Running Ads? You Need Google Ads Performance Planner

If you’re running Google Ads, you should be taking advantage of the Performance Planner within your Google Ads account. This tool provides you with data-based insights on the expected performance of your Search, Display, Shopping, App, Video, and Local campaigns and creates plans for your ad spend. Some statistics show the Performance Planner may increase your campaign’s conversion rate by as much as 40%.

How It Works

Google takes into account billions of search queries and auction data, and its forecasts are usually updated every 24 hours. Forecasts are based on market changes, seasonality, competitor activity, and recent campaign history, allowing Google Ads users to plan ahead and assess how these changes may affect metrics and overall performance. Monthly and quarterly performance projections are provided, allowing you to review and adjust your campaign settings accordingly.

Creating Your Plan

The tool allows you to pick between three performance metrics to focus on: clicks, conversions, or impressions. When creating your plan, you will also be prompted to enter a date range and a target, which is optional, but could include spend, impressions, or cost per acquisition. It’s important to keep in mind that forecasts are based on recent campaign activity, so a forecast for the near future will be more accurate than one for dates farther away.

Forecasting

After choosing your preferences, the Performance Planner will generate a forecast graph and an individual campaign forecast table. The forecast graph will show how the performance of your campaign could be affected by a change to the amount you are spending. Underneath this graph in Performance Planner you will find the forecast table. This shows the forecast for your campaign’s impressions, spend, conversions, average CPA, and it provides suggestions to improve performance.

Eligibility

Eligibility for use of Performance Planner varies based on the type of campaign you are running. Below are the requirements for the two most common types of Google Ads campaigns.

Search Campaigns:

Use manual cost-per-click (CPC), enhanced CPC, max clicks, max conversions, max conversion value, target return on ad spend, target cost-per-action bidding strategies, or target impression share bidding strategies
Campaign has to have been running for at least 72 hours
Campaign has to have received at least 3 conversions in the last 7 days (if the campaign’s focus is on conversions)
Target impression share campaigns (only) - have a Search lost IS (budget) of <5% over the last 10 days

Display Campaigns (Smart and Standard):

Campaign has not changed bid strategies in the last 7 days
Campaign has been running for 7 days or more
Campaign has had at least 5 conversions (or 20 clicks for Maximize clicks) and more than $10 USD in cost within the last 7 days
Campaign has not been recently budget constrained

We provide brand building solutions. Connect with our team now.