Glossary
What is Maximise conversion value bidding?
Melvin Salas1 min readVerified 6 October 2026
Short answer
Maximise conversion value is a Google Ads Smart Bidding strategy. Google says that when you are using it, Google will aim to spend your budget to maximise conversion value for your campaigns. Bidding still occurs for every conversion, but the value varies on the type of conversion, and the cost stays within your specified budget.
Google's Target ROAS page sets out where it sits among the four strategies. Maximise conversion value is for when the priority is to spend the entire budget for the most conversion value possible, there is no specific ROI target, and conversions have different values for your business. Target ROAS is for when the priority is getting conversion value at a specific ROI target. Maximise conversions and Target CPA are the pair for which, in Google's table, all conversions are treated equally.
Starting in June 2026, Google says 'Maximise conversion value with a Target ROAS' is changing to 'Target ROAS', and that the underlying bidding behaviour remains exactly the same.
One column to leave alone. Google says Maximise conversions or Maximise conversion value bid strategies are designed to spend the full daily budget, and are 'limited by budget' by design, and that the 'Lost IS (budget)' column doesn't currently account for this. For both strategies, Google says it recommends that you use tools such as the budget simulator and impression share metrics to understand the budget opportunity available on your campaign.
Our reading, not Google's: like Target ROAS, it weighs each conversion by the value it reports, so the values you set decide what it chases. A goal with a token value adds little to what it is trying to buy.
We check this on every account we run
Riibon ties Meta and Google Ads back to outcomes measured outside the platforms, payments and bookings, so the number a decision rests on is one the business would recognise. When the platform and the business disagree, we show both and say which one we trusted.
Ask the Riibon app what your own account is counting as a conversion. It is free, with no time limit and no card. Or book a call and we run it for you.