Close-up of a black and a red throttle control knob in a small airplane cockpit

Budgets and bidding

Which Microsoft Ads bid strategy should a B2B search campaign use now that new Maximize clicks and Maximize conversions campaigns can't set a max CPC limit?

By The Tofu team ·

It depends on your conversion volume. With only a few conversions a month, start with Enhanced CPC: you set ad group and keyword bids, and Microsoft aims to keep your average CPC at or below them. Since October 1, 2026, new Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions and Maximize conversion value campaigns can't set a Max CPC unless they use a portfolio bid strategy, so use a portfolio for automated bidding with a cap. Move to Maximize conversions once your goal records about 30 conversions in 30 days. Older campaigns keep a Max CPC they already had.

As of October 2026.

What exactly changed on October 1, 2026?

New campaigns outside a portfolio lost the Max CPC setting on automated bidding. Microsoft's August 2026 product news says that "starting October 1, the Max CPC setting will no longer be available when creating new non-portfolio campaigns using Maximize Conversions (with Target CPA), Maximize Conversion Value (with Target ROAS), or Maximize Clicks." Its Help Center is broader: maximum CPC "will be unavailable for new non-portfolio campaigns that use Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions, Maximize conversion value, or Maximize clicks, regardless of account." So plan on no cap for any new standalone Maximize campaign, with or without a target.

Microsoft's reason: a Max CPC "overrides advertisers' own CPA/ROAS targets" and gives the system "conflicting instructions," even when the cap is above your average CPC. It wants you to steer with budgets, target CPA, target ROAS, conversion value rules and seasonality adjustments instead.

Two things didn't change. Campaigns created before October 1, 2026 that already use Max CPC keep it. And Max CPC "will remain available for new and existing campaigns using portfolio bid strategies."

The API has a second date. Microsoft's API docs say that starting January 12, 2027, "the MaxCpc field will no longer be available for new campaigns or for existing campaigns that don't currently use it." The note appears on the portfolio bid strategy page too and doesn't repeat the blog's portfolio exception, so if scripts or bid tools set Max CPC for you through the API, test them before January 12.

Does this affect Manual CPC or Enhanced CPC?

No. Neither Microsoft's blog post nor its Help Center names them among the strategies that lose Max CPC. Manual CPC isn't a Search option anyway: the Help Center says manual bid strategies are only available in Shopping, App and Audience campaigns, and the API docs say a request to set Manual CPC on a campaign type that doesn't support it quietly gets Enhanced CPC instead. Enhanced CPC is the default for Search campaigns created through the API.

With Enhanced CPC you set ad group and keyword bids. Microsoft raises the bid on searches more likely to convert and lowers it on others, so a single click can cost more than your bid, but "over the long haul" it tries to keep your average CPC no higher than your bid. It doesn't change your stored bids, and the Help Center calls it "the best bid strategy to generate leads." Microsoft's Ads Liaison, Navah Hopkins, wrote on LinkedIn that "Target impression share, eCPC, and Portfolio bidding strategies will retain the ability to add a Max CPC," according to PPC Land (August 20, 2026).

Which bid strategies can a new B2B search campaign use?

StrategyWhat it doesMax CPC on a new campaignWhat it needs
Enhanced CPCUses your ad group and keyword bids, adjusted per auctionYour bids set the levelBids you manage; Microsoft strongly recommends conversion tracking
Maximize clicksAs many clicks as possible within your budgetNo, unless in a portfolioA budget
Maximize conversions (optional target CPA)As many conversions as possible within your budget, optionally aiming at a 30-day average CPANo, unless in a portfolioConversion tracking: a UET tag and an active conversion goal, or offline conversions
Maximize conversion value (optional target ROAS)The most conversion value within your budgetNo, unless in a portfolioConversion values; for a ROAS target, positive revenue tracked
Target impression shareBids to reach a target impression share in a chosen ad positionYes, optional; not named in the October changeA target position and share
Portfolio bid strategyOne strategy shared across several campaignsYes, for new and existing campaignsCampaigns working toward one goal

Target CPA and Target ROAS are no longer separate campaign strategies. Since August 4, 2025, Microsoft says, new campaigns set them as Maximize conversions with a target CPA or Maximize conversion value with a target ROAS; existing Target CPA and Target ROAS campaigns weren't changed. Portfolios weren't affected either: the Help Center lists Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions, Max. conversion value, Target CPA, Target impression share and Target ROAS as portfolio strategies for Search (the API docs leave out Maximize conversion value).

Which should I start with at low conversion volume?

Enhanced CPC, in most cases. Microsoft's Help Center recommends at least 30 conversions in the previous 30 days for Maximize conversions and Target CPA. Its API guide goes further: if a campaign "falls below 30 conversions over any 30-day period," Maximize conversions "will stop optimizing your bids," and Microsoft suggests a different strategy if that happens regularly. A B2B campaign with five demo requests a month is far below that.

A sensible order:

  1. Enhanced CPC while conversions are few. You keep bid control, and set higher bids on the keywords closest to buying.
  2. Maximize clicks in a portfolio with a Max CPC if you'd rather Microsoft set click bids within a cap. It buys clicks, not leads, so read your search terms and add negatives.
  3. Maximize conversions once your conversion goal clears about 30 conversions in 30 days. Offline conversions count, so you can import qualified leads from your CRM instead of bidding on raw form fills. But Microsoft advises against Maximize conversions and Target CPA if you can't upload offline conversions daily (ideally within two days of the conversion) or if most conversions come more than seven days after the click. Check your own click-to-lead lag first.
  4. Add a target CPA once your cost per lead has settled.

For brand terms, Target impression share with a Max CPC holds a chosen ad position with a cap on each click. Microsoft also says its bidding lets campaigns "over-achieve on target CPA or target ROAS efficiency, regardless of budget limited status." Google went the other way: since August 17, 2026, its budget-limited Target CPA campaigns bid more consistently toward the target. For Google's side of this question, see which Google Ads bid strategy fits a campaign with only a few conversions.

How do I keep a CPC cap on a new campaign?

You have three routes:

  • A portfolio bid strategy. Max CPC stays available here. Create one under Tools > Bids & budgets > Portfolio bid strategies. A portfolio adjusts bids to balance under- and over-performing campaigns toward one goal, so one campaign's results affect the others' bids. You can't change a portfolio's strategy type later (you move campaigns to another portfolio instead), and if campaigns share a budget, Microsoft says to include all of them.
  • Target impression share. It keeps an optional Max CPC, but it chases ad position, not conversions.
  • Enhanced CPC. Your keyword bids set the level, though single clicks can go above them.

Where a cap is allowed, open the campaign's settings and, under Bid strategy, select I want to set a maximum CPC.

Before you drop a cap for good, test it. Microsoft encourages experiments to see what removing Max CPC does, and said in September 2026 that its optimization experiments are generally available for Search campaigns.

What happens to my existing campaigns?

They keep their Max CPC if they had one before October 1, 2026. Microsoft hasn't said whether you can add it back if you remove it, and its API docs say that from January 12, 2027 the field won't be available for existing campaigns that don't already use it. So leave a cap in place until you've tested running without it.

What about campaigns imported from Google Ads?

Neither Microsoft's notice nor its Google import help page says how the change treats campaigns created by an import. The help page says all new and scheduled imports have Update bid strategies on by default, which updates imported campaigns' bid strategies to match Google, and that bid strategies Microsoft doesn't support become Enhanced CPC. An import can also bring over Google portfolio bid strategies that weren't imported before. After each import, check every imported campaign's bid strategy and Max CPC. If you set bidding in Microsoft yourself, turn off Update bid strategies (Import from Google Ads > Choose import options > Bids and budgets) so a scheduled import doesn't overwrite it.

Sources

Related answers

More on

Let an agent build your next campaign.

Tofu Ads Agent reads your CRM, plans the funnel, builds the audience and creative, and stages full campaigns across LinkedIn, Google and Meta for your approval.

Try it free Get a demo