Google is retiring Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding strategies, instead layering a tCPA and tROAS threshold with Maximize Conversions and Maximize Conversions Value respectively.
Currently, the bidding strategies Target CPA and Target ROAS can be used to optimize your campaigns towards a certain goal at a certain cost. These bidding strategies are being discontinued. Actually, it’s not entirely true to say that Google is discontinuing tCPA and tROAA. They are just folding the same functionality into the Maximize Conversions bidding method for two reasons:
- tCPA and tROAS will no longer be standalone bidding options
- Maximize Conversions is gaining the ability to do what those two things have been doing
So, you are not losing a strategy, you’re gaining a new type of bid for a better strategy.
What are tCPA and tROAS?
tCPA and tROAS are automated bidding strategies that use machine learning to optimize your bids based on a goal you set: an ideal target Cost Per Acquisition or Return On Ad Spend, respectively. With these strategies, you’re essentially asking Google to take your budget and bid whatever it needs to bid to get you the most conversions at the cheapest cost or highest return percentage possible.
If you are trying to get the most bang for your buck in terms of your cost per conversion or if you are an ecommerce account with revenue tracking set up for a heavy focus on ROI, this is a favourable option for you.
The trouble with tCPA and tROAS
Constant Monitoring – With the option of picking a target, you will have to constantly check in and readjust your target CPA and target ROAS to have it properly aligned with your campaign’s current performance metrics.
Historical Data Needed – You will need to have a good amount of historical conversion data in order for these strategies to perform well. If you are working with a new campaign or new account that has few or even zeros across the board for conversions, you will definitely see funky performance with these strategies. Google’s machine learning determines what it should bid to hit your target by your historical conversion metrics, as mentioned in Google’s tCPA resources.
When did this change happen?
The change started from April 2021. Advertisers are seeing Maximize Conversions and Max Conversions Value bidding strategies with the new CPA and ROAS threshold fields. Google did not state when tROAS and tCPA will retire, although advertisers should expect to see front end changes in the coming few months.
What does it mean for advertisers?
Google says that the switch in bidding strategies will not cause any change in bidding behavior. So, advertisers should not expect to see any sweeping changes in CPAs and ROAS.
Does this change need any preparation?
As shared by Google so far, it does not need to change anything until the threshold limits are applied. Advertisers can experiment with Max Conversions or Max Conversions Value bidding, however, it is important to note that until Google actively starts rolling out the new changes, switching to these could impact your CPA and ROAS goals negatively.
Since Google has not published when tCPA and tROAS will be deprecated, advertisers should expect to see an update in advance to this change going live.
