LTV-based bidding lifts 90-day profit 16% over flat CPA bidding

LTV-based bidding lifts 90-day profit 16% over flat CPA bidding

Bidding to predicted lifetime value vs bidding to a fixed cost-per-action target.

— Flat CPA bid profit (90d): baseline 1.0 ▏▏▏▏▏▏
— LTV-bid profit (90d): +16% ▏▏▏▏▏▏▏
— Requires 30+ days of cohort data to model LTV
— LTV-bid early-phase CPA runs 20-40% higher (scary but recovers)

Read: flat CPA bidding is safe and instant; LTV bidding needs cohort history and a strong stomach for high early CPA, but compounds on retention-heavy verticals. Don't run LTV bids cold. n=7 accounts.