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What Is The Difference Between Target CPA And Maximize Conversions?

What Is The Difference Between Target CPA And Maximize Conversions?
Read the video transcript

What's better to use, Maximize Conversions or Target CPA, for Google Ads? There's no, one is not better than the other. Maximize Conversions is a different way of bidding compared to the Target CPA, and until, here's how I would reply to this question. It's a very good question someone has sent, and thank you for sending this in.

When you are running display or YouTube ads especially, you can also, I guess, run search ads as well, that will also apply to it, go, you, we need to, Google needs to know what a conversion is. This is the first thing which they need to know. And then once Google knows, the algorithm or the machine knows who we are looking for, is going to go and get that customer or that lead for us.

Maximize Conversions is great at doing that. So if you don't have any data in your account and it's a brand new campaign or a brand new account, you've never run Google Ads before and you're starting for the first time, and you don't know how to manage the bids manually, I would recommend that you start with Maximize Conversions. Leave it to Google. Is going to go and get you a conversion, but it will be at any price or any cost.

Now, with the new Maximize Conversions coming in, you can say that I don't want to pay more than 10 or 100 dollars for a conversion, whatever that conversion is. So you can cap it. Initially I wouldn't cap it. Let it go and bring, it may be a bit more expensive. Let it run for a few weeks and see what you are getting.

Once you start to get the conversions, you will know that, okay, I'm getting an average price or an average conversion of such and such dollars. Then now you, again, you will find different numbers from different people. Some say 20, some say 50, some say 100. I personally like to have at least 30 to 40 conversions in the last 30 days before I switch over to the Target CPA.

Target CPA is when you are telling Google, I only want to pay x amount for a conversion, and then Google is going to bid accordingly into, or in front of, a person who they think, or it thinks, is likely to convert. And it's pretty good at that. Google knows our surfing and searching history. It knows that I'm likely to convert, or you may not likely to convert because you only click on ads, whereas I just go through every offer and start to sign up in the email list or go and buy products or services. Or it could be the other way around.

So Target CPA is when you have got enough conversion data in the account, and that's when I will switch over from Max Conversions to tCPA. Again, Target CPA is being sunset, and only the Max Conversions will be, you'll be able to bid on, with either a Target CPA or a Target ROAS number in it.

What’s better to use Maximize Conversions or Target CPA bidding strategy? In this video, we take deep dive into two of the most frequently used bidding strategies.

The bottom line: One is not better than the other. Both have different ways of bidding.

Maximize Conversions 

Maximize Conversions is great at using machine learning and algorithms to pinpoint what a conversion is and who to target them at. If you’re just starting out with Google Ads, use maximize conversions and leave it to Google to go and fetch those conversions for you.

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We suggest you have at least 30 or 40 conversions before switching from Maximize Conversions to Target CPA.

Target CPA

Target CPA is where you are telling Google I only want to pay X amount for a conversion and then Google is going to bid accordingly into or in front of a person whole they think is likely to convert. Google knows our search history so it knows if you’re going to convert or not.

Uzair Kharawala

Written by Uzair Kharawala

Partner at SF Digital Studios, a Google Premier Partner agency. Uzair has been helping businesses grow with Google Ads since 2002 and teaches it every week on YouTube.

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