{"id":8692,"date":"2026-11-01T09:39:41","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T02:39:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/glossary\/cpa\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T09:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T02:39:41","slug":"cpa","status":"publish","type":"mona_glossary","link":"https:\/\/adtek.agency\/en\/glossary\/cpa\/","title":{"rendered":"CPA (Cost per Action)"},"content":{"rendered":"

CPA (cost per action, or cost per acquisition) is the ad spend for each desired action, such as an order, a lead or an app install. CPA = Ad spend \/ Number of actions (conversions).<\/p>\n

What is CPA in marketing?<\/h2>\n

In Google Ads, the metric is called Cost \/ conv. (cost per conversion): total cost divided by the number in the Conversions column. It only counts eligible interactions such as ad clicks or video views; clicks that cannot be tracked for conversions are removed from the calculation (Google Ads Help, Understand your conversion tracking data, accessed November 2026<\/a>).<\/p>\n

On Meta, the equivalent is Cost per result = amount spent \/ results, where a “result” is the objective you set for the campaign. When data is partial or missing, Meta may use statistical modeling to account for some results (Meta Business Help Center, Cost per result, accessed November 2026<\/a>).<\/p>\n

CPA is also a way of buying media: you pay only when an action happens, common in affiliate marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CPA formula<\/h2>\n

CPA = Ad spend \/ Conversions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spend VND 20 million, get 80 leads, and CPA is VND 250,000. You can also derive CPA from CPC<\/a>: CPA = CPC \/ Conversion rate. A CPC of VND 5,000 at a 2% conversion rate gives a CPA of VND 250,000. To lower CPA, cut CPC or raise the conversion rate.<\/p>\n

Target CPA in Google Ads<\/h2>\n

Target CPA is an automated bid strategy: you set the average cost per conversion you want, and Google Ads sets bids based on how likely each auction is to convert. Some conversions cost more than the target and some less, but on average Google tries to keep cost per conversion at the target. Key points (Google Ads Help, About Target CPA bidding, accessed November 2026<\/a>):<\/p>\n