What Is Target ROAS (tROAS)?
Target ROAS (tROAS) is a Google Smart Bidding strategy that sets bids to hit a return on ad spend you specify. Google raises bids where predicted conversion value is high and lowers them where it is low, targeting an average ROAS across the campaign.
tROAS in practice
A Shopify brand runs PMax with tROAS 400 percent. Over 30 days it averages 4.1 ROAS on 600 conversions. They raise tROAS to 500 percent to protect margin. Volume drops 35 percent and ROAS climbs to 5.2. Net gross profit is roughly flat, but total revenue fell. Whether that is right depends on whether growth or margin is the constraint that month.
Benchmarks
- Minimum weekly conversion value events: 20 plus, ideally 50.
- Starting tROAS: set at recent 28-day average, adjust in 10 percent steps.
- PMax specifically: allow 4 to 6 weeks after any tROAS change before judging.
- Aggressive tROAS (150 percent above recent average) caps scale, use only when constrained by margin.
Why it matters
tROAS is the go-to bid strategy for revenue-oriented accounts, especially PMax and Shopping. It respects unit economics but only if you feed it accurate conversion values. Sending gross revenue when you need net after returns is the fastest way to run a profitable-looking campaign that loses money.
Common mistakes
- 1.Sending revenue instead of gross profit. tROAS optimises for the wrong number.
- 2.Setting tROAS 50 percent above historical without giving learning time. Volume dies.
- 3.Running tROAS on campaigns with fewer than 20 weekly conversions. Predictions are noise.
- 4.Ignoring product-level ROAS variance. tROAS averages; some SKUs hide losses under winners.
Put Target ROAS to work
Free calculators
Related services
FAQs about Target ROAS
tROAS or Max Conversion Value?
Max Conversion Value spends the budget to maximise revenue at any ROAS. tROAS caps ROAS. Use Max Conversion Value while learning volume; switch to tROAS once you know the profitable ROAS threshold.
Why is my tROAS underspending?
The target is above what Google predicts it can hit. Lower it 10 percent, or send higher-value conversion signals (post-purchase upsell revenue, subscription LTV proxy) so predictions match reality.
Related terms
Google auto-bid strategy that targets a specific cost per conversion.
Google's ML bid strategies (tCPA, tROAS, Max Conv, Max Value).
Revenue attributed to ads ÷ ad spend, the fastest efficiency read.
Google's cross-inventory campaign driven by asset feeds and audience signals.
Meta's ~50-event training period after ad-set launch or major edit.
The ROAS at which ad spend equals contribution margin; below this you lose money on every sale.
Google keyword match type that also triggers on related queries.