With tCPA, you set a target cost per action (conversion) and then Google adjusts bids to generate as many conversions as possible at that CPA.
google ads automated bidding strategies
Advertisers are able to set bid minimums and maximums to ensure Google doesn’t adjust mobile database bids through the floor or ceiling, but only for portfolio-level use. If you’re targeting for individual campaigns, these bid caps aren’t available.
google ads automated bidding strategies: target CPA min and max setup
There are three things to note about tCPA bidding.
Like Max Conversions and Max Conversion Value, Target in your account. Without it, this bidding strategy is useless—it will never know if it’s driving conversions or not.
But that’s not all. Just because you have conversion tracking turned on doesn’t mean you’re off to the races just yet.
Provide minimum conversion data
To drive conversion performance, Google needs to have a certain amount of conversion data to be able to make smart decisions. If you don’t have enough conversion volume, then the algorithm can’t make smart decisions, and tCPA isn’t the right bidding option for you.
At the campaign level, Google says the minimum is 15 conversions in the last 30 days, but we’ve found this to be on the low side. Ideally, you should have at least 30 conversions, if not 50, in the past 30 days before testing tCPA bidding.
If your campaigns don’t reach this level individually, they might at a portfolio level. If they still don’t, tCPA likely shouldn’t be on your list of eligible bid strategies.
Lastly when getting started with tCPA
it’s important to set realistic initial goals. If your campaign has had an average CPA of $40 over the past six months, it’s not in your best interest to set a target CPA of $20, as it will limit Google right away in the auctions it can enter in and learn.
If you’re planning to use tCPA bidding, plan on the first two weeks to a month being a learning phase. Set your target CPA slightly higher than what your average CPA has been recently, or use the Google-suggested CPA target to let Google find a groove, then slowly bring it down over time to your target CPA.
Target ROAS is nearly the same as Target CPA, but with return on ad spend (ROAS) instead. And just as tCPA has been reorganized under Max Conversions, tROAS has been reorganized under Max Conversion Value (learn more here).