How conversion value rules work
A conversion value rule multiplies or sets the value Smart Bidding assigns to a conversion when a condition is met. If you know a new customer is worth more than a returning one because of lifetime value, you can raise the value of conversions from a new-customer audience. If a particular region converts to higher average order value, you can weight it up. The platform then bids toward the adjusted value, effectively optimising to your economics rather than to a flat, one-size-fits-all conversion value it would otherwise use.
Why value rules matter
Smart Bidding only optimises to the value it is given. If every conversion is passed at the same value, the algorithm treats a first-time buyer with high lifetime value identically to a one-off discount hunter. Conversion value rules are how you correct that, encoding what you know about customer worth that the raw purchase value hides. This is especially powerful when paired with a new-customer acquisition goal or lifetime-value data, because it steers spend toward the customers who are actually worth acquiring rather than the ones who merely convert cheaply today.
Value rules vs passing margin in the value
There are two ways to make bidding profit-aware. One is to pass profit instead of revenue as the conversion value at the source, which is the POAS approach. The other is conversion value rules, which adjust value by audience, location, or device after the fact. They are complementary: margin-in-value fixes what a sale is worth, and value rules fix who or where the sale is worth more from. Sophisticated accounts use both, sending profit as the base value and layering rules for customer type and geography on top.
How iClick uses conversion value rules
iClick uses conversion value rules to encode business knowledge that the raw purchase value hides, most often weighting new customers and high-value regions so Smart Bidding optimises to real worth rather than a flat value. The rule is that value adjustments must come from evidence, such as measured lifetime-value differences, not intuition, because a wrong multiplier teaches the algorithm the wrong economics. Value rules layer cleanly on top of margin-based values for accounts that need both.
