Google Ads

What Is tCPA (Target CPA) (Target CPA)?

Q: tCPA or Maximise Conversions?

Maximise Conversions when you're chasing volume and don't care about CPA yet. tCPA when you have a profit target and need to defend it.

Q: What if tCPA can't hit my target?

Delivery collapses. Raise the target 15–20%, wait a week, then step it back down once volume returns.

Q: Does tCPA work with PMax?

PMax uses tCPA and tROAS as its bidding modes. Same principles apply — data volume, patience, and reasonable targets.

Target CPA (tCPA) is a Google Ads smart bidding strategy where you set a target cost per conversion and Google adjusts bids in real time to hit it on average. It's the default profitable-scaling strategy for lead-gen and single-KPI campaigns.

Worked setup

You set tCPA at $40 on a lead-gen campaign that's been running at $50 CPA. Google tightens bidding — some clicks get bid down, high-intent queries get bid up — and delivery narrows toward users predicted to convert at ≤ $40 average. Volume may drop 20–40% short-term as Google finds the profitable pocket.

Benchmarks

Minimum conversions to run tCPA smoothly: 30/month per campaign (Google's recommendation is 15 in 30 days, but 30 is more stable).
Set target within 15–25% of current CPA at launch. Aggressive targets choke delivery.
Learning phase: 7–14 days after target changes.

Why it matters

tCPA gives you a CPA ceiling without the black-box uncertainty of Maximise Conversions. It's the default responsible bidding strategy for anyone with a payback constraint.

Common mistakes

1.Setting tCPA 50% below current CPA. Google either can't find conversions or the whole campaign stalls.
2.Changing target weekly. Learning restarts each time.
3.Running tCPA with < 15 conversions/month. Bidding is guessing at that volume.