How to Test Google Ads Bidding Strategies for ROI

Anirban Sen
Apr 19
5 min read

Updated: Apr 22

Testing Google Ads bidding strategies can help you spend smarter and boost ROI. Here's how:

Set Clear Goals: Define objectives like target ROAS or max CPA.
Track Conversions: Ensure accurate tracking of key actions.
Use Google Ads Experiments: Split test strategies like Maximize Conversions or Target ROAS.
Analyze Results: Compare metrics like cost per conversion and ROAS.
Scale What Works: Expand successful strategies to grow campaigns.

Quick Tip: Avoid changing settings mid-test and run experiments for at least two weeks for reliable results. Ready to refine your campaigns? Let’s dive in!

NEW Google Ads Experiments Setup

Google Ads Bidding Strategy Basics

Bidding strategies determine where your ads appear, how much you pay per click, and ultimately, your campaign's profitability. To run effective tests, you need clear goals, accurate tracking, and regular adjustments.

Types of Bidding Strategies

Google Ads provides several bidding strategies tailored to meet different campaign objectives:

Maximize Conversions: Automatically adjusts bids to get as many conversions as possible within your set budget.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Focuses on achieving a specific return on your ad spend by setting bids accordingly.
Brand Awareness: Aims to increase impressions and reach, making it ideal for branding campaigns.

Prerequisites for Testing

Before you dive into testing, make sure you have these essentials in place:

Defined Objectives: Clearly outline goals like target ROAS or maximum CPA (Cost Per Acquisition).
Conversion Tracking: Set up tracking for all key user actions to measure performance effectively.
Dedicated Budget: Reserve a specific budget for running your tests.
Historical Data: Gather enough past performance metrics to establish a baseline for comparison.

Once you're ready, use Google Ads Experiments to set up and manage your bidding tests.

How to Set Up Bidding Tests

Once you’ve set your objectives, tracking, and budget, the next step is running controlled Google Ads tests. To get valid results, you’ll need to carefully isolate bidding strategies.

Setting Up Google Ads Experiments

Here’s how to get started with experiments in Google Ads:

Go to your campaign, then navigate to Experiments → Create experiment. Name the experiment based on the bidding strategy you’re testing.
Split traffic evenly (e.g., 50/50) between the original campaign and the experiment.
Match the budgets and duration for both versions, running the test for at least two weeks.
Duplicate all campaign settings, except for the bidding strategy, which you’ll apply only to the experiment version.

Maintaining Test Accuracy

To ensure reliable results, keep conditions consistent and manage the test carefully:

Run the test for at least two weeks to gather enough data for meaningful insights.
Make sure traffic or spend is evenly split between the control and experiment for fair comparisons.
Keep all campaign elements - like targeting, ad copy, and landing pages - identical in both versions.
Avoid making changes to conversion tracking or campaign settings during the test.

Testing Errors to Avoid

Avoid these common mistakes that can skew your results:

Changes During the Test

Don’t tweak ad copy, targeting, or landing pages while the test is running.
Avoid pausing or enabling ad groups in the middle of the experiment.

Data Collection Issues

Don’t stop the test too early - wait until you have statistically significant data.
Avoid audience overlap by running only one experiment per audience segment at a time.
Don’t modify your conversion tracking setup during the testing period.

Up next, we’ll dive into how to analyze your experiment data to determine which bidding strategy delivers the best ROI.

Analyzing Test Performance

After running your experiments, it's time to dive into the data and figure out which bidding strategy delivers the best return on investment (ROI).

Key Metrics to Track

Use a table to compare the most important performance indicators. Include these metrics:

Cost per Conversion
Conversion Value
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Total Ad Spend

Set up columns for the Control Group, Test Group, and the % Difference to make comparisons easy.

How to Present Results

Gather all key performance indicators (KPIs) for each bidding strategy.
Place the metrics for the control and test groups side by side.
Calculate percentage changes to clearly show any improvements or declines.

Ensuring Results Are Reliable

Before acting on your findings, make sure your test results are valid by checking these factors:

Statistical significance: For example, p < 0.05 ensures your results are not due to chance.
Minimum sample size: Ensure each variant has enough conversions to make the data meaningful.
Consistency: Budgets, targeting, and tracking should be the same across both groups.

Once you're confident in the reliability of your results, move forward with the strategy that performed the best.

Implementing Successful Strategies

Growing Successful Tests

Take the insights from your successful tests and use them to expand effective bid strategies. Use data like ROAS trends, conversion quality, budget performance, and audience engagement to scale what’s working.

Here are some ways to grow your efforts:

Campaign structure improvementsCombine overlapping campaigns, set up advanced Performance Max configurations, and tailor campaigns to specific markets.
Broaden your audience reachBuild custom audience segments, use dynamic search strategies, and design full-funnel video campaigns specifically for YouTube.
Cross-channel bidding integrationRefine product feeds for better performance across platforms, align bidding strategies with shopping campaign setups, and streamline conversion paths for better results.

Professional Management Options

Using professional management tools and strategies can provide real-time bid optimization, detailed analytics, custom dashboards, multi-touch attribution, and more. These tools are essential for keeping campaigns on the right track as they grow and require ongoing adjustments.

Key features of professional management include:

Real-time bid adjustments to maximize performance
Advanced analytics paired with custom dashboards for better insights
Multi-touch attribution to understand the customer journey
Strategic planning for growth and budget distribution
Developing strategies for entering new markets

As campaigns grow and budgets increase, regular monitoring and fine-tuning are critical to maintaining success.

Conclusion

Key Steps Recap

Improving ROI through systematic testing involves several critical phases:

Consolidation & Performance Max Setups: Combine outdated campaigns and implement advanced Performance Max structures to streamline efforts.
Market-Specific Adjustments: Customize campaigns for specific geographic areas and audience groups to enhance targeting precision.
Analytics and Testing: Leverage custom dashboards, multi-touch attribution models, and creative testing frameworks to track ROAS, conversion rates, and audience engagement effectively.
Strategic Growth: Use data insights to allocate budgets wisely, refine product feeds, and establish growth plans for scaling successful strategies.

These steps serve as a practical guide for continuous campaign improvement.

Tips for Sustained ROI Growth

To keep ROI on an upward trajectory:

Utilize AI-powered tools and in-depth audience segmentation.
Focus on refining product feeds, optimizing shopping structures, and increasing customer lifetime value.

For expert guidance in testing, scaling, and achieving consistent Google Ads ROI, consider partnering with Senwired.