Automated rules allow you to schedule your ads to appear at specific times of the day, adjust bids by time of day, seasonal factors or other dynamic conditions, or control your budget and costs by showing ads only at the times you choose.
To get started, think about the tasks you perform frequently in your Google Ads account and write down the steps you take. Then structure your rules to have these actions performed automatically for you.
This article provides several examples of of popular rules. You can use your personal performance goals and expertise about your business to choose specific metrics and actions that make sense for you.
Once you've created rules, make sure to monitor their performance frequently and refine them to get the desired results.
Instructions
Schedule ads
Turn on or off several special ads for a promotional event
- Click Ads & extensions.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Enable ads.
- In the "Apply to ads" section, choose All enabled and paused ads.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Ad text.
- In the “Value” field, enter “Memorial Day specials”, and click Apply.
- Under "Frequency", choose Once and select May 28, 2018 at 5:00 PM.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule, to save rule 1.
- To create rule 2, click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Pause ads.
- In the "Apply to" section, choose All enabled and paused ads.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Ad text.
- In the “Value” field, enter “Memorial Day specials”, and click Apply.
- Under "Frequency", choose Once and select May 30, 2018 at 11:00 PM.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule, to save rule 2.
Turn on or off several special ads on a repeating basis (e.g. every weekend)
- Click Ads & extensions.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Enable ads.
- In the "Apply to ads" section, choose All enabled and paused ads.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Ad text.
- In the “Value” field, enter “Free Shipping”, and click Apply.
- Under "Frequency", choose Weekly and select Saturday at 1:00 AM.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule, to save rule 1.
- To create rule 2, click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Pause ads.
- In the "Apply to" section, choose All enabled and paused ads.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Ad text.
- In the “Value” field, enter “Free Shipping”, and click Apply.
- Under "Frequency", choose Weekly and select Sunday at 11:00 PM.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule, to save rule 2.
Turn on or off a special ad campaign for a promotional event
- Click Campaigns.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- For rule 1, select Enable campaigns. For rule 2, select Pause campaigns.
- In the "Apply to campaigns" section, choose Select campaigns, and select the campaign you’d like to include.
- For rule 1, in the "Frequency" section, choose Once and select July 4, 2018 at 1:00 AM. For rule 2, select July 4, 2018 at 11:00 PM.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule.
Edit ads or keywords
Pause low-performing keywords based on performance metrics (e.g., high cost per conversion)
- Click Keywords.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Pause keywords.
- In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Conversions.
- Set Conversions to “>100”, and click Apply.
- Click +ADD, and select Cost / conv.
- Set Cost / conv. to " > $20", and click Apply.
- In the "Frequency" section, choose Daily at anytime, using data from the Previous 30 days.
- Name and save your rule.
Pause low-performing ads based on performance metrics (e.g., low CTR)
- Click Ads & extensions.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Pause ads.
- In the "Apply to ads" section, choose All enabled ads.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select CTR.
- Set CTR to “.2%”, and click Apply.
- +ADD, and select Impr.
- Set impressions to “ >= 1000”.
- In the "Frequency" section, choose Daily using data from the Previous 14 days.
- Name and save your rule.
Change final URL for keywords
You can set rules to update the final URL of your keywords.
Here's how to create this rule:
- Click the tools icon .
- Navigate to “Bulk actions,” and select Rules.
- Click the blue plus button , and select +Keyword rules.
- In the “Action” section, select Change keyword final URLs from the drop down.
- Under “Make changes to,” choose whether this action applies to the URL across all devices or the final URL that appears on mobile devices.
- Under “Action,” choose whether to set a new URL, add text to an existing URL, or find and replace text to a specific URL.
- In the “Apply to” and “Conditions” sections, choose the type of URLs you want to be affected by this rule.
- Select the frequency that this rule will run.
- Choose if you want to be emailed about this rule.
- When you’re done, select Save rule.
Create a rule to apply labels
You can create a rule to help create meaningful label groupings of managed accounts, campaigns, ad groups, keywords and ads. Use the following steps to create and apply a rule:
- Sign in to your Google Ads account.
- Go to the Accounts, Campaigns, Ad groups, Keywords, or Ads & extensions pages.
- Click the 3-dot icon above the statistics table.
- Select Create an automated rule.
- Choose a name for your rule.
- Under the “Action” drop-down select Change labels.
- Under the “Apply to” drop-down, choose where you’d like to apply your label to.
- Choose the conditions, frequency, or email results of your rule.
- Click Preview to ensure you've set up your rule to run the way you want. Previewing is just for verification and doesn't make any permanent changes to your account.
Bids and bid scheduling
Adjust bids for keywords based on cost per conversion
- Click Keywords.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Change keyword bids.
- In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
- Under “Action” select Increase bids.
- Next to “Increase by percentage”, enter “15%”.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Cost / conv.
- Set Cost / conv. to “<$10”.
- Click +ADD, select Conversions, and set to “>50”.
- Click +ADD, select Avg. pos., and set to “<3”.
- Name your rule.
- Click Save rule, to create rule 1.
- For rule 2, under “Action”, select Decrease bids.
- Next to “Decrease by percentage”, enter “15%”.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Cost / conv.
- Set Cost / conv. to “>$12”.
- Click +ADD, select Conversions, and set to “>50”.
- Click +ADD, select Avg. pos., and set to “<3”.
- In the "Frequency" section, choose Weekly using data from the Last week.
- Name and save your rule.
Tip
Change bids to target an average position (Search Network only)
- Click Keywords.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Change keyword bids.
- In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
- Under “Action”, select Raise bids to top of page CPC.
- In the "Condition" section, set click +ADD, and select Avg. pos.
- Set Avg. pos. to “>5”.
- Set the Frequency to Daily using data from the Previous day.
- Name and save rule 1.
- For rule 2, under “Action”, select Raise bids to first page CPC.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Avg. pos.
- Set Avg. pos. to “<3”.
- Set the Frequency to Daily using data from the Previous day.
- Name and save your rule.
Raise bids to ensure ads show on the first page (Search Network only)
- Click Keywords.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Change keyword bids.
- In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
- Under “Action”, select Raise bids to first page CPC.
- (Optional) set a “Max. bid limit”.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Quality Score.
- Set Quality Score to “>=6”.
- Set the Frequency to Daily using data from the Previous day.
- Name and save your rule.
Raise bids to the recommended top of page bid (Search Network only)
- Click Keywords.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Change keyword bids.
- In the "Apply to keywords" section, choose All enabled keywords.
- Under “Action”, select Raise bids to top of page CPC.
- (Optional) set a “Max. bid limit”.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Quality Score.
- Set Quality Score to “>=6”.
- Set the Frequency to Daily using data from the Previous day.
- Name and save your rule.
Bid scheduling (e.g., a higher bid during certain hours of the day)
Tip
Control budgets and cost
Checking in on your budget
- Click Campaigns.
- Click the name of the campaign who’s budget you’d like to keep track of.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Send email.
- In the "Apply to ad groups" section, choose All enabled ad groups, or select specific ad groups.
- In the "Condition" section, click +ADD, and select Cost.
- Set Cost. to “>$50”.
- Set the Frequency to Daily 12:00 PM using data from the Same day.
- Name and save your rule.
Budget scheduling (e.g., higher budget on certain days of the week)
- Click Campaigns.
- Click the 3-dot icon , and select Create an automated rule.
- Under “Type of rule”, select Change budgets.
- In the "Apply to campaigns" section, choose All enabled campaigns.
- For rule 1, under “Action” select Increase budget and enter by “50%”.
- For rule 2, under “Action” select Decrease budget and enter “33.3%”.
- For rule 1, set the Frequency to Weekly, Tuesday 1:00 AM using data from the Previous week.
- For the second rule, set the Frequency to Weekly, Wednesday 11:00 PM using the same data.
- Name and save your rule.
Tip
Pause campaigns that have spent a certain budget partway through the month
Pause campaigns that have reached a certain number of clicks partway through the day
- Rule 1: checks at approximately 6:00 AM whether 500 clicks have been reached; pauses the campaign if needed.
- Rule 2: checks at approximately 12:00 PM whether 500 clicks have been reached; pauses the campaign if needed.
- Rule 3: checks at approximately 6:00 PM whether 500 clicks have been reached; pauses the campaign if needed.
- Rule 4: enables the campaign at approximately 11:00 PM, so it's ready to run the next day.
Increase budget for campaigns that convert well (using cost-per-conversion)
Increase bids for dimensions that perform well in your Display Network campaign
General guidelines and examples
Be cautious with daily rules that increase or decrease bids
Daily bidding rules that operate on an entire account should be set up carefully. If the rule is set up to run daily, it generally makes sense to use data from "previous day". Make small changes to your bids (e.g. 5% increases/decreases) and observe performance closely over time before considering larger changes.
Exclude specific keywords from a rule
Sometimes you want to apply a rule to all keywords, except for certain keywords that you want to manage manually. You can do this by excluding those keywords using "Conditions." For example, suppose you want to schedule a rule to raise CPC bids of all keywords in a campaign except those that contain the words "rustic wedding." Go to Keywords for that campaign, and when you create the rule, make sure to set up a requirement that the keyword text does not contain "rustic wedding."