Google PPAAfter reading yesterday’s Inside AdWords official Google blog post, I realized at least in it’s current iteration, Google Pay per Action is not going to be a viable option for most retail affiliate programs. In spite of recent speculation about how the new Google CPA offering could potentially change the landscape of affiliate marketing, in light of this new info I don’t think it will rock our boat much at all.

Why?
Currently Google does not offer the option to pay a % of sale - only a flat fee amount. Retailers with multiple products won’t be able to be competitive since they can only offer a set fee per action and could actually loose their shirts if they try. Example: if a company like zZounds, one of our 5 Star clients paid a CPA of 20 per sale - that would not be as high as an affiliate could earn through the affiliate program if the sale was a big one as many zZound’s sales are. On the other hand, zZounds would loose money on the $20 CPA if the sale was only on some guitar strings.

“Q: Is it possible to set a cost-per-action (CPA) value (i.e. the amount I’d like to pay for a specific action) as a percentage of the amount of the purchase rather than as a fixed amount per purchase?

A: We don’t currently offer the option to set a CPA value as a percentage. The cost-per-action value must be a fixed amount.”

Additionally the Google pay-per-action ads can only be shown on the content network and not in the Google or partner search network. Merchants offering pay per lead instead of pay per sale, will most likely be leary of the content network for obvious reasons.

“Q: Do pay-per-action ads show on Google.com or on sites in the search network?

A: No. Pay-per-action ads are not eligible to show on Google.com or in the Google search network. They’re only eligible to display in the Google content network.”

Here is the rest of the new Google Cost Per Action questions and answers plus there is a link to the original FAQ.