TrueView for action allows you to create video ads that capture the intent of people likely to convert. To get the most out of your TrueView for action campaigns, follow the tips in this article.
Set up your TrueView for action campaign
Set up your campaign so that you can generate conversions within the first week (3-7 days) of the campaign and then establish a stable cost-per-acquisition (CPA) within two weeks. To do this:
- Start by optimizing for a lightweight conversion event that you observe frequently. If your campaign goal is to drive purchases, but purchases don't happen frequently, try optimizing for an event such as "add to cart."
- Use Maximize conversion bidding, Google’s automated bidding solution, to capture as many conversions as possible within a specified budget.
- Set an average daily budget that is 20 times your CPA for Display campaigns, or 30 times your CPA for Search campaigns. If you don’t have a CPA benchmark for Display or Search campaigns, make sure your budget is at least 10 times the desired CPA of your TrueView for action campaign.
- Start with campaigns that include custom intent audiences and remarketing audiences. For custom intent, use 300-500 of the highest converting keywords from your Search campaigns.
- Run creative variations (at least 5 if possible). Your creatives should:
- Have a clear call-to-action (CTA): Use phrases like: “Learn more,” “Sign up,” or “Buy now.”
- Lead with the problem statement: Hook attention in the first 5 to 10 seconds with a problem statement and how your product or service solves it.
- Repeat what you’re offering: Repeat the CTA and ensure it’s echoed in the voiceover and any text in the video.
Learn more about creating a TrueView for action campaign
Measure the performance
Monitor performance for one week (3-7 days) before making optimizations.
- If you don’t see conversions:
- Ensure conversion tracking for Google Ads is set up properly. Learn more about conversion tracking
- Expand audiences by creating new ad groups for customer match or in-market audiences.
- Consider using a different conversion event or extending the conversion window to better align with time from a view to a conversion.
- If your campaign isn't spending your budget:
- Expand audiences by creating new ad groups for customer match or in-market audiences.
- If your CPAs are too high:
- Consider using a different conversion event or extending the conversion window to better align with time from a view to a conversion.
- Create ad groups for different audiences to find users more likely to convert.
- Test different ad variations, changing up the text (such as the headline or the CTA) or the video itself, with the aim of increasing the conversion rate.
Transition to Target CPA bidding
Transition your campaign to Target CPA (tCPA) bidding to capture even more conversions at your campaign’s CPA after you meet the following criteria:
- Duration: The campaign has been running for at least 14 days.
- Volume: The campaign is generating at least 5 conversions per day in the last 7 days.
- Stability: The campaign’s daily CPAs don’t vary by more than 20% in the last 7 days.
To get the most out of tCPA bidding:
- Set your tCPA bid to the CPA from your “Maximize conversions" campaign or a CPA that is 1 to 2 times the Display CPA or 2 to 3 times the Search CPA. Ensure the average daily budget for the campaign is at least 20 times your tCPA bid.
- If your campaign is no longer spending its full budget:
- Add new ad groups that include life events, in-market, or contextual targeting.
- Increase conversions by removing all audience constraints and relying on tCPA bid strategy to achieve profitable conversions. Keep campaigns running as they achieve your desired CPA.
Target CPA optimization tips for TrueView for action
| Scenario | Recommendation | tCPA bid |
|---|---|---|
| The campaign is under-spending and hitting tCPA | Expand your audience. Create ad groups for new audiences to manually find users more likely to convert, or add an ad group that has no targeting, giving tCPA the widest possible audience to capture conversions. | Slowly increase the tCPA bid in 10% to 15% increments to improve delivery. |
| The campaign is under-spending and exceeding tCPA | Change your audience. Create ad groups for different audiences to find users more likely to convert. | Keep the tCPA bid the same. |
| The campaign is spending evenly and exceeding tCPA | Narrow your audience. If current audiences are fairly broad, consider layering on audiences that you believe may be more likely to convert. | Slowly reduce the tCPA bid in 10% to 15% increments while monitoring conversion volume. |