About Multiple Target CPA bidding

Use Multiple Target CPA bidding to maximize conversions at your target cost-per-acquisition (CPA). This bidding strategy works across multiple portfolios. You maintain individual targets for each sub-portfolio and optimize performance across the entire group. You can also define acceptable performance ranges for each sub-portfolio and adjust targets for seasonality and other performance fluctuations. Learn how to Create a Search Ads 360 portfolio bid strategy.

Benefits

Centralized management & reporting: Optimize across portfolios while retaining individual performance data.
Flexible target setting: Adjust CPA targets for portfolios to accommodate seasonal changes or promotions without changing the portfolio structure.
Controlled optimization: Specify minimum and maximum ROI targets. This controls flexibility for cross-portfolio optimization and balances performance with business needs.

How it works

Multiple Target CPA optimizes performance across a group of portfolios. You maintain individual CPA targets and reporting, while also efficiently distributing a budget across sub-portfolios based on their performance and individual targets. Multiple Target CPA analyzes each sub-portfolio's performance within the portfolio group. It adjusts bids to maximize conversions while staying within the target CPA range for each sub-portfolio and the overall portfolio group.

The system identifies opportunities to shift budget toward higher-performing sub-portfolios, even if they’re on different search engines. This allows more efficient budget allocation and better overall performance compared to managing each portfolio individually.

Portfolio level

Below are the actions you can take at the overarching portfolio group level:

Select the portfolio's currency.
Enable Auction-Time Bidding (ATB). Use with Google Ads or Microsoft Advertising.
Link existing bid strategies as sub-portfolios. Alternatively, create new sub-portfolios.
Get the average target CPA. This is the aggregate target calculated across all sub-portfolio targets.

Sub-portfolio level

Below are the actions you can take at the sub-portfolio level:

Specify individual CPA targets for each sub-portfolio.
Optionally, set a minimum and maximum CPA target range. This provides flexibility and allows the system to find additional opportunities.

Example

A retailer wants to optimize performance across product categories while maintaining separate budgets and targets. They create a tCPA bid strategy with sub-portfolios for each category. They set specific CPA targets based on product margins and objectives. By setting minimum and maximum CPA targets, they allow the system to dynamically allocate budget across categories to capitalize on opportunities.

How to use Multiple Target CPA bid strategy

Create a Multiple Target CPA bid strategy

Sign in to your Search Ads 360 experience.
Navigate to a sub-manager account.
In the page menu, select Bidding & planning, then Bid strategies.
Select the plus button and choose Multiple Target CPA.
In the “Name and settings” panel, choose the name and currency for the new bid strategy. The currency will dictate what existing bid strategies you can link to this new bid strategy.
Select Save.
- The Use Google Ads auction-time bidding and Use Microsoft Advertising auction-time bidding options will be automatically selected as they are recommended to improve performance. These settings will also be applied to any sub-portfolios created under this strategy.

Link existing bid strategies

In the page menu, select Bidding & planning, then Bid strategies.
Select Multiple Target CPA in the reporting table then click Edit bid strategy.
Select Select bid strategy in the “Add bid strategy” panel.
Choose which existing bid strategies you want to link in the “Select a bid strategy” window. Only bid strategies that share the same currency as the Multiple Target CPA strategy can be selected.
Select a name and choose a baseline CPA for the linked bid strategy.
You can also select advanced settings like minimum and maximum bidding limits as well as minimum and maximum CPA.
Select Save.

Edit a Multiple Target CPA bid strategy

Sign in to your Search Ads 360 experience.
Navigate to a manager or sub-manager account.
On the left navigation panel, select Bidding & planning.
Select Bid Strategies.
Select Multiple Target CPA in the reporting table.
Select Settings or Edit bid strategy.
You can change and make adjustments to the bid strategy.
1. If you want to remove a linked bid strategy, select Remove next to the linked bid strategy you want to remove in the “Add bid strategy” panel. Then, select Confirm on the “Remove from (bid strategy name)?” window.
2. If you want to remove auction-time bidding, unselect the checkbox next to “Use Google Ads auction-time bidding”. Then, select Confirm on the “Remove Google Ads auction-time bidding?” window.
Select Save.

Create new portfolio

In the page menu, click Bidding & planning, then Bid strategies.
Select Multiple Target CPA in the reporting table then select Edit bid strategy.
Select + Bid strategy in the “Add bid strategy” panel.
Select A set of campaigns in the “Create a new sub-portfolio” dropdown.
Select Select campaigns and choose which campaigns to include in the “Select campaigns” window.
Select Select then click Save.

Explore reporting tabs

Multiple Target CPA bidding has 2 reporting views:

Sub-portfolio view: This shows each sub-portfolio's performance within the MTP group, including the target, actual ROI, and key metrics.
Campaign view: This shows individual campaign performance within each sub-portfolio and offers granular insights.

Set min/max CPA targets

You control how much Search Ads 360 adjusts each sub-portfolio's target CPA during optimization. This balances performance with your business needs. This gives the system flexibility to shift budget toward other sub-portfolios with better opportunities while the first sub-portfolio's performance stays within acceptable bounds.

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