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What is target CPA (tCPA) bidding in Google Ads?

Paid media

By Klaudia Szlendak, Senior Google Ads SpecialistUpdated 3 November 2026

How does target CPA work?

You enter a target: the average cost per conversion you want. Google then sets bids for each auction to hit it. Google's documentation says some conversions will cost more than the target and some less1.

The target is an average, not a ceiling. Google's documentation also warns that a target set too low may cause you to forgo clicks that could convert, which can mean fewer conversions in total1.

Target CPA is one of the Smart Bidding strategies: see that entry for the wider set, and target ROAS for the strategy that aims at revenue per euro instead.

What does it not tell you?

It counts conversions. A conversion is whatever the account counts, such as a purchase. A returning customer counts the same as a new one. So the cost per conversion can look fine while the cost of a new customer does not.

That second figure is nCAC: acquisition spend divided by first-time customers only. CAC is what it costs to win one new customer, usually acquisition spend divided by new customers in the same period.

Our view: set a target CPA from what an order can afford after costs, not from last month's average, and say which conversions it counts.

Worked example

Easily confused with

  • Target CPA vs CPA (cost per acquisition)

    The metric: ad spend divided by the conversions the platform counts. Target CPA is the setting you give the system, CPA is what you got.

  • Target CPA vs Target ROAS

    A different strategy. It predicts conversion values and aims at an average return on ad spend. The target is entered as a percentage.

  • Target CPA vs CAC and nCAC

    What a new customer costs. Target CPA does not measure that by itself.

FAQ

A rider in a red cape and bicorne hat on a rearing yellow plush horse, after David's Napoleon Crossing the Alps

Is target CPA the same as CPA?

No. CPA is a result you measure. Target CPA is a bid strategy where you give Google a number to aim at.

Is target CPA the same as CAC?

No. Target CPA works on all counted conversions. CAC counts new customers only.

Can a target CPA be too low?

It can. Google's documentation says a target that is too low may cost you clicks that could have converted, and so fewer conversions overall1.

Sources

  1. About Target CPA biddingPrimary source

Let’s find what’s actually working.

Next step. Check whether your CPA target pays on explicit assumptions with the Is your ROAS real? calculator.

Is your ROAS real? calculator