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These bulk changes can help up speed your optimization process and can certainly make your life easier when it comes to working on account(s) on a day-by-day basis.
Back when I started doing AdWords, most of these bulk edits were exclusive only to AdWords Editor or AdWords API, but nowadays we find a lot of options for bulk edits inside the AdWords interface.
How can bulk edits speed your optimization process?
There are several changes that can be implemented by just selecting a range of elements and applying changes based on predefined rules. By doing this, you will be able to avoid spending too much time changing one thing at a time.
Bulk edits will allow you to focus on deciding what improvements to make but speed through the actual implementation of these changes. Let me guide you through the different types of changes you will be able to perform.
What bulk edits are available?
You are able to change the default bids that are established at an ad group level in several ways, you are able to set an specific bid, increase the one that you already have by a percentage or decrease it the same way. To change default bids at the ad group level, you will just need to do the following:
Set a specific bid
Once you have clicked on ‘Change bids’ you will need to set specific default bids. This will be a good idea if you looking to start off a campaign with an average CPC and test it to either raise or decrease it after gathering data.
Increase or decrease bids by percentage
The same can be done for increasing or decreasing default bids by a percentage. This can be done to increase your bids on an even percentage across the board and test how higher bids affect your performance.The same theory will apply to bid decreases. You can decrease the default bids on several ad groups by a percentage or by a specific amount in dollars.
Raising to estimated bids
You will have the option to raise your keywords to estimated bids. You can use the first page estimated bid or the top page estimated bid as a reference and make sure your bids are up to par with the estimates the AdWords system gives you. To use this option you will only need to select an upper bid limit.
Find and replace keyword text
You will be able to replace parts of your keyword text; this can come in handy when you are duplicating ad groups and changing only some of the words in their keywords. This way you can change all the keywords in an ad group, for example ‘taxi transportation service’ to ‘cab transportation service’. You can also use this option to correct mistakes easily in spelling.
Keep in mind that altering keyword text will delete the original keyword and create a new one with the different instance of a text.
Changes to destination URLs at a keyword level
If you want to set specific landing pages for some keywords or change the ones that already have them, you can do it by using bulk edits. Adding a specific landing page to your ads can help with the implementation of deep linking as well as to help targeting people that are further down your buying funnel.
Changing ad text
Last but not least you will also be able to change certain parts of your ad text from one thing to the other. You will be able to change call to actions to test new ones, change specific percentages for discounts or promotions, prices for items or services or just simply to correct misspellings.
Keep in mind, that like keywords, any ad that you change will be deleted and a new one will be placed instead with the changed portion of it.
Best practices when using bulk edits in AdWords
Always preview any changes
AdWords will give you the option to preview your changes; this means that you will be able to see what elements will change if you apply a certain bulk edit and with what variation. You will be able to see what ad groups or keywords will be affected by a bid increase and what will be the changes from the original bid to the new one.
Previewing your changes will allow you to guarantee that you will be overlapping with previously done changes or that you simply didn’t select an element that you didn’t want to change by mistake.
Combining bulk edits with filters
By using filters, you will be able to select the elements that really need changes easier and faster. By creating proper filters, you will be able to select all filtered elements and perform bulk edits to all of them. Some examples of bulk edits combined with filters are:
- Selecting all keywords with a status of “Below Estimated First Page Bid” to change their bids.
- Selecting all ads with a specific phrase in their descriptions lines to replace with a new variation.
- Looking for keywords with misspelled text and editing them to include a text with proper spelling.
- Select all keywords that pertain to a specific product or service and selecting an URL for them to use as a landing page.
Reviewing recent bulk edits
By going to “Bulk Operations” on the left navigation bar in your AdWords account you will find the option “Bulk Edits” and there you will be able to see the recently performed bulk edits.This option will allow you to see previous bulk edits that you have done as used them as a reference for future changes in your campaign or to replicate them in other campaigns or accounts that you may manage.
Stop wasting time
Stop wasting time on manual changes being done one element at a time. By using bulk edits you can start saving a lot of time that can be used to perform in-depth analysis of your campaigns, to do competitor research or simply look for new opportunities and targets to expand to.
