Definition
A bid strategy is the method you use to set bids (manual CPC, target CPA, target ROAS, maximize conversions) based on your goals and constraints.
How to use it
- Choose a strategy that matches your measurement quality and volume.
- Use break-even targets to prevent automated bidding from buying unprofitable volume.
Why this matters
This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Bid Strategy" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Read the related guide (e.g., Paid ads bidding & budgeting hub: max CPC, target CPA, and break-even targets) for context and common pitfalls.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- Paid Ads Funnel Calculator: Model CPM -> CTR -> CVR to estimate CPC, CPA, ROAS, and profit per 1,000 impressions (with margin and variable costs).
- ROI Calculator: Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) for a campaign or project.
- Incrementality Lift Calculator: Estimate incremental conversions, incremental ROAS, and incremental profit from a holdout test.
- Marginal ROAS Calculator: Estimate diminishing returns and find the profit-maximizing ad spend from a simple response curve.
- Target CPA from LTV Calculator: Translate LTV and contribution margin into a target CPA (and break-even CPA) for paid acquisition.
Guides
- Paid ads bidding & budgeting hub: max CPC, target CPA, and break-even targets: A practical hub for bidding and budgeting: compute max CPC from CVR and margin, set target CPA using LTV, and use break-even CTR/CVR/CPM targets to guide creative and landing optimizations.
- Paid ads funnel: CPM, CTR, CVR -> CPC, CPA, ROAS (with profit): A practical guide to the paid ads funnel: how CPM, CTR, and CVR drive CPC, CPA, ROAS, and profit - with formulas and common pitfalls.