Your bid tells DiscoAds what a click or a converted customer is worth to you, which is how the system decides when to show your brand. This guide covers all three models — CPC and CPA/CPO — and which fits you.
On Shopify? Most Shopify brands run on the CPA/CPO model — you pay for conversions, not clicks. Jump to How CPA and CPO billing works.
Your bid models
- Cost-per-click (CPC) — you pay for each billable click on your offer (see How CPC billing works, below). Simple and straightforward to set up: you set your CPC bid range (minimum and maximum bid) plus an optimization target — either a ROAS or CPA target — and the system optimizes your spend toward that target within your range.
- Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) / cost-per-order (CPO) — you pay for conversions instead of clicks. Your CPA is the amount you're willing to pay to acquire a new customer; your CPO is the amount you're willing to pay to reconvert an existing customer. Only want new customers? Set your CPO to $0. The right fit once conversion tracking is firing reliably.
Which to use depends on your setup. On Shopify, most brands run CPA/CPO — the Disco app's built-in conversion tracking makes it available from the start. On other platforms, many advertisers start with CPC (nothing to integrate) and move to CPA/CPO once conversion tracking is running reliably. Not sure? Your Disco team can walk you through which model fits.
How the auction works
How often your offer displays is a function of two things: how relevant your offer is to a given shopper, and your bid relative to other advertisers. For example: if your CPC bid is $5 and an equally relevant advertiser's is $3, your offer shows. But if their offer has a higher relevancy score for that specific shopper, theirs shows — even at the lower bid. The goal is always to show shoppers the most relevant offers, which is also what gives you the best chance of converting them.
How CPC billing works
On the CPC model you're billed for billable clicks — the total outbound clicks Disco measures, counted once per advertiser, per Disco session (the IAB One-Click-Per-Impression method, Section 3). In practice:
- Two clicks on your brand in the same session = one billable click.
- A click, a page refresh, then another click = two billable clicks.
- A click, then another click on a return visit two days later = two billable clicks.
What counts: outbound clicks inside the Disco placement — your hyperlinked imagery, logo, text, or your offer's CTA button. What doesn't count: "next/previous offer" clicks (not outbound), clicks in the confirmation emails shoppers receive after claiming your offer, and impressions — you're never charged for impressions.
Billable clicks from new customers are charged at your CPC (New Customer) bid; clicks from returning customers at your CPC (Returning Customer) bid.
How CPA and CPO billing works
On the CPA/CPO model you're billed for conversions instead of clicks — any purchase made within your attribution window (clicks and views; by default, 14 days each — contact us to change it). Conversions are billed by customer type:
- New and lapsed (12+ months) customers — charged at your Fixed CPA.
- Returning customers — charged at your Fixed CPO.
You can update both targets month to month. A worked example: you set a $100 CPA and $50 CPO. Last month Disco converted 20 new or lapsed customers and 5 returning customers. Your invoice: (20 × $100) + (5 × $50) = $2,250.
Conversion tracking is the prerequisite — the system can only bill and optimize on conversions it can see. On Shopify, the Disco app handles this for you; on other platforms, see Setting up conversion tracking. For how conversions are attributed, see Disco's attribution model.
Set your bid
Set your bid range and optimization target using the form for your model:
- CPC — CPC bidding form
- CPA / CPO — CPA bidding form
Submit the form for your model and the Disco CS team configures your settings and sets them live. Shortly after, you can monitor your spend in Reading your DiscoAds reporting.
A few things to keep in mind:
- Conversion tracking is a prerequisite for CPA/CPO. The system can only optimize toward conversions it can see. Set up tracking first — see Setting up conversion tracking.
- Your bid is a signal of value. A higher bid expands the auctions you're competitive in — it doesn't change who Disco matches you with.
- Give changes time. After a bid change, let the system recalibrate for a few days before judging the result.