CPA is the cost per acquisition of your campaigns. At the same time, this KPI indicates the ROI of your PPC efforts. Therefore, decreasing CPA is an objective every marketer keeps in mind while working on their strategy. 

Even though CPAs vary per industry, there are common tactics you can implement to improve this number. Here are some tricks you can find useful while decreasing your PPC campaigns’ CPA.

Using Automated Bidding

As explained by Google, Smart Bidding is a subset of automated bid strategies that use machine learning to optimize for conversions or conversion value in every auction—a feature known as “auction-time bidding.” Target CPA, Target ROAS, and Maximize Conversions are all Smart Bidding strategies.

Genevieve Van Dijk, Client Experience Director, wrote, “At White Shark Media, we recommend that before completely switching to one of the automated bidding strategies, you test which bidding strategy is working well for you by creating an experiment in Google Ads. You should aim to apply an experiment to those campaigns that have at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days to support the machine. Keep the experiment split  at least 50% to generate significant data. ”

Below you will find a brief explanation of Target CPA.

Target CPA 

Target CPA automatically sets bids to get the most conversions at the desired CPA or lower. With Target CPA you indicate the average amount you’d like to pay for a conversion. This feature will help control your budget, but it may not do much to save money. In addition, it may influence the number of conversions you get. For instance, setting a target that is too low may cause you to forgo clicks that could result in conversions, resulting in fewer total conversions.

The more data your campaigns gather, the more Google Ads will have to recommend a CPA for your campaign. Also, new campaigns will receive suggestions based on your account’s historical conversion data.

Using Target CPA works wonders for lowering your CPA. Aside from Google’s recommended amount, you can analyze the data to find a sweet spot of your own. However, beware of setting amounts too low as it may lead to a decrease in traffic and conversions. Below are two recommended tips by our strategists that you can employ to reduce CPA.

To learn more about how AI and historical data work together to optimize your campaigns, click here to read a recent post written by one of our strategists. 

Lower Keyword Bids

You can use Google Experimento on your keywords to identify click-through and conversion rates for each. You’ll be able to determine which keywords need to be dropped and adjust on bids based on your results. 

Optimize Ads for Mobile Devices

When ads are designed for mobile devices, it guarantees that the user’s experience is smooth and easy. Checking your conversion rates and a user’s journey on your page can clue you into where you can focus efforts. An overwhelming amount of text, heavy imagery, and faulty margins can discourage visitors. 

Add Negative Bid Adjustments

While analyzing your campaign’s performance, you can find specific devices, locations, ad schedules, audiences, and demographics to have a higher average CPC. Adding negative bid adjustments to the variables increasing your costs, will help you improve your CPA.

Conclusion

If your new year’s resolution was to conquer your Google campaigns and reduce your CPA, you are well on your way to achieving it. Would you like to find more areas of opportunities for your PPC campaigns? Click here to sign up to AdInsights by White Shark Media, our free PPC audit tool!