Bid Strategy
Bid Strategy is how much you're willing to pay per click (Google) or per result (Facebook). Strategies range from fully automatic (let Google optimize) to manual control. Common strategies: Target CPA (pay per lead), Target ROAS (pay to maximize return), or manual bidding (you set the price).
Why it matters for your business
Your bid strategy affects both cost and volume. Aggressive bidding gets more visibility but higher costs. Conservative bidding saves money but might miss leads. Most service businesses do well with Target CPA (tell Google your maximum cost per lead, let it optimize) or Target ROAS (tell Google your target return).
In practice
A roofing company sets a Target CPA of $75 (they want to pay at most $75 per qualified lead). Google's system automatically adjusts bids on keywords to hit that target across the campaign.
Common questions
Should I use automatic or manual bidding?
Start with automatic (Target CPA or Target ROAS) if you have at least 15–20 conversions per month for Google to learn from. Otherwise, manual bidding gives you more control while you're getting data.
What if I don't know my target CPA?
Calculate: (Average Job Value × Close Rate) ÷ 3. For example, if your average job is $500 and you close 25% of leads, your target CPA is about ($500 × 0.25) ÷ 3 = $42.
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