How to set up conversion value rules
Symptom: Smart Bidding treats every conversion as equally valuable when they are not
Conversion value rules let you tell Smart Bidding a conversion is worth more or less depending on who converted, where, or on what device. Done from evidence, they steer spend toward customers who are genuinely worth more. This workflow builds rules from measured differences, most often for new customers and high-value regions, and avoids the trap of guessed multipliers.
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Get your auditBook a call- Value-based bidding already in use
- Evidence of value differences: lifetime value, region, device data
- Google Ads access with conversion settings permission
- Audience lists where audience-based rules are planned
- 1
Find the real value differences
Start from evidence, not intuition. Look at whether new customers are genuinely worth more than returning ones by lifetime value, whether certain regions convert to higher average order value, or whether a device consistently produces better customers.
A value rule is only as good as the measured difference behind it, so quantify it first.
- 2
Decide the rule dimensions
Conversion value rules operate on audience, location, and device. Choose the dimensions where you have real evidence of a value difference, and ignore the rest.
Do not create rules for every possible dimension, only for the ones where the difference is measured and material.
- 3
Set the multipliers from data
Translate the measured difference into a multiplier. If a new customer is worth meaningfully more over their lifetime than a repeat buyer, weight new-customer conversions up by that ratio.
Base the number on the evidence, since a wrong multiplier teaches the algorithm the wrong economics.
- 4
Configure the rules in Google Ads
Create the conversion value rules in Google Ads, defining the condition, audience, location, or device, and the adjustment. Confirm they apply to the intended campaigns and conversion actions.
Document each rule and its evidence so the logic is not lost when someone reviews the account later.
- 5
Combine with margin-based values
Value rules layer on top of the base conversion value. If you already pass profit or margin-adjusted value, the rules refine who or where it is worth more from. Ensure the two work together rather than double-adjusting the same factor.
Base value fixes what a sale is worth, and rules fix whom it is worth more from.
- 6
Monitor and revisit
After the rules are live, monitor whether spend shifts toward the higher-value segments and whether outcomes improve. Revisit the multipliers as the underlying value differences change over time.
Value differences are not static, so the rules need periodic re-grounding in fresh data.
- Setting multipliers from intuition rather than measured value differences
- Creating rules for dimensions where no real difference exists
- Double-adjusting the same factor in both base value and a rule
- Never documenting the evidence behind each rule
- Leaving multipliers unchanged as the underlying value differences shift
Common questions
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