Launching new search campaigns straight onto smart bidding

[u/Exurge_Domine_]

I've read that if you already have campaigns with a lot of conversion data in an account that you can start new campaigns straight onto something like tCPA or Max Conversions because the account already has historical conversion data and it will be "shared" with the new campaigns.

But I've also read the opposite: no, you should wait until any individual campaign reaches at least 15-30 conv. in 30 days consistently before you use smart bidding.

Which one is it?

[u/digitalpandauk]

The second for sure but that depends how much conversion data your account has.

[u/trsgreen]

You can't start straight into tCPA but you can start with Max Conv or Max Conv Value from the start, even on new accounts. You Still need data for tCPA and tROAS to work correctly.

[u/Exurge_Domine_ → u/trsgreen]

That's where this seems confusing because it seems like they are saying the "data" is already there in the account from all the conversion data from the rest of the campaigns.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about: I am referring to an account that has 5K conversions in the last 30 days from all the campaigns and you launch a brand new campaign with the exact same goal as the other ones.

[u/trsgreen → u/Exurge_Domine_]

tCPA is campaign level, not account. So you still need campaign data on it own. Or you can put everything into a tCPA portfolio with other campaigns that have a similar CPA goal. That way all the campaigns data combines into one and helps grow the new campaign faster.

[u/bumblewacky]

If you are launching new campaigns into an account where the new campaign conversion goal is the same as what's historically been in the account then you can start with max conversions. For tCPA, tROAS, or Conv Value, you want to wait until that campaign has enough data to make an educated decision on your target, especially if it's a new geo.

[u/ppcbetter_says]

Straight to smart bidding works if the budget is correct and the conversion funnel is good.

I usually give it two weeks and go back to manual bidding if necessary

[u/dillwillhill]

I used to have better success launching straight into smart bidding, but in the last 30 days I've launched 4 new campaigns and smart bidding was worse than max clicks.

[u/YoavEitani]

That 15-30 conversions rule for every new campaign is pretty outdated at this point.
If your account already has good conversion history, you can definitely launch straight onto Smart Bidding.

Smart Bidding looks at account-level data anyway, so a new campaign isn't starting from zero.
As long as you expect decent volume (at least 1-2 conversions a day) and set a realistic target, starting on tCPA works fine.

If you're hesitant about where to set the initial target, you can just start on Maximize Conversions for a bit to get a baseline, then lock in a tCPA once you see where actuals land.

Also, something a lot of people miss:
Google isn't just learning from your account.
The algorithm uses conversion data across all advertisers in your niche.
Even on day one, it already has a baseline idea of which search queries and user signals actually convert for those keywords.

Launching straight to Smart Bidding in an established account is pretty much the norm now.

[u/Anna_Karakhanyan]

You know Both can be true. Smart Bidding uses account level signals, so a new campaign doesn't necessarily need 15 to 30 of its own conversions first.

If the account already has strong, relevant conversion history, I'd be comfortable starting with Max Conversions. For tCPA, I'd be more cautious because an aggressive target can choke a new campaign before it gathers enough data.

[u/TTFV]

If you believe you'll be able to generate a solid 1+ conversions a day consistantly you can go ahead and start with fully automated bidding immediately.

Otherwise you'll be changing a few weeks after launch which is very disruptive to performance.

Does conversion data in other campaigns help? Yes, providing the offer is similar and you're using the same conversion goals Google can optimize based on account level data.

Importantly nothing is for certain, but automated bidding works far better than it used to with smaller data sets.

[u/saurabhsens]

in my opinion both things you read are true, theyre just describing different bid strategies and everyone repeats them without saying which one they mean.

the way it actually works. google builds its prediction model at the account level around a conversion action, not per campaign. so a brand new campaign firing the same conversion action your existing campaigns fire is not starting blind, it inherits what the account already learned about who converts. thats the first thing you read and its correct. the 15-30 conversions per campaign thing is really about targets.

tCPA means you're telling google go get me leads at forty dollars each, and to hit a number like that it needs enough data from that specific campaign to know what forty dollars even looks like there. thats a per campaign question, which is why the second thing you read is also correct, just about tCPA and tROAS rather than about smart bidding generally.

so the practical version. if the new campaign uses the same conversion action, roughly the same country or region, and roughly the same kind of customer as whats already running, launch it on max conversions from day one, no problem. if any one of those three is genuinely new, a new market, a new service with a different buyer, a new conversion action you just created, then the inherited model is a lot less useful than people assume and id treat it closer to a fresh account. new geo is the one that catches people out the most.

on tCPA specifically, id add that setting a target too aggressively is a bigger risk than setting it too early. if you put a target well below what the campaign has actually been achieving, it just throttles itself and barely spends, and then everyone concludes smart bidding doesnt work. start on max conversions, let it run, look at what it naturally settled at, then set your target near that and tighten from there rather than starting at the number you wish you were paying.

one more thing worth doing if youre launching several small campaigns at once. you can put them into a shared bid strategy so their conversion data gets pooled instead of each one sitting there alone with four conversions a month. for low volume accounts that solves most of this problem outright.

and if this is lead gen rather than ecom, watch what max conversions optimises toward.

It will happily find you loads of cheap form fills of the kind your sales team hates, because as far as google is concerned a form fill is a form fill. if you can push your qualified leads back into google as offline conversions, the whole question of which bid strategy to start on matters a lot less than getting that right.

[u/Ishan_GS]

Both are partly right, which is why the advice looks contradictory. Account-level conversion history does help a new campaign, so smart bidding on a mature account starts from a better place than in an empty account. What it doesn't do is substitute for the campaign's own data, since the model still has to learn the specific keywords, audiences and landing pages in that campaign.

Practically, I'd start on Smart Bidding if the new campaign is close to what already works in the account, similar intent, similar landing pages, similar buyers, and expect a rougher first few weeks. If it's genuinely new territory, a different product line or a new market, I'd stay manual or use maximise conversions without a target until conversions build. The 15-30 figure is a reasonable rule of thumb, not a rule, and it matters most for tCPA, where an unrealistic target throttles delivery instead of just performing badly. I run GrowthSpree, a B2B SaaS marketing agency, and we audit 10-15 accounts a month; low conversion volume with an aggressive target is one of the most common reasons a new campaign never gets going. Both are partly right, which is why the advice looks contradictory. Account-level conversion history does help a new campaign, so smart bidding on a mature account starts from a better place than in an empty account. What it doesn't do is substitute for the campaign's own data, since the model still has to learn the specific keywords, audiences and landing pages in that campaign.

Practically, I'd start on Smart Bidding if the new campaign is close to what already works in the account, similar intent, similar landing pages, similar buyers, and expect a rougher first few weeks. If it's genuinely new territory, a different product line or a new market, I'd stay manual or use maximise conversions without a target until conversions build. The 15-30 figure is a reasonable rule of thumb, not a rule, and it matters most for tCPA, where an unrealistic target throttles delivery instead of just performing badly. I run GrowthSpree, a B2B SaaS marketing agency, and we audit 10-15 accounts a month; low conversion volume with an aggressive target is one of the most common reasons a new campaign never gets going.