Switched from bidding CPM to CPA for display ads and saw way better results

I used to just bid on CPM for everything and hoped for the best. About 6 months ago i read a post about using CPA bidding instead and figured i'd test it on one campaign. It took like 3 weeks to get enough data but after that my cost per lead dropped from $45 to $28. The key was setting a realistic target CPA based on my conversion history. Now i use CPA on all my display campaigns unless i'm just doing branding. Has anyone else tried switching bid strategies and seen a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmag224d ago

Cleaning up conversion tracking first is huge, I've seen campaigns go sideways fast when you've got bad data feeding into the CPA bid strategy. Sounds like you found the sweet spot with setting it a bit lower too.

the_eva4d ago

Threw CPA bidding on a retargeting campaign after reading almost the same post you did. Took maybe 4 weeks to stabilize but my cost per conversion dropped from like $50 to $22. The trick for me was setting the CPA target a bit lower than what I was actually paying before so the algorithm had room to optimize. I also made sure my conversion tracking was cleaned up first because bad data ruins everything. Now I run all my prospecting campaigns on CPA too and it's been solid. Makes a huge difference when you let the system work with actual conversion signals instead of just impressions.

jana_scott4d ago

Oh man, is it weird that I felt personally attacked when I realized my CPM campaigns were basically me just throwing money at the internet and hoping for a hug? I tried switching to CPA on a whim too, and the first few weeks were brutal. I almost gave up because my cost per lead actually went UP at first, which was just my luck. But after like a month, the algorithm finally figured out what it was doing, and I went from paying $38 per lead to like $19, which is honestly the closest thing to a marketing miracle I've ever seen. Now I just tell myself the first few weeks of bad data was my campaign's "awkward teenage phase" before it got its act together.