Value-based bidding

Value-based bidding (VBB) is automated bidding that optimizes toward conversion value instead of conversion count. On Google Ads that means the Maximize conversion value strategy and its target-ROAS (tROAS) variant: the algorithm bids more for auctions likely to produce high-value conversions and less for cheap ones, rather than treating every conversion as equal.

#Without real values, it's just counting with extra steps

VBB is an input contract, not a toggle. The strategy consumes per-conversion values (actual deal amounts from CRM imports, order values, or margin-adjusted numbers via conversion value rules), and if every conversion arrives worth the same default, the "value" strategy quietly degrades into equal-weighted counting. That's the trap for lead-gen accounts especially: a $99 signup and a $50k contract reported as identical conversions teach the algorithm to buy whichever is cheaper. Values are what let bidding distinguish buying meetings from buying customers.

In practice: value presence (the share of conversions arriving with a real value attached) is one of the signal-quality numbers Buron monitors continuously.

The full argument, with the worked case for why CPA-based optimization misleads once deal sizes vary, is Value-based bidding needs values you can trust. The values usually arrive via Offline conversion tracking: send CRM deals back to Google Ads, the strategy family they steer is defined at Smart Bidding, and the territory routes from Conversion tracking & signal quality.