Google Ads Conversion Lift now set up in the account, without a Google rep

Google Ads advertisers can now create Conversion Lift studies themselves in the Experiments section, Google’s rewritten help page shows. Until now, a Google representative had to set up these tests for most formats, as PPC News Feed editor Hana Kobzová noted on 8 October. Search Engine Roundtable confirmed the change the same day.

Conversion Lift splits people into two groups. One sees your ads and one does not. The difference in purchases or sign-ups shows how many conversions the ads caused, not just how many happened after a click.

Google sets the bar at 1,000 conversions and $5,000

The help page lists three conditions. The account needs at least 1,000 observed conversions, and conversions based on supplementary data do not count. The campaign budget must be at least $5,000. You also need at least one conversion action that works with Conversion Lift.

Google also says the feature is not open to every account. Representatives still confirm access for alpha and beta campaign types and are recommended for planning studies.

Search, YouTube, Demand Gen and Performance Max can be tested

Eligible campaign types are Display, Search, Video, Demand Gen, App and Performance Max. App campaigns aimed at iOS and Travel Ads are excluded. A campaign can sit in only one study at a time, so a running Brand Lift or Search Lift test blocks a new Conversion Lift study until you remove the campaign from it.

The setup path is Campaigns, then Experiments, then Lift studies. You pick “Based on users”, choose campaigns and goals, and set a holdback group of 1% to 50% of people. Google says a study can run for seven days but recommends at least 14, especially when buyers take time to convert.

Smaller accounts can now check Performance Max claims

Brands that rely on automated campaigns gain the most. Google’s own reports in Performance Max and Demand Gen credit many conversions to the ads. A holdout test is one of the few ways to see how many would have happened anyway. Google has pushed the same idea with its recent measurement tools.

The cost is real, though. Every person in the holdback group sees no ads during the test, so sales from that group can drop. The price of entry is therefore two-sided: a campaign budget of at least $5,000, plus the sales lost from a holdout group that can range from 1% to 50% of the audience.