On 17 August 2026, Google is changing how target based bidding strategies (target CPA and target ROAS) work. Until now, a campaign held back by its budget could perform far better than the target you entered, by concentrating spend on the most profitable auctions. That is over: the campaign will aim for the target you actually entered, no more and no less.
The example Google gives in its help centre leaves no room for doubt: a campaign whose target CPA is set at 10 € but which actually delivers 5 € will move closer to a real CPA of 10 € after 17 August. In other words, if your target has never been revised since it was created, the value forgotten in that field becomes your new cost per acquisition.
For a Belgian SME, this is not a theoretical issue. Digital accounted for 41.9 % of net media investment in Belgium in 2024, up from 37.2 % in 2023 according to the UBA-UMA benchmark. And accounts running on a tight daily budget sit permanently in the limited by budget status: they are exactly the ones that will feel the switch.
What exactly changes on 17 August 2026
The change does not affect how Google sets bids, but how it interprets your target when the budget caps out. Before: a soft ceiling the algorithm could beat by a wide margin. After: an instruction to hold, in both directions.
If your target has never been revised since it was created, the value forgotten in that field becomes your new cost per acquisition.
Which campaigns are affected
According to Google official documentation, the change applies to the target CPA, target ROAS and target CPC (Demand Gen) strategies, across Search, Shopping, Performance Max, Demand Gen and Travel campaigns. Display and Hotel campaigns already worked this way. Not affected: App campaigns, video reach and video view campaigns, manual CPC and target impression share.
What Google is not changing
Your spending caps remain caps: Google states that daily and monthly limits continue to apply and that the update does not increase your spend by itself. What changes is the yield of those same euros. The spend counter does not move, the lead counter does.
Why small budgets are the most exposed
An account running 3 000 € a month across several segmented campaigns is almost always constrained somewhere. Adthena sums it up simply: since nearly every account is limited by budget at some point, the reach of this change is very wide.
The real trap lies elsewhere. The target CPA value has often never been reviewed: set at launch, sometimes by default, sometimes deliberately high to give the algorithm room during the learning phase, then forgotten because results were good. That is precisely the case that will cost the most, like other settings left on autopilot that we listed in the Google Ads mistakes that waste Belgian SME budgets.
The three options before 17 August
Since 6 July 2026, Google has made a target adjustment tool available (Bid Target Adjustment Tool) that compares the target you entered with actual performance over the past twelve months. Three decisions are possible, campaign by campaign:
Align the target with actual performance. The most common case: if you deliver at 5 € for a 10 € target, set the target to 5 €. You keep your current volume and cost.
Set an intermediate target. Useful when your margins allow a slightly higher CPA and you are looking for extra volume. Only do this once the profitability calculation is done, not on instinct.
Switch to Maximise conversions without a target. Relevant when the budget is strictly fixed and the priority is the number of enquiries, not the unit cost.
Keeping the target as is makes sense in one case only: when it was deliberately set high to explore new queries, knowingly.
On the same budget, a campaign delivering 20 conversions at 5 € could end up delivering 10 at 10 €.
The starting point remains the cost per client your business can absorb, the one we calculate in our method for setting a realistic Google Ads budget. Without that figure, the adjustment is made blind.
Frequently asked questions
Will my Google Ads spend increase on 17 August?
No, not automatically. Google confirms that daily and monthly budgets are still respected. It is the cost per conversion that can rise, so the number of leads for the same amount that can fall.
How do I know whether my campaigns are limited by budget?
The status column shows Limited by budget directly in the interface. Also check the history: a campaign that carried this status for several months over the past twelve is affected, even if it does not show it today.
Should I adjust everything at once before the date?
No. Start with the campaigns that generate your real commercial enquiries. Then allow one to two conversion cycles, often four to six weeks, before judging the effect of an adjustment. Forecasts from the planning tool will also be unreliable between 17 and 31 August, while the rollout runs.
Priority action plan
List the constrained campaigns: filter on the Limited by budget status and spot those that carried it over the past twelve months.
Compare target and reality: for each one, put the target CPA or ROAS next to actual performance over the past 30 to 90 days.
Recalculate the acceptable cost: start from your margin per client and your enquiry conversion rate, not from the historical value in the field.
Adjust, then monitor: apply the new targets before 17 August, then record volume and cost every week for a month.
This change follows the same direction as everything Google has rolled out over the past two years, described in our analysis of the automation of Google Ads campaigns in 2026: more automation, less implicit room for manoeuvre. The conclusion is unchanged, accounts that know their profitable acquisition cost get through these switches unharmed, the others discover the bill afterwards.
Have your Google Ads targets not moved since they were created? We audit and manage Google Ads campaigns for Belgian SMEs.
Advertising
August 8, 2026
5 min read
