HHS Search Mold Campaign — Budget & CPA Adjustment (2026-01-07)
Overview
During the [1], Mark and Gilbert identified severe budget underutilization in the HHS "Search Mold" campaign. Despite a $25,000 monthly budget allocation, the campaign had spent only $229 — less than 1% of available budget. The root cause was a daily budget cap of $10 combined with a target CPA of $10 that was too restrictive to allow competitive bidding. Both settings were adjusted on the call.
Problem
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Monthly budget | $25,000 |
| Actual spend (period) | $229 |
| Daily budget (before) | $10 |
| Target CPA (before) | $10 |
| Conversion rate | 17% |
The campaign was flagged as "limited by budget" in the interface, which was initially confusing given the large monthly allocation. The actual constraint was the $10/day daily cap — at that rate, maximum monthly spend would be ~$300, far below the $25k ceiling. The $10 target CPA was also too low to allow Google's bidding algorithm to compete effectively in the mold remediation search space, further suppressing delivery.
Notably, the underlying campaign performance was strong: a 17% conversion rate signals healthy keyword targeting and landing page relevance. The underperformance was entirely a configuration issue, not a quality issue.
Changes Made
| Setting | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budget | $10 | $20 |
| Target CPA | $10 | $30 |
Raising the daily budget to $20 brings potential monthly spend to ~$600 — still well below the $25k ceiling, but a meaningful step toward utilizing available budget. Raising the target CPA to $30 gives the bidding algorithm more room to compete in auctions, which should increase impression volume and spend.
Rationale
With a 17% conversion rate, this campaign is converting efficiently. The correct lever to pull is increasing delivery, not improving quality. A higher target CPA allows Google to bid on a broader set of auctions while still targeting a reasonable acquisition cost. The $30 CPA target was chosen as a conservative first step — further increases may be warranted if the campaign remains under-paced after monitoring.
Action Items
- [ ] Monitor "Search Mold" campaign delivery after budget and CPA changes — confirm spend increases toward $600/month pace (@Gilbert Barrongo)
- [ ] If campaign remains under-paced, consider further CPA target increases or review keyword coverage (@Gilbert Barrongo)
- [ ] Review other HHS campaigns for similar underutilization patterns (@Gilbert Barrongo)
Related
- [2]
- [3]
- [4]