• Search Engine Land
  • Sections
    • SEO
    • SEM
    • Local
    • Retail
    • Google
    • Bing
    • Social
    • Resources
    • More
    • Home
  • Follow Us
    • Follow
  • Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • Live
  • More
  • Events
    • Follow
  • SUBSCRIBE

Search Engine Land

Search Engine Land
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social
  • Resources
  • More
  • Newsletters
  • Home
SEM

Advanced Google Ads script to forecast ad performance

Putting projections together is tedious and time consuming but this advanced Google Ads script can create forecasts for you based on past performance.

Wesley Parker on October 17, 2019 at 1:17 pm
  • More

Creating accurate projections of your future paid search spend is a really important part of your overall media buying plan.

How often have you been asked, how many leads would we get if we increase media spend by X.

Or considering that our conversion rate is 19% better year on year, how many more leads will we get this year.

The truth is though that putting projections together is tedious and time consuming.

So as we do with any boring, tedious but repeatable task, the developers at Clicteq (my employer) put together this advanced Google Ads script that creates forecasts for you based on past performance.

How the script works

The script analyses the performance from the last month and compares this to the performance of the same month the year before.

It then analyzes the changes in performance for all of the metric, for example if conversion rates have increased or if CTR is lower for example.

It then applies these same changes to the performance of last year to create projections for the next 12 months.

The script also allows you to model out scenarios, for example if you wanted to spend 10% more it would create projections with an additional 10% of spend.

It’s worth noting here though that the bigger the difference that you input the less accurate the projections because there is not always a linear correlation between CPCs.

How to setup the script

Before you run the script, however there are a couple of things that you need to change.

  1. You will first need to create a new Google Sheet. This is where the script will output the projections too, once you have created a new sheet copy the URL.
  2. On line 17, you can change which campaigns you want to include. To include all of the campaigns that contain the term “brand” for example, you would enter the word “brand” here. If on the other hand, you want to include all of the campaigns, then just leave this field blank.
  3. On line 20 you should enter the URL of the Google sheet that you want to output your forecasts (created in step 1).
  4. On line 30 is where you select increments of forecasts. If you want to see the metrics broken down by week then enter “Week.” If you want them monthly then enter “Month” or for quarterly enter “Quarter.”
  5. On line 31 you can configure how the cost will change. If you want the budget to stay the same then enter “1”. To increase the budget by 20% then enter “1.2” or to decrease the budget by 25% then enter “0.75”.
  6. On line 32 you can configure which currency that your account runs in, this should be the symbol that denotes the currency, for example “£” or “$”.

Here’s the Google Ads script


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.



About The Author

Wesley Parker
Wesley is managing director at Clicteq. He currently manages a $4M-plus Google Ads portfolio across a range of different sectors. He regularly writes in leading marketing publications such as Econsultancy and Campaign Magazine.

Related Topics

Channel: SEMGoogle: Ads ScriptsPaid Search Column

We're listening.

Have something to say about this article? Share it with us on Facebook, Twitter or our LinkedIn Group.

Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.
See terms.

ATTEND OUR EVENTS

Lorem ipsum doler this is promo text about SMX events.

February 23, 2021: SMX Report

April 13, 2021: SMX Create

May 18-19, 2021: SMX London

June 8-9, 2021: SMX Paris

June 15-16, 2021: SMX Advanced

August 17, 2021: SMX Convert

November 9-10, 2021: SMX Next

October 2021: SMX Advanced Europe

December 17, 2021: SMX Code

Available On-Demand: SMX

×


Learn More About Our SMX Events

Discover actionable tactics that can help you overcome crucial marketing challenges. Our next conference will be held:

MarTech 2021: March 16-17

MarTech 2021: Sept. 14-15

MarTech 2020: Watch On-Demand

×

Attend MarTech - Click Here


Learn More About Our MarTech Events

White Papers

  • The State of Local Marketing Report 2020-2021
  • Quality CRM Data: The Key to Delivering Great Customer Experiences
  • How the Microsoft Search Network Can Maximize Your Search Campaigns
  • The Marketer’s Playbook for Customer Acquisition
  • How To Optimize SEO With UGC
See More Whitepapers

Webinars

  • How to Avoid the Digital Transformation Trap
  • How to Build a Marketing System of Record
  • Meet BIMI: The brand-boosting email security marketers must have for 2021
See More Webinars

Research Reports

  • Local Marketing Solutions for Multi-Location Businesses
  • Enterprise Digital Asset Management Platforms
  • Identity Resolution Platforms
  • Customer Data Platforms
  • B2B Marketing Automation Platforms
  • Call Analytics Platforms
See More Research

h
Receive daily search news and analysis.
Search Engine Land
Download the Search Engine Land App on iTunes Download the Search Engine Land App on Google Play

Channels

  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Local
  • Retail
  • Google
  • Bing
  • Social

Our Events

  • SMX
  • MarTech

Resources

  • White Papers
  • Research
  • Webinars
  • Search Marketing Expo
  • MarTech Conference

About

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Marketing Opportunities
  • Staff
  • Connect With Us

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Youtube
  • iOS App
  • Google Play

© 2021 Third Door Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

Your privacy means the world to us. We share your personal information only when you give us explicit permission to do so, and confirm we have your permission each time. Learn more by viewing our privacy policy.Ok