How to Use Performance Planner for Google Ads

Key takeaways

Performance Planner in Google Ads can help you get more out of your marketing campaigns by forecasting potential outcomes.

• By understanding potential outcomes, you can adjust your campaign settings to improve results.

• Performance Planner uses machine learning along with vast amounts of data to generate predictions.

• You can use Google Ads Performance Planner as part of your marketing strategy to get more out of your campaigns and manage your budget effectively.

Discover how Performance Planner in Google Ads can take your advertising to the next level. If you’re ready to start developing digital marketing skills, earn a Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce Professional Certificate, where you will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of digital marketing and attract customers through various channels. 

What is Performance Planner in Google Ads?

Performance Planner from Google allows you to forecast the potential performance of your ad campaigns through vast amounts of data collection, simulations, and machine learning. With this information, you can view the hypothetical outcomes of certain adjustments made to your campaign settings, learn to manage and allocate your budget more effectively, and capitalize on peak seasonal opportunities.

Performance Planner also provides suggestions to help you optimize the performance of your campaigns by considering factors such as competitor activity, billions of search queries, and seasonality. Updates are made daily to Performance Planner insights based on the most recent seven to 10 days so that you can plan and review your campaign's success weekly, monthly, or quarterly. 

Is $20 a day good for Google Ads?

The right amount for you to spend daily on Google Ads is unique to you and depends on your goals and the amount you can afford to spend. However, with Performance Planner, you can access tools that help you get the most out of your investment by optimizing your budget.

How to use Google Ads Performance Planner

Follow these steps to create a performance plan for your ad campaign:

1. Select the campaigns to include in your plan.

2. Choose a date range.

3. Access the forecast and draft plan phase.

Here’s a look at these steps in greater detail.

1. Select the campaigns to include in your plan.

Beginning in your Google Ads account, select Tools > Planning > Performance Planner. From here, select the plus icon (Create a plan) and Continue. 

2. Choose a date range.

After selecting your campaigns, click Next. You can now select the key metric to display, such as impressions or clicks, and choose the date range. You can also enter a target for your plan, enabling Performance Planner to adjust your ad spend targets to focus on specific areas, such as cost per acquisition.

Then, select the campaigns you want to include in your plan.

3. Access the forecast and draft plan page.

To finalize your plan and move on to the plan forecast page, click Create. After you create your plan, you can view how changes to your spending can impact campaign performance by making changes on the Draft plan page.

Editing and removing performance plans in Google Ads

You can change your plan from your Google Ads account by selecting the performance plan you wish to edit and making your changes. Your edits are automatically saved. Additionally, you can remove a plan entirely from the Planning drop-down menu. Follow these steps to edit or remove a plan:

1. Select Tools > Planning > Performance Planner.

2. Make any necessary edits. Changes will save automatically. 

3. To remove a plan, select the box beside the plan you wish to remove, then select Remove plan > Remove.

Read more: Gaining a Google Ads Certification: A Step-By-Step Guide

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