AmazingCo paid media, US and Canada

15 Sep – 4 Oct 2026 · CPA from backend orders

US and Canada paid media has turned a corner.

After a difficult run since June, efficiency in both markets improved sharply from mid-September. The US recovery was led by Google; Canada's was driven by Paid Social.

Bottom line

  • US last 7-day CPA is down 33%, from $80 on 21 Sep to $54 on 4 Oct. October cumulative CPA is $58, against $75 for September.
  • Canada last 7-day CPA is down 53%, from $89 on 15 Sep to $42 on 4 Oct. October cumulative CPA is $41, against $88 for September.

United States: led by Google

  • $80 → $54Last 7-day CPA
  • $75 → $58Cumulative CPA, Sep vs Oct to date
  • We made a broad round of Google changes on 21 Sep. We paused high-cost keywords and ads, lowered cost targets, reduced New York bids, and refreshed Performance Max.
  • After a one-week learning period, the last 7-day CPA stepped down from $73 to $63 on 28 Sep. Google-driven orders rose 19%, from 51 to about 61 a week.
  • A second round of changes on 28–29 Sep added top-converting city keywords and re-enabled Day Trips and Birthday. The last 7-day CPA improved again to $54.
  • Paid Social supported the improvement but didn't lead it.

Canada: driven by Paid Social

  • $89 → $42Last 7-day CPA
  • $88 → $41Cumulative CPA, Sep vs Oct to date
  • We launched a rebuilt Paid Social campaign in early September and cut its budget by about 60% on 11 Sep.
  • About a week later, the last 7-day CPA fell from $80 to $61. Paid Social CPA fell from $210 in late August to $27 last week.
  • Total orders held steady at about 44 a week, so this is an efficiency gain (the same orders for much less spend) rather than extra volume.
  • Google changes in Canada are still settling.

CPA (cost per acquisition) uses backend orders and total paid media spend. Cumulative CPA is calculated month to date, so it resets on 1 Oct and early-October values rest on only a few days (for example, the one-day US spike to $91 on 1 Oct). Channel orders come from GA4, which credits the last click, so it understates Paid Social: some people who see a Paid Social ad later buy through Google or by coming direct.

Paid Social ads are currently tagged in a way GA4 files under "Organic Social". They're counted as Paid Social here. Google covers Search, Performance Max and Shopping.

Several Google changes were made on the same day, so results are credited to each round of changes rather than to individual changes.