Target CPA
Also called tCPA, Target cost per acquisition, Target cost per lead.
Maximize conversions with a cost target attached. You name what you want to pay per conversion and Google bids to average that.
Why it matters
It controls what a lead costs, not what a lead is worth. Every lead is still worth the same to it, so a lower target mostly buys cheaper leads, and in lead gen cheaper is often worse.
What goes wrong
It is the strategy most accounts switch away from when they move to value. The switch works best in steps: start Maximize conversion value with no target, let it learn, then add a Target ROAS based on what the campaign actually earned.
A target set too low has the same effect as a budget cut. Google bids only on the cheapest auctions, volume drops, and the campaign can stop learning altogether.
How to check it on your own account
Look at the cost per lead your campaigns actually hit over the last month next to the target set. A target far below the real figure is holding the campaign back.
Next to this
Where this comes up
- Google Ads Value-Based Bidding Migration Guide: What to Expect When You SwitchA staged migration, in Google's own order. What resets the learning period, why it is measured in conversions and not days, and when you can honestly read the result.
- Journey-Aware Bidding: Google's Lead-Gen Bidding Upgrade, and What It Does Not DoJourney-aware bidding is an upgrade to Smart Bidding, not a new strategy. Target CPA campaigns learn from every stage between a form fill and a sale. What changes for lead-gen advertisers, what does not, and what to prepare.
How it applies in your trade
The same method, worked through for each kind of business: what a lead is worth, what is known on arrival and what to prepare.
The rest of this step
- Value-based bidding
- Maximize conversions
- Smart Bidding
- Maximize conversion value
- ROAS
- Target ROAS
- Learning period
- Conversion volume threshold
- Portfolio bid strategy
- Journey-aware bidding
- Lead Intent Scoring
- Data-driven attribution
- Value optimisation
- Advantage+
- Value-Based Optimization
- Smart+
- Performance Max
- AI Max
- Aggregated Event Measurement
Measure this on your own data
The diagnostic reads a CRM export in your browser and reports your volume, your match rate and the spread between your leads against the thresholds in this glossary. Nothing is uploaded and no account is needed.