Search Marketing FAQ

Switch once you have 30+ conversions per month and a clear cost-per-acquisition that aligns with profitability. Target CPA adds a constraint that prevents the algorithm from chasing volume at any cost. Set the initial Target CPA slightly above your current Max Conversions average to avoid sudden spend cuts.

in Smart Bidding

Switch once you have 50+ conversions with revenue data per month and a clear ROAS target. Target ROAS enforces a return-on-spend constraint. Start with a target slightly below your current Maximize Conversion Value ROAS - tightening it gradually avoids sudden traffic cuts as the algorithm reprices auctions.

in Smart Bidding

Maximize Conversions works with as few as 15 conversions per month. Target CPA needs 30 conversions in the past 30 days to stabilize. Target ROAS needs 50 conversions with value data. Below these thresholds, Smart Bidding fluctuates and underperforms manual CPC. Build conversion volume first, then layer in tighter strategies.

in Smart Bidding

Thirty conversions in the trailing 30 days is the Google-recommended floor for Target CPA. Below this, the algorithm has too little signal and CPA fluctuates wildly. At 50+ conversions, results stabilize. Accounts with 100+ monthly conversions across consistent products see the strongest Smart Bidding lift over manual CPC.

in Smart Bidding

Two weeks minimum, four weeks ideal. The algorithm needs at least two weeks of learning data before performance reflects steady-state behavior. Adjusting Target CPA or ROAS within the first two weeks resets learning and amplifies volatility. After four weeks, optimize by no more than 15-20% per change.

in Smart Bidding

Yes, but Maximize Conversions is the only practical option until you accumulate 30+ conversions. New accounts without conversion history run on installed-impressions baseline data, so the algorithm has less signal. Expect 2-4 weeks of underperformance before Smart Bidding catches up to manual CPC; after that, performance accelerates.

in Smart Bidding

Only Maximize Clicks, which optimizes for traffic rather than conversions and is rarely useful. Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, and Maximize Conversion Value all require conversion tracking - the strategies cannot function without conversion data to optimize against. Install conversion tracking before considering any other Smart Bidding strategy.

in Smart Bidding

Not strictly required, but enhanced conversions significantly improves Smart Bidding accuracy by using hashed first-party data to recover conversions lost to privacy restrictions. Accounts with enhanced conversions enabled see 5-15% more measured conversions and tighter CPA on Target CPA campaigns. Enable it for any Smart Bidding strategy.

in Smart Bidding

Mostly no. Smart Bidding automatically incorporates device, location, time, audience, and query signals at the auction level, making manual bid adjustments redundant or counterproductive. The exception is mobile-app campaign types and certain inventory adjustments. Trust the algorithm rather than layering manual adjustments on top of it.

in Smart Bidding

No - Smart Bidding ignores manual bid adjustments for device, location, and audience because the algorithm sets a unique bid per auction using those signals automatically. Setting adjustments has no effect and creates a false sense of control. To prioritize specific devices or locations, exclude the others or run separate campaigns.

in Smart Bidding

Use conversion-count goals (Maximize Conversions, Target CPA) when every conversion is roughly equal (lead form, demo booking, signup). Use conversion-value goals (Maximize Conversion Value, Target ROAS) when conversions have meaningfully different values (e-commerce orders, subscription tiers). Value goals require clean revenue tracking; count goals work with any conversion event.

in Smart Bidding

Five recur: switching before 30+ conversions of history exist; adjusting CPA/ROAS targets within the first two weeks; layering manual bid adjustments on top (Smart Bidding ignores them); changing strategy multiple times in 30 days (each reset learning); and turning off Smart Bidding mid-learning instead of completing the cycle. Patience wins.

in Smart Bidding

Negative keywords are terms you specify to prevent your ads from serving on queries that contain them. They reduce wasted spend on irrelevant searches and protect ad relevance. Apply them at the campaign, ad group, or account level. Negative keywords work differently from positive keywords - they do not match close variants by default.

in Negative Keywords

Negative keywords cut wasted spend on irrelevant searches that broad match keywords inevitably attract. They protect Quality Score by keeping ads relevant to actual queries. They preserve budget for converting traffic. Without negatives, broad-match keywords can pull in dozens of unrelated queries per day, draining budget on traffic that will never convert.

in Negative Keywords

Each search query that triggers your ad costs money whether or not it converts. Negative keywords filter out queries containing wastage terms (free, jobs, DIY, competitor brand names you do not bid on). On accounts with broad match enabled, well-maintained negatives can reduce wasted spend by 20-40% within the first month.

in Negative Keywords

The Search Terms report shows the actual queries that triggered your ads. It is the primary source for finding negative keyword candidates - any irrelevant query you see is a candidate to add. Review it weekly, mark wasted-spend terms as negatives, and approve high-converting terms as new keywords. Without this loop, broad match silently bleeds budget.

in Negative Keywords

Open the Search Terms report in Google Ads, sort by cost or impressions, and look for terms that do not match your offer. Common patterns: free, jobs/careers, DIY/how-to, competitor names you do not bid on, plural forms that pull wrong intent. Add high-cost zero-conversion terms first, then iterate weekly.

in Negative Keywords

Start with a universal list: free, freebie, jobs, careers, hiring, salary, DIY, how-to (if you sell rather than instruct), reviews (if you do not have review content), competitor brand names you do not bid on. Then mine the Search Terms report for account-specific waste. The universal list covers 30-50% of common wastage patterns.

in Negative Keywords

Negative broad match blocks the query only when it contains all the negative keyword terms. Negative phrase match blocks when the exact phrase appears in the query. Negative exact match blocks only the exact-match query, no variations. Negative match types are strict - they do not match plurals, misspellings, or close variants like positive matches do.

in Negative Keywords

Broad match negatives block the widest range of queries containing the terms - use for clearly irrelevant categories (jobs, careers, salary). Phrase match negatives block specific multi-word phrases - use for category-specific wastage (free pdf download). Exact match negatives block one specific query - use to surgically remove a single wasted term.

in Negative Keywords

Use phrase or exact match instead of broad match for ambiguous terms. Test new negatives in observation first by adding them to one campaign before going account-wide. Review the Search Terms report monthly to confirm no winning terms are being filtered. Never add brand names you actually bid on as negatives - that blocks your own traffic.

in Negative Keywords

Yes. Unlike positive match types, negative match types do not match close variants. If you add 'job' as a negative phrase match, queries containing 'jobs' still serve your ad. Add singular, plural, common misspellings (recieve vs receive), and alternate spellings (color vs colour) explicitly. Treat each variant as a separate negative.

in Negative Keywords

Positive match types now match close variants (plurals, misspellings, reordered phrases). Negative match types do not - they only block exact-spelling variations of the term. This asymmetry means a single typo can let an unwanted query through. Audit your negative keyword list for spelling variants and add each one separately to ensure coverage.

in Negative Keywords

Yes. Ad group-level negative keywords block queries only within that ad group. Use when one ad group serves a specific product variant and a query is relevant to another ad group in the same campaign. Example: in a 'running shoes' ad group, add 'hiking' as a negative so that query falls into the hiking ad group instead.

in Negative Keywords