Don’t Panic! What To Do About Google’s Changes to tCPA and tROAS
You’re not panicking, are you? If you read the headlines about the newest changes that Google’s making to Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding on Google Ads (those stand for “cost per action” and “return on ad spend,” respectively), you might be panicking a little. It’s okay if you are. We’re here to help. First, look at this photo of a kitten:
Okay, now that you’re calmer, let’s go over exactly what changes Google is making and why you shouldn’t be worried.
Currently, Target CPA and Target ROAS are bidding strategies that you can use to optimize your campaigns towards a certain goal at a certain cost. These bidding strategies are being discontinued.
Actually, it’s not entirely accurate to say that Google is discontinuing tCPA and tROAS—they’re just folding the same functionality into the Maximize Conversions bidding method. This is an important distinction 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
You’re not losing a strategy, you’re gaining a new type of bid for a better strategy.
The way it used to work was that you had to make a choice between 3 objectives:
- going all out for the most possible conversions (Maximize Conversions)
- aiming to only pay a set amount for each action (tCPA)
- directing your campaigns at a specified ratio of Google Ads spend to revenue return (tROAS)
If you went with the maximize conversions bidding option, then you were foregoing the ability to aim for a certain CPA or ROAS. Now you will be able to get the best of both worlds. You will be able to select an emphasis on CPA or ROAS, while Google will try to attain as many conversions as possible in both cases. Just as it has done many times before, Google is streamlining a process we already use and letting the news trickle out via an official blog post.
It’s actually great news, because Maximize Conversions is a powerful and fancy-shmancy way that Google leverages its considerable machine learning power to help your ad campaigns rake in those conversions.
So hopefully we helped you stop worrying. But just in case you want something to worry about, there’s still the big algorithm shake-up coming in May, when core web vitals take the main stage in the music festival called organic search.
But you know what they say: Don’t sit and stew; Plan and do! If you want to make sure your site is ready for the changes Google has announced, get in touch with us today.
To get more information on this topic, contact us today for a free consultation or learn more about our status as Google Partners before you reach out.
