Maximize Conversion Value: With or Without Target ROAS?

Most online stores should run Maximize conversion value without a target and steer it with the daily budget. A Target ROAS pays off only when four things hold at once. The target comes from your margin. The campaign brings a steady flow of conversions (the portal treats 30 a month as the minimum). The budget has headroom above daily spend. Order values reach Google correctly. Since 17 August 2026 the stakes are higher: a budget-limited campaign with a target now delivers close to that target instead of beating it.

Target ROAS is an optional setting of Maximize conversion value

Maximize conversion value and Target ROAS are one bidding strategy with an optional setting. With the target off, the strategy goes for as much conversion value as the budget allows. According to Google Ads Help (About Maximize conversion value bidding), it then “tries to fully spend your average daily budget”. With the target on, it works as Target ROAS: it goes for as much conversion value as it can at the ROAS you set.

Both settings are Smart Bidding: Google’s automated bidder sets the bid in every auction from the conversions and order values you send. Our guide to bidding strategies for online stores matches each strategy to a conversion volume.

The names make one strategy look like two. In June 2026 Google started relabelling “Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS” as plain “Target ROAS” in Search campaigns. Google says the bidding behaviour stays exactly the same (Changes to how Smart Bidding strategies are organized for Search campaigns). The Google Ads API and Google Ads Editor will switch to the new names later.

In the API, a campaign’s own target ROAS is an optional field of the MAXIMIZE_CONVERSION_VALUE strategy. The separate TARGET_ROAS type is only for portfolio strategies, the ones several campaigns can share (Google Ads API: Bid strategy types). That is also how most campaigns with a target look when we read accounts through the API: the strategy type says Maximize conversion value, and the target sits in a separate field.

So a campaign listed as “Maximize conversion value” in an export or report may still have a target. Open the campaign’s bidding settings and check the target field itself.

Maximize conversion value vs Target ROAS: what the target changes

For a store, both settings optimise for order value. Google’s own comparison puts it plainly: Maximize conversions treats all conversions equally, while value bidding fits when conversions have different values for your business (About Target ROAS bidding). A store whose orders range from one cheap item to a full set is that case.

What 17 August 2026 changed for budget-limited campaigns

Until August, a budget-limited campaign with a target could beat that target and give you a better return than you asked for. On 17 August 2026 Google changed this. Budget-limited campaigns with a target now deliver closer to the target, and those that were beating it trend down towards it (Changes to target based bid strategies). Google leaves both targets and budgets to you.

That turns the target into a binding number. We cover the money side, Google’s Bid Target Adjustment Tool and a three-column check of your campaigns in our breakdown of the 17 August change.

Google also lists dropping the target as an option. Its FAQ on the August change says that if your budget is strictly fixed and you accept ROI fluctuations, you can switch to Maximize conversion value (Frequently asked questions about changes to Target-based bid strategies). Google’s page on the change names the price: without a target, actual ROAS fluctuates as you adjust the budget.

In our data, ROAS held up as spend grew

Our position: run Maximize conversion value without a target and manage the daily budget. Keep a target only when you have worked it out from your margin. Three findings from GetProfit data explain why.

You make the choice in Performance Max. Performance Max runs in 141 of 146 stores in our data and takes a median 95.7% of their ad budget (GetProfit data, June 2025 – June 2026). In Performance Max, the target is an optional field of Maximize conversion value (Google Ads API: Portfolio and standard bidding strategies). So for most stores, “with or without a target” is a question about their Performance Max campaigns.

The budget behaves like a lever. We compare each store’s month-to-month change with what other stores did in the same month. Across 1,360 store-months, changes in spend and changes in ROAS were practically unrelated: the rank correlation was +0.026, close to zero. In the 155 store-months where spend rose by more than 70%, median revenue grew 129.9%, ROAS moved +0.9% and cost per click rose 9.2%. We also grouped store-months by spend change, from cuts to the largest rises. In every group, ROAS fell by no more than 5% in 52–61% of store-months (GetProfit data, June 2025 – June 2026).

ROAS moves on its own. A store’s monthly ROAS typically sits 16% away from its own median. Its best month has 3.1× the ROAS of its worst (medians across 110 stores with at least 8 months of data, June 2025 – June 2026). A target is one fixed number laid over a figure that moves.

These are observations, not an experiment. Stores may have raised spend because sales were already going well. Our ROAS is revenue divided by ad spend, without product costs. The data ends before the 17 August change, so it shows how campaigns behaved under the old rules.

When does a target pay off?

A target pays off when all four of these checks pass. If one fails, Maximize conversion value without a target, steered by the budget, is the safer setting.

1. The target comes from your margin

Break-even ROAS is 1 divided by your gross margin. At a 25% margin, a 400% ROAS only pays back the ad spend; at 35%, break-even is about 286%. A target below break-even buys sales at a loss.

A target set well above your actual ROAS “to be safe” causes the opposite problem. Google’s Target ROAS help page warns that a target that is too high may limit the traffic your ads get. Google advises basing the target on your business goals, with historical ROAS as the reference. Our Target ROAS guide shows how to pick and adjust the target.

2. The campaign gets enough conversions a month

Google’s Target ROAS help page sets an entry bar for Search and Shopping campaigns: at least 15 conversions in the past 30 days. Google counts them at the conversion-tracking level, not per campaign. The same page adds that performance generally improves with fewer, larger campaigns that get more conversions. The portal treats 30 conversions a month per campaign as the minimum and 50+ as comfortable.

Measure the monthly pace, not the running total. A campaign with 50 conversions over six months gets about 8 a month. By the portal’s rule, it stays in the learning period, however large the total looks. The portal counts the pace over the campaign’s current run: a pause and restart makes a calendar average misleading.

3. The budget has headroom

Google’s page on the August change advises keeping the daily budget comfortably higher than your average daily spend. If the campaign shows “Limited by budget” and the budget cannot grow, it delivers close to the target you set, even a wrong one. With headroom, the target becomes your lever and the budget stops being the bottleneck. Our Google Ads budget guide covers how to size the budget, change it in steps and spread it through the month.

4. Order values reach Google

Both settings learn from the order value you send. Google requires conversion tracking that sends each order’s own amount (transaction-specific values). Google’s Target ROAS help page recommends sending order values for 4 weeks or 1–2 conversion cycles, whichever is longer, before you set a target and switch to value bidding. The portal’s structure check names the most common settings error: a campaign bids on ROAS, but the order value never reaches Google, so the bidder learns from a default value.

Which setting fits your situation

Each of the first four rows is one failed check; the last row is the case where all four pass.

Example: when a target costs money

Example store, not client data.

A tableware store with 3,000 products spends 40,000 a month in one Performance Max campaign and gets 180,000 in revenue from 300 orders. Its ROAS is 4.5, or 450%. Gross margin is 35%, so gross profit is 63,000 and break-even ROAS is about 286%. The campaign is limited by budget.

The owner adds a 300% target “to stay above break-even”. After 17 August, a budget-limited campaign delivers closer to its target. If it lands at 300%, the same 40,000 brings 120,000 in revenue. Gross profit falls to 42,000, and after paying for ads the store keeps 2,000 instead of 23,000.

Two settings avoid this. Without a target, you raise the budget in steps and watch ROAS against break-even yourself. With a target at the actual 450% and budget headroom, Google aims to hold that ROAS as spend grows. The pace is fine here: 300 orders a month is ten times the portal’s minimum of 30 per campaign.

A second store gets 50 orders over six months. That is about 8 a month, below Google’s 15-in-30-days bar for Search and Shopping and far below the portal’s minimum. The bidder needs more orders than that to hold a target. The right setting is one campaign on Maximize conversion value without a target.

How to choose for each of your campaigns

1. Check whether a target is set. Open the campaign’s bidding settings and read the target field. The strategy name in tables and exports can hide a target.
2. Check the budget status. Look for “Limited by budget” in the Status column, now and over recent months.
3. Count the pace. Take conversions per month over the campaign’s current run, not the running total.
4. Work out break-even ROAS. Divide 1 by your gross margin.
5. Pick the setting. If the campaign is limited by a budget that cannot grow, the pace is under 30 a month or break-even is unknown, stay without a target. If order values are missing, fix conversion tracking first. Add a target only when all four checks pass.
6. If you add a target, start near actual ROAS. Google advises taking your historical ROAS as the reference, without the most recent conversion-delay period. Those are the last days, when conversions are still coming in. Keep the target above break-even.
7. Change in steps. The portal’s working rules: change target ROAS by up to 15% at a time, once every 1–2 weeks at most, and the budget by up to 20% at a time. Google says the bidder reacts to a target change immediately; small steps let you see what each change did. Judge the result after 1–2 conversion cycles.
8. Without a target, review every week or two. Check revenue, compare ROAS with break-even and move the budget up or down.

The portal’s campaign structure section does the counting for steps 1 and 3. For each product campaign it shows the strategy, the target ROAS and the budget, and counts conversions per month against the minimum of 30. It also checks whether the target is set too high for what the campaign delivers and whether order values reach Google. Below 30 conversions a month across the product campaigns, the account sits on the “Too few conversions” rung of the portal’s ladder: one campaign, two at most. On the next rung, “Time to expand”, each campaign can get its own target ROAS and budget.

See how many campaigns your account can carry. Every campaign gets a row with its conversions per month, strategy and target ROAS. The portal changes nothing without your consent.

Analyse your campaigns →

Sources

• About Maximize conversion value bidding — without a target the strategy tries to fully spend the average daily budget; with a target set it behaves like Target ROAS; transaction-specific conversion values are required. Checked 2 October 2026.
• About Target ROAS bidding — the bids aim for an average ROAS equal to the target; at least 15 conversions in 30 days for Search and Shopping; a target that is too high may limit traffic; set the target from business goals and historical ROAS, leaving out the latest conversion delay; report values for 4 weeks or 1–2 conversion cycles, whichever is longer; fewer, larger campaigns; the bidder reacts to a target change immediately, judge after 1–2 conversion cycles; comparison of the four strategies. Checked 2 October 2026.
• Changes to how Smart Bidding strategies are organized for Search campaigns — the June 2026 relabelling of “Maximize conversion value with a Target ROAS” as “Target ROAS”, with unchanged behaviour. Checked 2 October 2026.
• Changes to target based bid strategies — the 17 August 2026 change for budget-limited campaigns with a target; Google adjusts neither targets nor budgets; without a target ROAS fluctuates with the budget; keep the daily budget comfortably above average daily spend. Checked 2 October 2026.
• Frequently asked questions about changes to Target-based bid strategies — for a strictly fixed budget, switching to Maximize conversion value. Checked 2 October 2026.
• Google Ads API: Bid strategy types — MAXIMIZE_CONVERSION_VALUE with an optional target ROAS; TARGET_ROAS as a portfolio-only type. Checked 2 October 2026.
• Google Ads API: Portfolio and standard bidding strategies — Performance Max uses Maximize conversion value with an optional target ROAS. Checked 2 October 2026.
• GetProfit data: 146 online stores, June 2025 – June 2026 — Performance Max share of budget.
• GetProfit data: 1,360 store-months, June 2025 – June 2026 — spend and ROAS changes relative to other stores in the same month.
• GetProfit data: 110 stores with at least 8 months, June 2025 – June 2026 — monthly ROAS volatility.
• GetProfit portal methodology — 30 conversions a month per campaign as the minimum, 50+ as comfortable; pace over the current run; steps of 15% for target ROAS and 20% for budget.