Marketers using Google Ads should review their target CPA’s, target ROAS, and target CPC’s to avoid extra unnecessary spend.
Google has released changes to its target-based bidding strategies for limited budget campaigns.
This move will see campaigns now optimised consistently towards the advertiser’s targets, which means no more quiet overperformance.
It’s not uncommon for a campaign using smart bidding to get a little extra boost of efficiency, and beat its target cost per aquisition (CPA) or target return on adspend (ROAS).
From now on though, budget-constrained campaigns will aim specifically at the set target, no matter the budget. When you adjust the budget, performance will scale in a predictable, straight line.
Google Ads specialist, Mohammad Tuhin Khan explained: “Currently Google is a bit flexible with your targets. You set £50 CPA — Google might spend £55 or £58 sometimes to bring in more conversions. Not a huge deal. After 17 August — that’s gone. £50 means £50. Full stop.
“Good side — [it]] finally forces advertisers to stop ignoring their targets. Bad side — Google gets stricter while businesses get less control. That’s a pattern I don’t like.”
Most people set their CPA or ROAS target months ago and never touch it again. That forgotten number is about to run your campaigns strictly.
That hidden bonus has now been swapped out for predictability, Google wrote in a blog post.
“Prior to these changes, if you increased the daily budget on a ‘limited by budget’ campaign with an over performing target-based bid strategy, you would likely see fluctuations or decreases in performance.
“After 17 August, the changes to bidding strategies will help your campaigns consistently optimise to your stated target regardless of your budget limit. This means you can confidently increase your budget to capture more conversions and conversion value without your performance efficiency unexpectedly fluctuating.”
What to do next
Advertisers should make sure they adjust the targets to match actual recent performance using the target adjustment tool.
For those who are looking for maximum output on a truly fixed budget, there is an option to switch to the ‘maximise conversions / conversion value’. The auction itself has not been changed, so advertiser spend won’t go up, and daily or monthly caps will remain in place.
Manual CPC, target CPM, and target impression shares are not affected and neither are non-budget-limited campaigns.
