The Target ROAS bid strategy allows you to choose how much dollar value you want back for every dollar you spend. It analyzes and uses Google's AI to predict the value of a potential conversion every time someone searches for products or services you’re advertising. Then, Google's AI adjusts your bids for these searches to maximize your return on them. Learn more About Target ROAS bidding.
This article explains how to set a recommended initial Target ROAS (tROAS) for your App campaigns. Learn more About bidding in App campaigns.
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Before you begin
- Verify conversion tracking: Set the conversion actions you wish to optimize for as "Primary" goals. Ensure conversion pings (such as Firebase first_open or in_app_purchase) are firing correctly.
- Check compatibility: For App campaigns using Target ROAS, ensure the conversion source is Firebase or Google Play Codeless. Third-party tools may have limitations.
- Address "Cold Start" issues: Target ROAS requires historical data to predict auction success. If you are starting a new campaign or promoting a new app, begin with "Maximize Conversions" or "Target CPA" to gather initial data. Once you reach a stable volume (typically 30+ conversions in 30 days), transition to Target ROAS.
- Migration prerequisite: If migrating from Target CPA to Target ROAS, ensure your campaign has at least 3 to 4 weeks of historical conversion value data.
How it works
If you have run Target cost per action (tCPA) for your App campaigns in the past, and you’re ready to use Target ROAS bidding, you can use your historically achieved return on ad spend (ROAS) to help calculate your initial Target ROAS (tROAS). When creating your tROAS campaign, we recommend the below steps to set an initial tROAS that is reflective of your tCPA campaign’s historical performance.
Use the Bid Guidance widget
The Bid Guidance widget is designed to help you set the right bids to achieve your App campaign goals. Learn more About bidding tools for App campaigns.
Set an initial Target ROAS
- Identify your biddable in-app event's conversion window. This is the time period you have to measure the impact of your ads on conversions.
- Identify your comparable campaign's performance over the duration of that window. A comparable campaign is one that promotes the same App ID, uses the same biddable event, and has the same location and language targeting settings.
- Enable the "conv. value/cost" column in your campaign reports.
- Use your comparable campaign's achieved ROAS (conv. value/cost) as a recommended starting tROAS. This step of understanding your initial tROAS may not be applicable to all campaigns.
Best practices
Here are best practices that can help you successfully set an initial Target ROAS:
- Account for conversion lag: Performance may appear lower in recent reports because costs are immediate while conversions take time to report. Evaluate trends over a 14 to 30-day window and exclude the most recent period to allow data to mature.
- Minimize volatility and respect the learning phase: Avoid making significant changes to budgets or targets more than once every 1 to 2 weeks. Major adjustments trigger a 7 to 14 day "Learning Phase." When adjusting targets, keep changes within a +/- 15 to 20% range of historical averages.
- Manage overdelivery: Campaigns can spend up to 2x their daily budget on high-traffic days to maximize performance. If spend consistently exceeds your comfort level, consider increasing your Target ROAS to make the algorithm more selective.
- Optimize app quality and assets: Technical issues (like high crash rates in Android Vitals) or low asset variety can limit delivery. Ensure you provide diverse, high-quality images and videos to maximize reach across networks.
- Factor in your target inflation rate (if applicable): When setting your initial tROAS. If your tCPA is consistently higher than your campaign’s actual CPA, you'll want to apply a similar modifier to your prospective tROAS bid.
- For example, if your campaign’s actual CPA is $3 USD and your tCPA is set to $6 USD, you'll need to apply a 50% modifier to your evaluated ROAS to appropriately set a starting tROAS bid.
- Adjust your tROAS after establishing a baseline volume: To help reach your intended ROAS target over the period of your in-app event’s conversion window.
- Use automated rules to manage your bids: To help lessen the need to make manual bid changes in your App campaigns. Learn more about how to set up automated rules for App campaigns.
