Bidding Strategies

Target ROAS vs Maximize Conversions: Return Target or Volume

In short: Maximize Conversions buys as many conversions as the budget allows and treats them all as equal. Target ROAS is the constraint field inside Maximize Conversion Value, requiring a predicted ratio of revenue to spend before the bidder enters an auction. Adopting one means adopting the other's parent strategy, not just changing a number.

By the AdFlint research team · Fact-checked against current Google and Meta platform behavior · Last reviewed July 2026

Maximize Conversions

Automated Google strategy that spends the full daily budget chasing the highest conversion count, with an optional target CPA to constrain cost.

Bids are computed at auction time from signals Google holds, and the budget becomes the real control lever because the strategy is built to spend it. Add a target CPA once conversion data is steady and you want cost discipline. The recurring mistake is switching to it while conversion tracking is broken or counting the wrong action, which trains the system to buy more of something worthless.

Full definition

Target ROAS

Bids automatically toward a chosen ratio of conversion value to ad spend, entered as a percentage in Google Ads.

It is the target field inside Maximize Conversion Value, and it only functions when your conversion values are accurate and varied. Google predicts value per auction and bids up where it expects payback. Raising the target reduces volume, and that trade is the mechanism rather than a defect. The common error is picking an aspirational number the account has never reached, which starves delivery outright.

Full definition

Side by side.

The differences that actually change what happens in your account.

 Maximize ConversionsTarget ROAS
Optimizes forConversion count within the budget.Conversion value at or above a required return.
Where it livesA standalone strategy.A target field inside Maximize Conversion Value.
Values requiredNo; every conversion counts the same.Yes, and they must be real and varied.
Cost constraint availableAn optional target CPA.The target ROAS itself.
Effect of tighteningA lower target CPA makes the bidder decline expensive auctions.A higher target ROAS makes it decline auctions predicted to return too little.
Typical fitLead gen where each conversion is worth about the same.Ecommerce with varied basket sizes, or leads scored to real values.

What actually separates them.

01

Maximize Conversions counts outcomes while target ROAS weighs them, so the second will decline a cheap conversion that the first would happily buy.

02

Target ROAS cannot be applied to Maximize Conversions; it belongs to Maximize Conversion Value, so the comparison is really between two parent strategies.

03

Volume nearly always falls when moving from conversion counting to a return target, because the target removes low value auctions from consideration.

04

Maximize Conversions is workable with a valueless conversion action; target ROAS is inert without a value stream and produces a confident but meaningless percentage.

05

The two constrain in opposite numeric directions: tighter means a lower target CPA and a higher target ROAS, which trips people up when documenting changes.

Which one should you use?

Use Maximize Conversions when

  • Conversions are worth roughly the same and no revenue value exists.
  • You want the budget fully spent on outcome volume rather than filtered by return.
  • Volume is modest and a return filter would leave the model with too few qualifying auctions.
  • Lead quality is assessed offline weeks later, so no usable value exists at conversion time.

Use Target ROAS when

  • Real transaction values reach the account and vary meaningfully.
  • You can compute break-even return and want a floor above it enforced per auction.
  • The account has a stable achieved return to anchor the target near.
  • Fewer, larger orders beat more, smaller ones for the business.

Common questions.

Can I add a target ROAS to my Maximize Conversions campaign?

No. The campaign has to move to Maximize Conversion Value first, since target ROAS is that strategy's target field. Doing so also means the conversion values arriving in the account start driving bids, so confirm they are real transaction amounts before switching, not a single default number applied to every conversion.

Which produces more conversions?

Maximize Conversions, almost always, because it is not filtering by value. That comparison is only meaningful if your conversions really are interchangeable. Where order sizes vary, the higher count often represents a worse business result, which is the whole reason value bidding exists as a separate strategy.

Should I start with a target ROAS or run unconstrained first?

Run Maximize Conversion Value without a target first if you can afford the learning window. That shows the return the campaign naturally produces at full budget, which is a far better anchor than a target lifted from a plan. Add the target near the observed figure, then tighten in increments with time to settle between changes.

Or stop choosing between them.

AdFlint picks the setting, writes the ads, and keeps optimizing inside the Google and Meta accounts you already own.

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