Google Is Retiring tCPA & tROAS: What You Need to Know

Google’s two oldest automatic bidding strategies, Target CPA and Target ROAS, have finally met the day we all hope to reach eventually: they’re packing their bags and moving down to Florida because they are retiring! That’s right, as discreetly announced on their developer blog, starting this spring, Google will be moving away from Target CPA and Target ROAS as an option when picking your bidding strategy in your campaign-level settings.

Like other recent changes Google has released this year, it will be a gradual change. But while your campaigns currently using tCPA or tROAS are safe and no changes are needed on your end, it’s never too early to prepare. In this article, we’ll:

Review tCPA and tROAS and how they’re changing.
Equip you with the tips to adjust and use this change as an opportunity.
Share what the PPC community has to say.

What are tCPA and tROAS?

Let’s quickly brush up our knowledge on the soon-to-be legacy tCPA and tROAS functionalities. These two automated bidding strategies use machine learning to optimize your bids based on a goal you set: an ideal target Cost Per Acquisition or Return On Ad Spend, respectively. With these strategies, you’re essentially saying “Okay, Google, take my budget and bid whatever you need to bid to get me the most conversions at the cheapest cost or highest return percentage possible.”