[redhedgehog12]

Which large majority now operate this way? Google only offers this payment model for display campaigns which (most of the time) convert rarely when meaningful conversion actions are tracked. Facebook only offers this for a small set of actions like mobile installs etc. Bing doesn't offer this at all.

These three platforms make up a majority of the ad industry without a doubt so I'm not sure where your statement comes from? If you've got info or sources though I'd be very keen.

A lot of people get confused about targeting a cost per conversion which is extremely common now, and actually paying per conversion.

Targeting cost/conv is not the same thing and is purely when the ad platform will adjust who and when it shows your ads too based on an amount you give it, normally the most you'd be willing to pay for a sale or lead.

[summerlight]

I explicitly mentioned "pay less per click" so I expected most people to take it as tCPA/tROAS and similar kinds of bidding families? Yeah, technically you're gonna pay less per click even in fCPA, but usually people won't say anything about clicks in fCPA products. It's my bad if it was not clear enough. Anyway this doesn't really change the issue; these kinds of bidding strategies are not really CPA cost type but the result is nearly identical for most campaigns/ad groups. OP's behavior doesn't really affect the amount of advertiser side cost.