While the search engine results page (SERP) can change rapidly, even the most committed PPC manager cannot continuously oversee their campaigns. So, how can you ensure your ads remain current, even when you're not actively managing them?
Fortunately, Google Ads offers PPC managers the ability to employ automated rules for proactive monitoring, adjustment, and optimization of their accounts. With thoughtful planning and foresight, these automated rules can evolve into a valuable asset in your digital advertising toolkit.
So. How do you create automated rules?
You can create automated rules directly within Google Ads from the “Tools and settings” menu. Under “Bulk Actions,” select “Rules.”
You can use this point as a starting place to establish an automated rule for modifying various components within your account, such as campaigns, ad groups, keywords, ads, asset groups, audiences, demographic targets, or display placements.
Alternatively, while reviewing any of these account elements, you can initiate an automated rule by clicking on the "More" option represented by three dots on the far right. Once selected, choose "Create an automated rule," which will open the framework for automating the specific element of your account you're currently inspecting.
Google Ads automated rule has three main elements that you can use to automate your campaigns for what you see fit.
1. Action: This is what you want Google to change in your account. Use this to perform actions such as:
Enable
Pause
Change Budgets
Change Bids
Change Bid Adjustments
Change Final URLs
Change Labels
Send Email
2. Apply to: Select where you want this action to take place.
3. Frequency: This is how often you want Google to check this condition and potentially perform this action. You can have these automated rules run:
Once, at a set time in the future
Hourly
Daily
Weekly
Monthly
5. Email results: You can optionally choose to have Google email you or someone else when the rules are applied.
Now, let's get in to the best automated rules you should be using.
1. Pausing your campaigns before a holiday
If you know that your business is going to be closed for a few days in advance use this rule to pause your campaigns on time.
Rule type: Campaign
Action: Pause campaigns
Apply to: All campaigns
Conditions: Campaign status: All enabled
Frequency: Once, at end of the business day the day before you close.
2. Enabling your campaigns after a holiday
Many of these rules have a connecting rule that reverses them. Set this rule up with your pause rule and to make sure that they resume once your team is back to work.
Rule type: Campaign
Action: Enable campaigns
Apply to: Selected campaigns (all that you are currently running)
Conditions: None
Frequency: Once, at the beginning of the day your return from the holiday.
3. Enabling new ads for a sale or promotion
Want to make sure your new ads go live right in time for a sale or big event? This rule can save you from having to remember to update your ads on the big day. Always label your ads to make automation easier. You may also want to schedule a similar rule to enable your usual ads again after a sale.
Rule type: Ads
Action: Enable ads
Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
Frequency: Once, at the time your promotion starts.
4. Pausing your ads after a sale
A sister to the previous rule, use this automated rule to pause your usual ads during the event and then pause your sale ads afterward.
Rule type: Ads
Action: Pause ads
Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ special offer]
Frequency: Once, at the time conclusion of your promotion.
5. Run different ads at night
Offers like “24/7 availability” or “Open late” matter to people differently at night. Similarly, if your team doesn’t respond to requests after hours, a more modest call to action may help you guide searches to fill out a form during your off-hours.
Rule type: Ads
Action: Enable ads
Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ late-night messaging]
Frequency: Daily, at 5 p.m.
Like most other rules couple this rule with your sister rule to pause your daytime ads daily at 5 p.m, resume your “daytime” ads at 9 a.m, and pause your “nighttime” ads at 9 a.m.
6. Run different ads on the weekend
Be sure to pair this rule with sister rules to pause these ads on Monday, resume your weekday ads on Monday, and pause your weekday ads on Friday.
Rule type: Ads
Action: Enable ads
Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
Conditions: Ad text includes [your ads’ weekend messaging]
Frequency: Weekly, Saturday at 12am.
7. Update your final URL
If you’ve got a new landing page, this rule can save you time updating your keyword’s final URL.
Rule type: Ads
Action: Change keyword final URLs
Apply to: All ads (or manually select individual ads)
Conditions: None
Frequency: Once, at a set time
It’s been proven that having more landing pages generates more leads. So, this Google Ads automated rule can come in handy as you create landing pages optimized for specific keywords.
8. Prevent your campaigns from overspending their daily budget
Google infamously can spend up to 30% over your budget. T take back control of your campaigns limit Google’s ability to spend more than a set amount each day.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Pause campaign
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
Frequency: Hourly, using data from the same day.
9. Enabling your campaigns after spending their budget the previous day
This will enable the campaigns you paused the previous day.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Enable campaign
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Spend > $[your daily budget]
Frequency: Daily at 12am, using data from the previous day.
10. Keeping your monthly budget constant every month
It’s a silly thing, but marketers know that their set monthly budget doesn’t divide evenly into a daily budget when the months have 28, 30, or 31 days. Manually recalculating budgets every month is a pain and many of us have other priorities on the first day of the month. 10 rules here can save you a year of math.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Change budgets
Create a different rule for each date, to run once at 12 a.m. on that date and adjust the budget in kind:
Feb 1 – Increase daily budgets by 10.7%
Mar 1 – Decrease daily budgets by 9.7%
Apr 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
May 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
June 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
July 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
Sept 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
Oct 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
Nov 1– Increase daily budgets by 3.3%
Dec 1– Decrease daily budgets by 3.2%
11. Set a weekly budget for your campaigns
Have a special budget for a holiday or sale? Or just prefer to manage your campaigns with a weekly budget? This rule has you covered.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Pause campaign
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Spend > $[your weekly budget]
Frequency: Hourly, using data from this week.
12. Set a monthly budget for your campaigns
You can set a max spending limit for your entire account within Google Ads, but if you want to control a set monthly budget for some of your campaigns, you can manage that as well with this rule.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Pause campaign
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Spend > $[your monthly budget]
Frequency: Hourly, using data from this month.
13. Adjust your budget for the weekend
Depending on your audience, search traffic might peak or drag on the weekend. You can use dayparting to adjust your bids or ad schedule for the weekends, but you can also adjust your budgets throughout the week to make sure that you can afford more traffic when your best customers are searching for you.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Change budgets
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: None
Frequency: Weekly, on Saturdays at 12am.
14. Increase bids if your keywords aren’t showing
Keywords that don’t show are hard to optimize for. This rule will catch any keywords that aren’t showing because their bid is too low.
Rule type: Keywords
Action: Raise bids to first page CPC
Apply to: All keywords
Conditions: Keyword status reason contains any below first-page bid.
Frequency: Daily
15. Increase budget if performance is good
Search traffic might spike unexpectedly–and this rule can help give your campaigns more marketing budgetfuel if they’re performing well. This can be particularly great to implement on big sales events or holidays.
Rule type: Campaigns
Action: Increase budget by 5%
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
Frequency: Daily at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.; using data from that day
16. Increase bids when performance is good
If you prefer a little bit more control with manual CPC bidding, you can use automated rules.
Rule type: Keywords
Action: Increase bids by 5%
Apply to: All keywords
Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is hitting your goals
Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.
17. Pause campaigns or decrease budgets if performance is poor
Prevent a bad day from getting worse with this rule.
Rule type: Campaign
Action: Pause campaign or decrease budget
Apply to: Select campaigns
Conditions: Spend > [70% of your budget] and CPA (or ROAS) is very bad
Frequency: Daily at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m., using data from that day.
18. Decrease bids if performance is poor
Light bid adjustments can keep your keywords optimized and reduce wasted spend without you even signing into Google Ads.
Rule type: Keywords
Action: Decrease bids by 5%
Apply to: All keywords
Conditions: Conversions > 5 and CPA (or ROAS) is 20% or more away from your goal.
Frequency: Weekly, using data from the previous week.
19. Pause low-performing keywords
If a keyword is getting a lot of traffic but no conversions, plan to pause it.
Rule type: Keywords
Action: Pause keyword
Apply to: All keywords
Conditions: Clicks > 100, Spend is high, and CPA is very poor
Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.
20. Pause low-performing ads
Ad testing is a vital part of managing your Google Ads campaigns. This rule can help determine the loser of your ad tests and pause poor performing ad in an ad group
Rule type: Ads
Action: Pause ad
Apply to: Ads in selected campaigns (consider only search campaigns, for instance)
Conditions: Ad Impressions > 1000, Ad CTR < .5%, and Ad Group CTR > 1%
Frequency: Monthly, using data from the previous month.
Rules for monitoring your campaign activity
These Google Ads automated rules allow Google to help you keep an eye on campaign activity.
21. Receive an email if your campaigns aren’t spending their budget.
If your campaigns aren’t on track to spend their monthly budget, this rule can alert you and let you fix anything before the end of the month. Personal favorite that keeps me on track with budget management.
Rule type: Campaign
Action: Send email
Apply to: All campaigns
Conditions: Spend < [33% of monthly budget]
Frequency: Monthly on the 15th, using data from the current month
22. Receive an email if your team isn’t active in your account.
Some accounts may not require daily or even weekly changes to stay healthy–but this rule can help you keep your trust in your trusted partners, like us:)
Rule type: Campaign
Action: Send email
Apply to: All campaigns
Conditions: Change history changes = 0
Frequency: Weekly, using data from the past week
Automated rules are simple, user friendly way to stay on top of your Google Ads. Have fun setting yours up and remember, there are a ton more of these you can use. This list was just the top used rules. Have questions? Reach out to us anytime. We're happy to help.
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