What is the $2 bid cap in Google Ad Grants, and how does Smart Bidding get past it?
By Jose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTAAdapted from Chapter 6 of The Nonprofit Ad Grant Handbook · Checked against Google's rules November 3, 2026Older Ad Grants accounts are allowed strategies such as manual bidding, but those are capped at a maximum bid of $2.00 per click. Accounts created on or after April 22, 2019, must use Smart Bidding in every campaign, and Smart Bidding strategies can bid above that limit. To bid with confidence, they need real conversions to learn from.
The rule
Smart Bidding in every campaign. Ad Grants accounts created on or after April 22, 2019, must use a Smart Bidding strategy in every campaign, except Smart campaigns. The four strategies are Maximize conversions, Maximize conversion value, Target CPA and Target ROAS. Google changes non-compliant campaigns automatically.
The $2 cap. Older accounts are allowed other strategies, such as Maximize clicks or manual bidding, but those are capped at a maximum bid of $2.00 per click.
That's too low to win many useful searches. Smart Bidding strategies can bid above that limit, which is one reason they can reach searches that older accounts can't.
The Google Ads interface still offers Maximize clicks when you create a campaign. In an account created after April 2019, don't choose it.
How Smart Bidding gets past it
Smart Bidding decides, for every search, how much a click is worth. It works that out from the conversions it has seen: who converted, on which searches, at what time, on which device. With no conversions, it has no evidence, so it bids low and wins little. With real conversions, it learns which searches lead to results and bids with more confidence on those.
That's why fixing tracking is almost always the first step in raising a grant account's spending, and why changing bids or budgets first rarely helps.
An account spending $15 a month
An illustration from the handbook. The arts nonprofit is a composite, not a real organization, and the book presents the weekly figures as an illustration.
An arts nonprofit was spending about $15 a month out of a grant worth up to $10,000. It had followed the rules. Its account was created after 2019, so every campaign used Maximize conversions. But the account had no conversion tracking, so there was nothing for it to maximize, and Google's systems bid cautiously for clicks they had no evidence were worth anything.
Then it set up tracking for ticket purchases and class registrations, and changed nothing else.
| Week | Conversions recorded | Spend | Average cost per click |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before tracking (weekly average) | 0 | $4 | $0.30 |
| 1 | 3 | $22 | $0.45 |
| 2 | 7 | $95 | $0.80 |
| 3 | 12 | $240 | $1.30 |
| 4 | 18 | $410 | $1.60 |
Spending didn't jump on day one. It climbed as the strategy saw results and grew more confident. The cost per click rose as well, because Smart Bidding was now willing to pay more for searches that had shown they lead to results. In a grant account, that means the grant is going to the searches most likely to produce something.
Choosing among the four
Google's own rule for choosing is short. If you track donations or purchases with values, use Maximize conversion value. For everything else, use Maximize conversions.
Maximize conversions is the usual starting point when you track actions without values. Target CPA and Target ROAS are the advanced options, and they come with a risk. Set the target too tight and the strategy will refuse most auctions, which in a grant account means spending less of the grant. Try Target CPA only when conversions are steady and you have a clear idea of what a result is worth, and start with a target close to what the campaign already achieves.
The conversions have to be real. Smart Bidding can't tell a real result from a counted page view. The conversion signal, real or not, is what unlocks spending, so make sure the signal is a real result.
Checking your own account
In Google Ads, open Campaigns and add the column for bid strategy type if it isn't showing. In an account created on or after April 22, 2019, every campaign other than a Smart campaign should show one of the four Smart Bidding strategies. The bid strategy status column shows "Learning" while a new or significantly changed strategy gathers evidence.
If spending is low, look at conversions before budgets. A campaign's budget can be set at the grant's full $329 a day, and if Smart Bidding has nothing to learn from, it won't come close to spending it. If tracking works but there are too few conversions, make sure every real action is tracked, such as sign-ups, bookings and registrations as well as donations.
Section 6.6 of the handbook covers what learning means, the four usual reasons spending still won't rise, and which bidding changes to make once a campaign is healthy.
Questions
Does the $2 cap apply to Smart Bidding?
No. The $2.00 cap applies to the other strategies older accounts may use, such as manual bidding. Smart Bidding strategies can bid above that limit.
We use Maximize conversions. Why is our account barely spending?
Usually because the account has no conversions for the strategy to learn from, so it bids low and wins little. It's rarely the budget. A budget near the cap does nothing on its own if the strategy has no reason to spend it.
How long should we wait after changing a bid strategy?
Change one significant thing at a time and then wait. In our experience, a week or two after a significant change is usually enough to see where things are heading, and a month gives a clearer picture.
Our account is older. When should we switch to Smart Bidding?
For older accounts using other strategies, Google suggests switching to Smart Bidding once there are typically 15 to 30 conversions in 30 days.
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Jose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTAJose Gomez, Jr., CEA, MVTA, is the CEO of 3nity. He founded the company in 2001 to serve the people who serve people, after working as Internet Director at a media network. He built a career website that was acquired by Salem Communications in 2004, and created the 3nity Web Presence Platform. Through Nonprofit Marketing Center, a division of 3nity, he and his team help churches and nonprofits of every kind bring resources and awareness to their missions, including by helping them get the most from the Google Ad Grant.