Google Ads Maximize Clicks: Your guide to getting more traffic

There are 3 types of bid strategies in Google Ads: manual bidding, automated bidding and Smart Bidding. PPC practitioners generally fall into one of two camps: those who stick with the control of manual bidding, and those who lean into automation with Smart Bidding. But what about the middle? Is there a time and place for automated bid strategies, like Maximize Clicks? Is this a Goldilocks solution or a good-for-nothing solution?

In this article, I’ll cover everything you need to know about Maximize Clicks, including:

• What is Maximize Clicks bidding in Google Ads?
• When should you use Maximize Clicks bidding?
• Is Maximize Clicks a Smart Bidding strategy?
• Can you put guardrails in place with Maximize Clicks?
• Which campaign types are compatible with Maximize Clicks?

What is Maximize Clicks bidding in Google Ads?

Maximize Clicks is an automated bid strategy within Google Ads. Essentially, when you tell Google to “Maximize Clicks,” you’re instructing the system to spend your entire budget in order to get you the most clicks possible.

That order of operations is important: the first priority is spending your budget in full, and the second priority is getting clicks. This means that Maximize Clicks bidding can potentially drive up your CPCs in order to ensure it spends your budget.

When should you use Maximize Clicks bidding?

Rarely. If you’re serious about advertising on Google, you’ll want to be tracking conversions in your account. And if you’re tracking conversions, you’re better off using a Smart Bidding strategy designed for conversions: Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, Target CPA, or Target ROAS. These bid strategies are built to align your goals with Google’s.

However, there are a few scenarios where Maximize Clicks can be a good choice, especially if, for some reason, you’re not optimizing for conversions. For instance, if your primary goal is simply to drive as much traffic as possible to your website without a specific conversion event in mind, or if you’re just starting out in a brand new account and want to gather data for your campaigns, Maximize Clicks can be a viable option.

Is Maximize Clicks a Smart Bidding strategy?

Maximize Clicks isn’t a Smart Bidding strategy, because Smart Bidding focuses on conversions. However, it is an automated bid strategy, which means it considers various contextual signals at auction time to determine your bids – just like Smart Bidding.

Contextual signals for automated bidding (and Smart Bidding) include, but are not limited to:

• Device: Is the user on a mobile phone, tablet, or desktop?
• Location: Where is the user physically located?
• Time of day/Day of week: What time is it, and what day of the week is it?
• Remarketing lists: Has the user interacted with your business before and are they on a remarketing list?
• Language: What language is the user’s browser set to?
• Browser/Operating System: What browser and operating system are they using?

If you were to use Manual CPC bidding, you’d have to try and set bid adjustments for each of these factors yourself, which can be incredibly time-consuming and complex. With Maximize Clicks, the automation handles all of that for you, adjusting bids in real-time to try and get you the most clicks possible.

Can you put guardrails in place with Maximize Clicks?

If you’re concerned that Maximize Clicks might lead to excessively high CPCs, you do have the option to set a CPC bid limit. This cap tells Google not to bid above a certain amount for any given click.

While this can reign in overzealous spending, it’s important to consider the trade-offs. Setting a strict bid limit can hinder Google’s ability to learn and optimize, potentially limiting the number of clicks you receive or forcing you out of auctions where a slightly higher bid would have secured a click.

As with most things in Google Ads, it’s a balance between control and allowing the automation to learn and optimize.

Which campaign types are compatible with Maximize Clicks?

Maximize Clicks is one of the most versatile bid strategy options in Google Ads. You can use Maximize Clicks with:

• Shopping Campaigns: This is one of the most common places I’d recommend using Maximize Clicks, especially for new Shopping campaigns. In Shopping, your bidding choices are limited to Manual CPC, Maximize Clicks, or Target ROAS. If you’re just starting out and don’t have enough conversion data for Target ROAS, Maximize Clicks can be a solid way to generate initial traffic and gather data – without limiting performance with Manual CPC.
• Search Campaigns: Maximize Clicks is compatible with Search campaigns, making it an option for driving traffic from Google Search results. Some Google Ads practitioners like to start their Search campaigns on Maximize Clicks rather than going straight for Smart Bidding.
• Display Campaigns: You can use Maximize Clicks for your Display campaigns, aiming to get as many clicks as possible from the Google Display Network. Just watch out for spam traffic!
• Demand Gen Campaigns: Maximize Clicks can also be applied to Demand Gen campaigns, if you’re not quite ready to leverage Smart Bidding yet.

Maximize Clicks is not available for Video campaigns, which focus on reach or engagement, nor is it available for Performance Max campaigns, which only support conversion-based bid strategies.

Bottom line

While Maximize Clicks can be a good beginner bid strategy, especially for certain scenarios like new Shopping campaigns, my general recommendation is that if you’re advertising on Google, you should have conversion tracking set up.

If you have conversion tracking in place, you’re almost always better off choosing a bid strategy that focuses on conversions rather than just clicks.

This article is part of our ongoing weekly Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, Jyll highlights a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read.