Maximize Clicks vs. Maximize Conversions in Google Ads: The 15-Conversion Rule That Changes Everything

TL;DR: Choosing between maximize clicks vs. maximize conversions in Google Ads comes down to one number: 15 conversions per month. If your budget can generate at least 15, start on Maximize Conversions. If not, start on Maximize Clicks to build data first, then switch once you cross that threshold. Four strategies, one decision framework built from real account data.

The choice between maximize clicks vs. maximize conversions in Google Ads is one of the most consequential decisions made at campaign launch. Most accounts default to Maximize Conversions because it sounds like the obvious choice. But without enough conversion data behind it, that strategy can leave Google’s algorithm guessing, and a guessing algorithm often stops spending your budget entirely.

This post is based on a video Peterson published on the Creekside Marketing YouTube channel: Understanding Bidding Strategies in Google Ads. It covers all four available bidding strategies and the exact framework we use to select the right one at campaign launch.

What Are the Four Google Ads Bidding Strategies?

Google provides four automated bidding strategies for search campaigns: Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, Maximize Clicks, and Target Impression Share. Each one is engineered for a specific outcome, and choosing the wrong one early is one of the most consistent reasons new campaigns underperform, stall in learning mode, or fail to spend budget reliably. The strategy is not a permanent decision. It should evolve as the account accumulates data and conversion history.

The four strategies and what each one optimizes for:

Maximize Conversions, Get the highest number of conversions within budget
Maximize Conversion Value, Get the highest total dollar value from conversions
Maximize Clicks, Drive the most website traffic within budget
Target Impression Share, Maximize how often ads appear in the search results

When to Use Maximize Conversions (and the 15-Conversion Threshold That Governs It)

Use Maximize Conversions when your campaign can generate at least 15 conversions per month. This is the bidding strategy we recommend most often at Creekside Marketing. It tells Google one goal: get as many conversions as possible within the available budget. Google’s algorithm needs real conversion data to identify who is likely to act, and roughly 15 conversions per month provides enough signal for it to begin making confident targeting decisions. Below that threshold, the algorithm is often guessing rather than optimizing.

One important detail: Maximize Conversions treats every conversion action as equal. A phone call, a form submission, a chatbot interaction, and a click-to-email all carry the same weight. There is no built-in differentiation based on lead quality or conversion type. If your goal is maximum lead volume across all channels and you have the conversion history to support it, this is your strategy.

The 15-conversion mark is the floor, not the ceiling. Campaigns generating 30 or more conversions per month will see more consistent and efficient results because Google has a richer pattern to optimize against. Accounts that launch on Maximize Conversions without hitting that floor are the ones most likely to stall out or underspend.

When to Use Maximize Clicks (and Why Budget Size Decides It)

Maximize Clicks is the right choice in two specific situations: when the campaign’s primary goal is website traffic rather than lead generation, or when the budget is too small to generate 15 conversions per month on Maximize Conversions. The second scenario is where Maximize Clicks becomes a strategic tool rather than a fallback, and it is the one most advertisers overlook.

The logic is straightforward. Maximize Clicks typically produces a lower cost per click than Maximize Conversions. Lower cost per click means more site visits per dollar spent. More site visits means more people reaching conversion points on the site. As those visitors convert, the account builds toward the 15-conversion threshold needed for Maximize Conversions to function. Once you hit roughly 15 conversions per month, switch to Maximize Conversions. Google now has real signal to work from, and the algorithm can begin optimizing with confidence.

Maximize Clicks is also a diagnostic and recovery tool. If a campaign running on Maximize Conversions is not spending its daily budget, that is often a sign that Google cannot find targets it is confident will convert because the conversion history is too thin. Switching to Maximize Clicks removes that constraint. Google starts moving budget to generate site traffic, conversions accumulate, and the switch back to Maximize Conversions becomes viable.

For a broader view of how this progression maps across the first 90 days of a new campaign, our breakdown of the Google Ads 90-day bid strategy ladder covers the full timeline. For campaigns consistently coming up short on conversions, we have also documented the five moves we make first when Google Ads is not generating enough conversions.

Why Maximize Conversion Value Is Not the Right Starting Point for Most Accounts

Maximize Conversion Value is the right strategy when you can assign specific, measurable dollar amounts to each conversion action in your account. For e-commerce businesses with purchase tracking, every conversion equals a transaction with a known dollar value. Google can now optimize for total revenue rather than total lead count, because the value of each action is precisely quantifiable.

The same logic applies to service businesses that have measured the revenue impact of different conversion types over time. If inbound phone calls, form submissions, and email inquiries each carry a distinct and documented dollar value to the business, Conversion Value bidding will try to maximize the total value generated across all those actions rather than simply chasing volume.

The tradeoff matters. According to Creekside Marketing’s analysis across managed accounts, Conversion Value campaigns typically generate fewer total conversions at a higher cost per conversion compared to Maximize Conversions. That is intentional behavior. Google is no longer trying to get you the most leads. It is trying to get you the most revenue. The measure of success shifts from cost per lead to total dollars generated.

For most local service businesses and lead generation accounts, this level of conversion value mapping is not in place at launch. Maximize Conversions is the better default unless purchase tracking is already verified or detailed per-action valuations are configured and tested.

Target Impression Share is built for one specific goal: market visibility and competitive dominance. Use it when your budget is large relative to competitors and the primary objective is showing up for a high percentage of relevant searches rather than minimizing cost per lead. It is not a more advanced version of Maximize Conversions. It is a fundamentally different tool for a different purpose.

With Impression Share, you set a target percentage of auctions to win, choose where on the page ads appear (anywhere on page, top of page, or absolute top of page), and set a maximum cost-per-click limit. The higher the placement target, the more expensive the clicks. This strategy is best suited to established businesses with substantial budgets that want to crowd out competitors and maximize brand exposure across search results. For smaller budgets, the cost-per-click required to hit meaningful impression share targets tends to be unsustainable.

The Decision Framework: How to Choose at Launch

Picking a Google Ads bidding strategy is a data question first and an objective question second. Here is how we approach it based on $20M+ in managed ad spend:

The bidding strategy is not a permanent setting. It should change as the account matures. Campaigns that stay on Maximize Clicks past the 15-conversion threshold leave optimization potential unused. Campaigns that launch on Maximize Conversions before hitting that threshold often stall before they generate meaningful results. The decision is a starting point, not a commitment.

FAQ: Maximize Clicks vs. Maximize Conversions in Google Ads

Q: Does switching bidding strategies hurt my campaign performance?

Switching bidding strategies resets the learning period, which typically affects performance for one to two weeks. When switching from Maximize Clicks to Maximize Conversions after reaching the 15-conversion threshold, that temporary disruption is expected and manageable. Staying on the wrong strategy indefinitely is more costly over time.

Q: What if I never reach 15 conversions per month even on Maximize Clicks?

If the budget cannot generate 15 monthly conversions even with Maximize Clicks driving traffic, the issue is often not the bidding strategy. Evaluate the site’s conversion rate, the landing page quality, and whether the search terms being targeted are actually generating conversions in your market. A bidding strategy problem is sometimes a traffic quality or landing page problem in disguise.

Q: Can I add a Target CPA to Maximize Conversions once the account has data?

Yes, and we recommend it once the account has a stable conversion history. The key is setting the initial Target CPA at or above your actual recent average CPA rather than at your goal number, then stepping it down gradually as performance stabilizes. For the full process, see our guide on Target CPA in Google Ads.

Q: How do I know if Conversion Value bidding is worth setting up?

If you can measure the revenue impact of different conversion types with reasonable accuracy based on real business data, it is worth configuring. If the values would be rough estimates without real measurement behind them, Maximize Conversions will produce more consistent results with significantly less setup overhead.

Q: Is Maximize Clicks the same as manual CPC bidding?

No. Maximize Clicks is still an automated strategy where Google manages bids to generate the most clicks within your daily budget. Manual CPC gives you direct control over bids at the keyword level. For most campaigns running today, Maximize Clicks outperforms manual CPC because Google has access to real-time auction signals that manual bidding cannot incorporate at scale.

If you want more breakdowns like this, I write a weekly newsletter about what is actually working inside the ad accounts we manage. Real wins, real losses, no fluff. Subscribe to the Creekside newsletter.

About the Author

Peterson Rainey is the founder of Creekside Marketing, a paid advertising agency managing Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns for clients across local service businesses, healthcare practices, e-commerce, and professional services. Creekside manages $20M+ in annual ad spend.