Bidding Strategies to Maximise Google Shopping Performance

When it comes to Google Shopping campaigns, bidding strategies play a critical role in determining the success of your advertising efforts. A well-considered bidding strategy can help you to drive more traffic to your online store, boost conversions and ultimately grow your bottom line.

However, with so many options to choose from, deciding on the right bidding strategy for Google Shopping can feel overwhelming. In this post, we’ll provide a clear overview of every bidding strategy available for Google Shopping campaigns, so that you can make an informed decision about the best approach to take for your specific needs.

Google Shopping Bid Strategy Options

1. Manual CPC Bidding: Advertisers set their own bid amounts for clicks on their Shopping ads.
2. Enhanced CPC (eCPC) Bidding: Google automatically adjusts your bids based on the likelihood of a conversion.
3. Maximise Clicks Bidding: Google automatically sets bids to get the most clicks within a given budget.
4. Maximise Conversions Bidding: Google automatically sets bids to get the most conversions within a given budget.
5. Target CPA Bidding: Advertisers set a target cost-per-acquisition (CPA) and Google automatically adjusts bids to meet that goal.
6. Maximise Conversion Value Bidding: Google automatically sets bids to get the most conversion value within a given budget.
7. Target ROAS Bidding: Advertisers set a target return on ad spend (ROAS) and Google automatically adjusts bids to meet that goal.

Related:

• Every YouTube Ads Bidding Strategy Explained
• Choosing the Best Bidding Strategy for Google Display Ads

Manual CPC Bidding in Google Shopping

Manual CPC (cost-per-click) bidding is a bidding strategy in which you set a maximum bid amount you are willing to pay for a click on your product ads.

With this strategy, you have full control over your bids and can adjust them at any time. Manual CPC bidding is recommended for advertisers who have a good understanding of their product margins and a clear idea of how much they are willing to pay for a click.

Pros of Manual CPC Bidding:

• Full control over bidding
• Ability to set bids based on product margins
• Can adjust bids in real-time
• Can be used in conjunction with other bidding strategies

Cons of Manual CPC Bidding:

• Time-consuming to adjust bids
• Requires regular monitoring to ensure bids remain competitive
• May not be suitable for large product inventories

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches
• Regularly review and adjust bids based on performance
• Optimise your product feed to improve relevance and Quality Score
• Test different ad formats and messaging to improve click-through rates and conversion rates.

Learn more: Manual CPC Bidding in Google Ads: A Comprehensive Guide

Enhanced CPC (eCPC) Bidding in Google Shopping

Enhanced CPC (eCPC) bidding is a strategy that allows Google to automatically adjust your bid for clicks that are more likely to result in conversions.

With eCPC, Google uses machine learning to analyse various signals, such as device, location, and time of day, to determine which clicks are more likely to lead to a conversion. It will then adjust your bid up or down based on the likelihood of conversion based on your historic conversion data. This bidding strategy is ideal for businesses that want to increase their chances of getting more sales without significantly increasing their advertising spend.

Pros:

• eCPC can help improve conversion rates by bidding more aggressively on clicks that are more likely to convert.
• It is easy to set up and requires minimal ongoing maintenance.
• eCPC can work well for campaigns with a limited budget, as it optimises bids in real time to maximise conversions.

Cons:

• eCPC may increase your average cost per click (CPC), which can result in higher advertising costs.
• You may not have complete control over your bids, as Google is making bid adjustments based on its machine learning algorithm.
• eCPC requires enough conversion data for Google to learn which clicks are more likely to lead to a conversion. If you have limited conversion data, this bidding strategy may not be as effective.
• eCPC is not focused on revenue, nor profitability, only on getting more sales for your eCommerce store.

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Monitor your campaigns regularly to ensure that your cost per acquisition (CPA) and Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is within your target range.
• Use negative keywords to exclude irrelevant searches and improve the quality of your traffic.
• Optimise your product titles and descriptions to improve the relevance of your ads and increase the likelihood of conversion.
• Test different ad creatives and landing pages to see which ones are most effective at driving conversions.

Learn more:

• Enhanced CPC (eCPC) Bidding In Google Ads Explained
• The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce CRO
• eCommerce CRO Agency | Boost Conversion Rates and Revenue

Maximise Clicks Bidding in Google Shopping

Maximise Clicks is a bidding strategy that focuses on driving the highest possible number of clicks for a given budget. With this strategy, Google Ads will automatically set bids to get as many clicks as possible within your campaign budget.

This can be a useful strategy for businesses that are primarily focused on increasing traffic to their eCommerce store, or as an initial bidding strategy to gain enough conversion data to switch to a conversion based strategy such as maximise conversion value, or target ROAS.

Pros:

• Can be effective for increasing overall traffic to your website
• Easy to set up and requires minimal maintenance
• Budget is used efficiently to generate clicks

Cons:

• May not lead to increased sales or revenue if clicks are not leading to purchases
• Bids may be set too high, leading to overspending on clicks that don’t result in sales
• Does not take into account the quality of clicks, meaning some clicks may not be valuable to your business

Optimisation opportunities:

• Regularly review and adjust bids to ensure they are not too high or too low
• Monitor conversion data to ensure that clicks are leading to sales
• Utilise negative keywords to prevent clicks on irrelevant search terms

Learn more: Google Ads Maximise Clicks Bidding Strategy Explained

Maximise Conversions Bidding in Google Shopping

When you use Maximise Conversions bidding in Google Shopping campaigns, the bidding algorithm automatically sets your bids to get as many conversions as possible within your budget.

Pros:

• Saves time: You don’t have to constantly adjust your bids to try to get more conversions.
• Improves conversion rates: The algorithm is designed to find the most valuable clicks that are likely to lead to conversions.
• Increases revenue: By getting more conversions, you can increase your revenue and ROI.

Cons:

• May not be cost-effective: If your products have a low profit margin, the cost of each conversion may outweigh the revenue you generate.
• May not be effective for high-priced items: If you’re selling expensive items, the bidding strategy may not be effective because the cost per click may be too high.
• Requires sufficient conversion data: To use Maximise Conversions bidding, you need to have enough conversion data for the algorithm to work effectively.

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Improve product data: Ensure that your product data is accurate and up-to-date so that Google can match your products to relevant search queries.
• Use negative keywords: Add negative keywords to your campaigns to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches.
• Invest in Conversion Rate Optimisation on your landing pages to convert more traffic into sales, which improves overall campaign performance.

Learn more:

• Google Ads Maximise Conversions Bidding Strategy Explained
• The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce CRO
• eCommerce CRO Agency | Boost Conversion Rates and Revenue

Target CPA Bidding in Google Shopping

Target CPA Bidding is a bidding strategy in Google Shopping campaigns that helps you get more conversions while keeping your cost per acquisition (CPA) under control. With this strategy, you set a target CPA that you’re willing to pay for each conversion, and Google Ads automatically adjusts your bids to help you reach that target.

Pros:

• Helps you get more conversions by automatically adjusting your bids based on historical performance data
• Saves you time by automating the bidding process
• Allows you to set a maximum bid limit to control costs
• Enables you to track and optimise your campaigns for specific conversion actions

Cons:

• Requires conversion tracking to be set up correctly and enough historical data to optimise bids
• May result in fewer clicks if bids are too low to compete in the auction
• May result in higher costs if the target CPA is too low for profitable conversions
• Focuses on the quantity and cost of each conversion, rather than revenue or profitability

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Monitor your campaigns regularly to ensure that your target CPA is still viable and making sense for your eCommerce store
• Adjust your target CPA as needed to achieve better performance
• Maximise conversion rates on your product pages to improve campaign performance
• Refine your targeting and ad messaging to improve the quality of your traffic and increase conversion rates

Learn more:

• Target CPA Bidding in Google Ads: An Explanation
• The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce CRO
• eCommerce CRO Agency | Boost Conversion Rates and Revenue

Maximise Conversion Value Bidding in Google Shopping

maximise Conversion Value is a bidding strategy that aims to maximise the total conversion value (revenue) from your Google Shopping campaigns while staying within your daily budget.

With this bidding strategy, Google Ads uses machine learning to automatically set bids for each auction based on the likelihood of converting and the potential value of that conversion.

Pros:

• Maximises the total conversion value of your campaign.
• Saves time as Google Ads automatically sets bids for each auction.
• Offers flexibility in budget allocation to products that have a higher potential for conversion value.

Cons:

• Not recommended for campaigns with a limited budget.
• Requires sufficient conversion data to optimise the bidding.
• Focuses on revenue, rather than ROI

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Ensure accurate conversion tracking for better data analysis.
• Regularly monitor the campaign’s performance to identify any adjustments needed.
• Improve conversion rates and revenue per click by investing in Conversion Rate Optimisation on product pages and through your checkout process.

Maximise Conversion Value bidding strategy is an effective way to increase the overall revenue from Google Shopping campaigns. It is best suited for advertisers who want to focus on the highest value conversions and have enough conversion data to support the machine learning algorithm.

Learn more:

• How to Optimise Google Ads Using Target ROAS Bidding
• The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce CRO
• eCommerce CRO Agency | Boost Conversion Rates and Revenue

Target ROAS Bidding in Google Shopping

Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is a bidding strategy in Google Ads that allows you to set a target return on investment (ROI) for your ad spend. With Target ROAS bidding, Google’s machine learning algorithms optimise your bids to maximise your conversion value while trying to achieve your target ROAS.

Learn more: What is ROAS?

Pros:

• More effective way to maximise revenue profitably compared to other bidding strategies
• Automatically adjusts bids to hit your target ROAS
• Allows for more precise control over ad spend and ROI

Cons:

• Requires sufficient conversion data to work effectively
• Can be difficult to set an accurate target ROAS
• May result in higher cost per conversion compared to other bidding strategies

Optimisation Opportunities:

• Continuously monitor performance to ensure that your target ROAS is being achieved
• Segment products in to different campaigns and adjust ROAS based on the performance of individual products, product categories and margins achieved
• Use negative keywords and exclude unprofitable search queries to improve the overall performance of your campaigns

Target ROAS bidding can be a valuable strategy for eCommerce stores that are focused on maximising revenue while maintaining a specific ROI target. By leveraging machine learning algorithms, advertisers can optimise their bids to achieve the best possible return on their ad spend.

Learn more:

• How to Optimise Google Ads Using Target ROAS Bidding
• The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce CRO
• eCommerce CRO Agency | Boost Conversion Rates and Revenue

Which is the Best Bidding Strategy for Shopping Ads?

Target ROAS is a highly effective bidding strategy for Google Shopping campaigns. With Target ROAS bidding, you set a target return on ad spend and Google Ads automatically optimises your bids to achieve that target.

This strategy takes into account factors such as historical conversion rates, user data, and the value of the products you’re selling. By using Target ROAS, you can focus your ad spend on the most valuable products and customers, resulting in higher returns and better overall performance.

Compared to other bidding strategies, Target ROAS has several advantages. For one, it’s a more efficient way of spending your budget. Because the strategy is designed to optimise for returns, you’ll be investing more heavily in the products and campaigns that generate the highest revenue.

Additionally, because Target ROAS uses machine learning to optimise bids, it can make adjustments much more quickly and accurately than a human could.

On balance, Target ROAS is an excellent choice for any business looking to maximise their returns on Google Shopping campaigns, but to scale effectively you must invest in conversion rate optimisation on product pages, category pages and your checkout.