on top of things by adjusting bids quickly. One big advantage is the ability to set bid caps, which let you control the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click. This helps prevent overspending while still keeping your bids competitive.

That said, if the market is really volatile, you’ll still want to check in regularly to make sure your strategy is working.

When to use smart bidding?

Smart Bidding works best when:

📌 You have enough conversion data – While the minimum threshold can vary, more conversion data generally leads to better performance. Aim for a significant number of conversions (e.g. 50-100+ per month per conversion action) for more reliable optimization. The more data, the better Smart Bidding can understand patterns and predict future conversions.

📌 Your tracking is accurate – Smart bidding works best with precise conversion tracking. Make sure your setup is correct across all platforms.

• Google Ads: Use the Google tag (gtag.js) or Google Tag Manager (GTM) for flexibility. GTM’s new form tracking feature allows codeless conversion tracking.
• Microsoft Ads: Relies on Universal Event Tracking (UET) for conversion measurement.
• Meta Ads: Uses the Meta Pixel to track and optimize conversions.

Each platform has its own tracking system. Check their documentation to ensure accurate data collection. The better your tracking, the smarter your bids.

📌 You’re optimizing for revenue, not just traffic volume– If your goal is to maximize the value of your conversions, Smart Bidding strategy like Maximize Conversion Value is the way to go. It focuses on getting the highest value for each conversion, even if that means you get fewer conversions overall.

On the other hand, Max Conversions aims to drive as many conversions as possible, so it’s important to make sure that those conversions (and the leads they generate) are actually profitable.

📌 You’re in a competitive market – Smart Bidding’s real-time adjustments are especially useful in competitive markets with fluctuating CPCs. While automated bidding adjusts based on general trends and manual bidding relies on constant manual adjustments or scripts, Smart Bidding makes real-time adjustments using auction-time signals.

This makes Smart Bidding particularly effective when your goal is to drive conversions or revenue, not just clicks or visibility. It adapts quickly to market changes and targets high-value actions, making it ideal for competitive environments.

Still, it’s important to monitor performance, particularly during major market changes.

💡 Pro Tip: Smart Bidding helps automate your bids, but it’s not always perfect. Sometimes, your best ad groups don’t show up as often as they should. Since Smart Bidding controls bids, you can’t change them directly, but you can adjust the targets to guide it in the right direction.

 

Lowering Target ROAS or raising Target CPA can increase volume, while stricter targets improve efficiency but may limit traffic. Since Smart Bidding factors in signals not available in manual bidding device, location, and time of day, adjusting targets for these variables can improve results.

 

Optmyzr’s Rule Engine helps by identifying when your targets need adjusting and providing data-backed suggestions, so you can keep your campaigns performing at their best.

How to choose the right bid strategy?

When it comes to selecting a bid strategy, it’s essential to choose one that aligns with your campaign goals. Below are some of the most common bid strategies, each tailored to different objectives.

Maximize Clicks

Ideal for: brand awareness campaigns, new campaigns where you want to drive early traffic, and building an audience list for future retargeting

The Maximize Clicks strategy is designed to drive as much traffic to your site as possible within your budget. It’s useful for:

✔️ Growing an audience list for future retargeting
✔️ Driving early traffic before optimizing for conversions
✔️ Understanding auction dynamics and keyword costs

However, not all clicks turn into conversions, so monitor engagement metrics like bounce rate and time on site.

When to switch: Once you’ve gathered enough data (typically a few weeks or a certain number of clicks/impressions) and have a clearer understanding of your target audience and keyword performance, it’s time to consider switching to a more conversion-focused strategy. Look for patterns in which keywords or audiences are driving the most engaged traffic, even if it’s not the most traffic.

Conversions (CPA/ROAS - Cost Per Acquisition/Return On Ad Spend)

Ideal for: eCommerce, SaaS, subscription services, performance marketing, app installs and in-app actions

Conversion-focused bidding strategies including Target CPA (Cost per Acquisition) and Maximize Conversions, are ideal when your primary objective is to drive specific measurable actions on your website or app.

These strategies empower the ad platforms to automatically optimize bids for maximum conversions within your budget or at your desired cost. They are particularly well suited for businesses with clear conversion goals and accurate tracking.

When to switch: Begin with Maximize Conversions/Value when you have sufficient conversion data, well-defined goals, and accurate tracking. Refine this strategy by adding a Target CPA/ROAS constraint when you want to:

➡️Stabilize spending: If your cost per acquisition or return on ad spend is too volatile, a target constraint will create more predictable spending

➡️Increase efficiency: If you’re achieving a good volume of conversions but believe you can do so more cost-effectively, a target constraint will optimize your budget

➡️Meet profitability goals: If you need to maintain a specific profit margin, a target constraint allows you to directly manage customer acquisition cost

You’re not necessarily switching strategies; you’re enhancing Maximize Conversions/Value with a target constraint to balance conversion volume with cost control. Later, you can adjust or remove the constraint if you want to prioritize volume growth.

Brand Awareness (CPM - Cost Per Thousand Impressions)

Ideal for: New product launches, entering a new market, building brand recognition, reputation management, programmatic display ads

Brand awareness campaigns have a different objective than direct response campaigns focused on conversions. They’re about getting your name, product, or message in front of a broad audience to increase familiarity and recognition.

With CPM bidding, you’re paying for impressions rather than clicks or conversions. This approach is ideal when your focus is on maximizing visibility, ensuring your ads reach as many people as possible rather than driving direct interactions.

When to switch: Brand awareness campaigns are often ongoing. However, you might consider switching to a different strategy for specific campaigns focused on driving direct response or conversions, such as limited-time promotion. You may also switch to a different awareness-focused strategy like CPV if you’re shifting to a video-centric approach.

Views (CPV - Cost Per View)

Ideal for: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram Reels, in-stream video ads

CPV is an ideal bidding strategy for video campaigns, where your goal is to drive views and engagement with your video content. You only pay when a user watches your video or engages with it (such as liking, commenting, or sharing).

This strategy is particularly valuable for campaigns focused on building engagement with video ads rather than driving immediate conversions.

When to switch: If your video campaign objective shifts from views to conversions (e.g. app installs or website visits), you’ll want to switch to a conversion-focused bidding strategy like CPA or ROAS. If you find your CPV is too high, you might want to experiment with different video creatives or targeting options.

Poor bid management can cost you dearly

Bid management isn’t just about adjusting numbers—it’s the difference between a profitable campaign and one that drains your budget. Without the right strategy, you risk:

❌ Overpaying for low-quality clicks that don’t convert
❌ Losing valuable traffic because your best keywords aren’t getting the bids they deserve
❌ Wasting time on manual adjustments that never quite hit the mark

That’s where Optmyzr can help by putting your bids on autopilot—without losing control. Instead of manually adjusting bids and hoping for the best, it helps you automate the process based on your specific goals, so you don’t have to worry about missing the mark.

Here’s how:

• Automated bid adjustments: Optimize for your specific goals (like hitting a target CPA or maximizing ROAS) without constant tweaking
• Custom rules: Create custom rules that fit your unique campaign needs. If a keyword or campaign is underperforming, you can set it to lower the bid automatically
• Data-driven insights: Get to the root cause of performance issues with our PPC investigator tool and see exactly what’s driving performance and adjust bids with confidence

• Efficient budget allocation: Ensure your best-performing areas get the investment they need

Choose the bid strategy that works for your goals

The right bid strategy really comes down to what you’re aiming for and how much control you want. If you’re an experienced advertiser, manual bidding gives you total control to adjust bids based on things like device, location, and time.

Automated bidding is perfect if you want to drive traffic without worrying too much about conversions. And if your main goal is to drive conversions, Smart Bidding is the way to go.

Still unsure which bidding strategy truly delivers: manual, auto, or smart?

Stay tuned for our next article, where we’ll walk you through the best strategies for each campaign goal and share valuable insights from analyzing over 14,000 accounts to help you choose the winning approach.

Or, skip the wait and try Optmyzr free for 14 days. Test different bidding strategies, optimize faster, and see what works (before competitors do).

Thousands of advertisers — from small agencies to big brands — worldwide use Optmyzr to manage over $5 billion in ad spend every year.