Maximise Clicks

Written by Cobus van der Westhuizen, reviewed by Wynand van der Westhuizen, fact-checked by Lenata Oosthuizen. Last reviewed June 2026. Editorial policy.

What Is Maximise Clicks?

Maximise Clicks is one of Google Ads' automated bidding strategies. When you select it, Google's algorithm bids to win as many clicks as possible within your set daily budget.

Unlike Smart Bidding strategies such as Target CPA or Maximise Conversions, Maximise Clicks does not factor in conversion likelihood. The algorithm simply aims to fill your budget with the maximum number of clicks it can buy at the lowest possible average cost per click.

You can optionally set a maximum CPC bid limit alongside Maximise Clicks. This cap prevents the algorithm from bidding more than a specified amount per click, which can be useful for protecting against runaway CPCs on highly competitive keywords.

Without a cap, the strategy is entirely budget-driven: it will bid whatever is necessary to win clicks, which in certain competitive South African search categories such as personal injury legal services or property in Cape Town can result in very high CPCs during peak hours.

Setting a sensible CPC cap gives you a cost floor while still allowing the strategy to operate automatically.

Maximise Clicks is not classified as a Smart Bidding strategy. Smart Bidding requires conversion data and uses auction-time signals to predict conversion probability.

Maximise Clicks operates without conversion data, making it a useful starting point for brand-new campaigns or accounts where conversion tracking has not yet been configured.

Many South African small business owners who are new to Google Ads find it a less intimidating entry point, because it removes the complexity of CPA targets and ROAS calculations and focuses on the simple, visible metric of website visits.

A significant limitation is that Maximise Clicks can attract low-quality traffic. Clicks do not equal customers. A campaign targeting broad keywords on Maximise Clicks may burn through R500 per day in clicks from users who have no real purchase intent.

Without conversion tracking, you have no visibility into which of those clicks generated leads or sales. This is why Maximise Clicks is generally considered a temporary strategy, not a long-term approach.

When to Use Maximise Clicks

There are specific, legitimate scenarios where Maximise Clicks is the right choice for South African businesses.

The first is during initial campaign setup, before conversion tracking is in place.

If a business has just launched a new landing page and conversion events are not yet firing correctly, Maximise Clicks allows the campaign to gather click data while the tracking setup is validated.

Once conversion tracking is confirmed and the first conversions begin flowing, switching to Maximise Conversions is the next logical step.

The second is for brand awareness objectives where traffic volume is the explicit goal. A Johannesburg-based legal firm launching a new practice area, such as construction law, may want to build name recognition within the industry.

Running a Display Network campaign on Maximise Clicks is a cost-effective way to generate impressions and site visits from relevant audiences, with the understanding that direct leads are not the immediate objective.

The third is for very low-volume, niche search terms where conversion data may never accumulate in sufficient quantities for Smart Bidding to operate reliably. In these cases, Maximise Clicks with a sensible CPC cap keeps the campaign active and generating data over a longer timeframe, without the risk of Smart Bidding restricting impression share due to insufficient conversion history.

For most established South African businesses running Search campaigns with clear lead generation or e-commerce goals, Maximise Clicks should be considered a transitional strategy only. Once sufficient conversion data exists, moving to Maximise Conversions, Target CPA, or Target ROAS will produce meaningfully better results, because those strategies prioritise revenue outcomes rather than raw traffic volume.

Maximise Clicks vs Maximise Conversions

The distinction between Maximise Clicks and Maximise Conversions is fundamental. Maximise Clicks buys volume of sessions. Maximise Conversions buys volume of outcome events. In most cases where a business goal is leads or sales, Maximise Conversions will outperform Maximise Clicks significantly, because the algorithm selects clicks based on predicted conversion probability rather than cost alone.

A Cape Town tourism operator running Google Ads for accommodation bookings tested both strategies over 30-day periods. On Maximise Clicks, the campaign averaged 620 sessions per month at R16 per click. On Maximise Conversions, it averaged 390 sessions but generated 41 enquiries versus 18.

Fewer clicks, more than double the leads. The traffic quality difference was the key factor: Maximise Conversions identified which auctions historically correlated with bookings and prioritised those, accepting higher individual CPCs to win them.

The correct use of Maximise Clicks is therefore as a data-gathering phase. Use it to collect click data, validate tracking, identify which keywords and ad copy resonate, and build a foundation. Once you have enough data, transition to a conversion-focused strategy and let the algorithm work towards your actual business goal.

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