Getting Started with Automated Rules

Earlier this year, we launched Automated Rules, a feature that lets you save time by scheduling automatic changes to your account based on criteria that you specify. Since then, tens of thousands of advertisers have created rules to manage their accounts more effectively and even deploy more advanced strategies.

Whether you're new to Automated Rules or already an expert, we wanted to share with you some of the most popular examples of rules that AdWords users have created. We hope that these examples can help you take better advantage of the feature.

Click here for details on how to set up these types of rules. You'll need to adjust them to meet your business needs and goals. Let us know what you think of these examples, and send us your favorite rules.

Scheduling ads

• Turning on/off special ads for a promotional event
• Turning on/off certain ads on a repeating basis (e.g., every weekend)
• Turning on/off a special ad campaign for a promotional event

Pausing low-performing ads or keywords

• Pausing low-performing keywords based on success metrics (e.g., high cost per conversion)
• Pausing low-performing ads based on success metrics (e.g., low CTR)

Bids and bid scheduling

• Adjusting bids for keywords based on cost per conversion
• Changing bids to reach a desired average position
• Raising bids to ensure ads show on the first page
• Bid scheduling (e.g., a higher bid during certain hours of the day)

Controlling budgets and cost

• Increasing budget for campaigns that convert well (using cost per conversion)
• Budget scheduling (e.g., higher budget on certain days of the week)
• Pausing campaigns that have spent a certain amount partway through the month
• Pausing campaigns that have received a certain number of clicks partway through the day

General examples

• Understanding how to make a rule work on one, several or all campaigns
• Excluding keywords from a rule

To learn more about Automated Rules, please visit Ad Innovations. Happy automating!

Posted by Dan Friedman, Inside AdWords crew