Google changes target bidding to prioritize predictability over outperformance

Google has restructured its target bidding strategies so that Target CPA and Target ROAS function as hard performance targets instead of efficiency benchmarks, according to commentary shared during a Search Engine Land webinar led by PPC expert Reva Minkoff. Previously, campaigns could outperform their targets—a $10 CPA target might consistently yield $5 conversions—but the new approach aims to deliver results around the specified target, trading upside potential for greater predictability. Minkoff advises advertisers to clarify campaign objectives (volume versus efficiency), set targets based on actual performance data rather than guesswork, gradually test tighter targets, avoid frequent changes, monitor complementary signals like impression share alongside CPA and ROAS, and separate campaigns with different economics into distinct structures to assign appropriate efficiency targets.