The v6 release of the Google Ads API added support for Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value bid strategies in Search campaigns. This includes a new read-only MaximizeConversions.target_cpa field. Bid strategies having either this new target_cpa field or the read-only MaximizeConversionValue.target_roas field act identically to TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies, respectively. In the future, bid strategies for Search campaigns will be reorganized for simplification.

What’s Changing

For Search campaigns, TargetCpa and TargetRoas will no longer be separate from the MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies. Instead, they will be represented as MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies with their respective target_cpa and target_roas fields set. Use of TargetCpa and TargetRoas as separate strategies will be deprecated.

There will be no impact to bidding behavior due to these changes. The MaximizeConversions bid strategy using the new optional target_cpa setting will still behave like the TargetCpa strategy does today, and likewise, MaximizeConversionValue using the new optional target_roas setting will behave like TargetRoas.

Before	After
TargetRoas	MaximizeConversionValue.target_roas
TargetCpa	MaximizeConversions.target_cpa

Starting in April 2021, the Google Ads UI will start allowing some users to create MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies with their target_cpa and target_roas fields set, in lieu of the old-style TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies. This change will gradually ramp-up to more accounts over time.

The target_roas and target_cpa will remain read-only to API users until a future version of the API enables mutate functionality.

What to Do
Developers should ensure their code treats Search campaigns that have MaximizeConversions with a set target_cpa field and MaximizeConversionValue with a set target_cpa field the same way it treats TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies, respectively.

We will publish an update on the blog when the above fields are mutable, along with several months' notice before TargetCpa and TargetRoas strategies are deprecated in Search campaigns.

If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum or at [email protected].
Adam Ohren, Google Ads API Team

The v6 release of the Google Ads API added support for Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value bid strategies in Search campaigns. This includes a new read-only MaximizeConversions.target_cpa field. Bid strategies having either this new target_cpa field or the read-only MaximizeConversionValue.target_roas field act identically to TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies, respectively. In the future, bid strategies for Search campaigns will be reorganized for simplification.

What’s Changing

For Search campaigns, TargetCpa and TargetRoas will no longer be separate from the MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies. Instead, they will be represented as MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies with their respective target_cpa and target_roas fields set. Use of TargetCpa and TargetRoas as separate strategies will be deprecated.

There will be no impact to bidding behavior due to these changes. The MaximizeConversions bid strategy using the new optional target_cpa setting will still behave like the TargetCpa strategy does today, and likewise, MaximizeConversionValue using the new optional target_roas setting will behave like TargetRoas.

Before	After
TargetRoas	MaximizeConversionValue.target_roas
TargetCpa	MaximizeConversions.target_cpa

Starting in April 2021, the Google Ads UI will start allowing some users to create MaximizeConversions and MaximizeConversionValue bid strategies with their target_cpa and target_roas fields set, in lieu of the old-style TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies. This change will gradually ramp-up to more accounts over time.

The target_roas and target_cpa will remain read-only to API users until a future version of the API enables mutate functionality.

What to Do
Developers should ensure their code treats Search campaigns that have MaximizeConversions with a set target_cpa field and MaximizeConversionValue with a set target_cpa field the same way it treats TargetCpa and TargetRoas bid strategies, respectively.

We will publish an update on the blog when the above fields are mutable, along with several months' notice before TargetCpa and TargetRoas strategies are deprecated in Search campaigns.

If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum or at [email protected].
Adam Ohren, Google Ads API Team

On March 22, 2021 we will begin to sunset portfolio (shared) Enhanced cost-per-click (ECPC) bid strategies. The following behaviors will be blocked in all versions of both the AdWords API and the Google Ads API:

• Creating new portfolio ECPC strategies.
• Attaching portfolio ECPC strategies to campaigns.

Note that standard (non-portfolio) ECPC strategies will not be affected.

	Affected Portfolio Enhanced CPC Strategies
Google Ads API	Bidding_strategy.type = BiddingStrategyType.ENHANCED_CPC
AdWords API	SharedBiddingStrategy.type = MANUAL_CPC, SharedBiddingStrategy.biddingScheme.enhancedCpcEnabled = TRUE

Change Description
Any operation creating new portfolio ECPC strategies, or attaching a portfolio ECPC strategy to a campaign, will generate one of the following errors:

	Error Upon Creation	Error Upon Attaching
Google Ads API	BIDDING_STRATEGY_NOT_SUPPORTED	CANNOT_ATTACH_BIDDING_STRATEGY_TO_CAMPAIGN
AdWords API	BIDDING_STRATEGY_NOT_SUPPORTED	CANNOT_ATTACH_BIDDING_STRATEGY_TO_CAMPAIGN

Migration Description
In the future, we will remove the portfolio ECPC strategy entirely, in favor of standard ECPC. In order to prepare for this change, you can proactively migrate all your portfolio ECPC strategies to standard ECPC strategies using the instructions below.

All remaining portfolio ECPC campaigns and strategies will be automatically migrated at a later date. We will post an update on this blog ahead of that migration.

Self-migration using Google Ads API
Update a campaign by using CampaignService.MutateCampaigns() to set its manual_cpc.enhanced_cpc_enabled field to true. Be sure to set the update_mask on your request to match:

operations: [
  {
    update: {
      resource_mame: customers/CUSTOMER_ID/campaigns/CAMPAIGN_ID,
      manual_cpc: {
        enhanced_cpc_enabled: true
      }
    },
    update_mask: manual_cpc.enhanced_cpc_enabled
  }
]

Self-migration using AdWords API
Update a campaign by using CampaignService.mutate() to set its biddingStrategyType to MANUAL_CPC, and its biddingScheme.enhancedCpc field to true:

<operations>
  <operator>SET</operator>
  <operand>
    <id>CAMPAIGN_ID</id>
    <biddingStrategyConfiguration>
      <biddingStrategyType>MANUAL_CPC</biddingStrategyType>
      <biddingScheme>
        <enhancedCpcEnabled>true</enhancedCpcEnabled>
      </biddingScheme>
    </biddingStrategyConfiguration>
  </operand>
</operations>

If you have any questions or need additional help, contact us via the forum or at [email protected].
Adam Ohren, Google Ads API Team