A high cost per acquisition (CPA) usually isn’t a bidding problem — it’s a foundations problem. Fix these in order and your CPA tends to fall on its own.

1. Trust your tracking first

If your conversion data is wrong, every optimisation after it is guesswork. Get GA4 and server-side tracking (Conversions API) set up properly so Google optimises toward real revenue, not noise.

2. Clean up your product feed

For Shopping and Performance Max, the feed is the campaign. Accurate titles, types, images and attributes quietly transform performance — it’s the least glamorous, highest-leverage work in the account.

3. Structure around margin

Not all products are equal. Structure campaigns so budget flows to the products and categories with the margin and demand to justify it, and cap spend where it doesn’t pay.

4. Let creative do the work

On Performance Max and Demand Gen, assets are a major lever. Strong images, copy and offers lower CPA more than most bid tweaks.

5. Exclude what wastes spend

Branded vs non-branded separation, negative keywords and audience exclusions stop you paying for traffic that was never going to convert profitably.

Judge everything on profit

CPA only matters relative to margin and lifetime value. We build every account around your real economics — see our PPC & paid social service.

Get a free PPC audit and we’ll show you where the waste (and the opportunity) is.