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Why Your Google Ads Bid Strategy Is Overpaying
Description
Most performance marketers assume Google's automated bidding is optimizing for ROAS—but the algorithms are actually optimizing for Google's revenue. In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack the structural conflict hidden inside Smart Bidding: how target CPA and target ROAS strategies inflate bids when competition is high, why Google's machine learning rewards high-spend accounts, and what you can do about it. Using the example of a mid-market DTC brand that saw a 22 percent reduction in cost per acquisition after switching to manual bidding with dayparting, Lucas runs the numbers on when automated bidding works and when it silently wastes budget. Luna counters with data from a B2B SaaS campaign where Smart Bidding outperformed manual—forcing Lucas to refine his thesis. The takeaway: automated bidding is a tool, not a strategy, and understanding its incentive structure is the only way to use it without leaking budget.