Most accounts overspend not because of bad creatives, but because of bidding decisions made months ago and never revisited. The fastest lever to cut CPA is usually the bid strategy itself.
Start with data, not opinions
Before changing anything, confirm the account has at least 30 conversions in the last 30 days. Below that threshold, smart bidding guesses more than it learns and CPCs drift upward.
The seven strategies
- Move cold campaigns to Maximize Conversions before layering tCPA.
- Set tCPA 10–15% above your target first, then tighten weekly.
- Segment brand and generic search so budgets stop cannibalising.
- Use portfolio bid strategies to keep campaigns consistent.
- Exclude low-intent placements and mobile app categories.
- Add audience observations to protect high-intent segments.
- Review search terms weekly and rebuild negatives ruthlessly.
Measure the right window
Judge every change on a 7-day click and 1-day view conversion window, not on same-day results. Bidding algorithms need a full learning cycle before the numbers mean anything.
Applied together, these seven moves routinely bring CPA down 30–50% within six weeks on service-business accounts.
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