Over the years, I have written quite a bit about AdWords Editor. During that same time, there have been a lot of changes with AdWords Editor. I want to make sure that you aren’t missing out on any changes to this tool that could help you save time and streamline your workflow in this program.

Custom Rules

In the 12.1 AdWords Editor update, Google released the ability to remind yourself of best practice violations before you post your changes in Editor. They call these “custom rules.” This can be anything as simple as making sure your ads all have labels or as complicated as making sure tracking templates contain a specific string of text.

When you navigate to the Custom Rules option in the left navigation bar, you’ll see these rules already built-in. If you don’t like these rules, you can pause them (although, according to AdWords you cannot remove these completely).

You’re able to add your own custom rule. You can even set these to prevent your changes from posting if the rule is violated.

Below is an example of a rule I created that will remind me to label all of my ads before posting new ones.

You give it a name and a description (so that you don’t forget why you created it in the first place) and then apply it to the item you want checked and add the criteria. You also can choose a severity level – from just giving you a slap-on-the-wrist warning to not letting you post at all.

There is an infinite number of combinations and applications that you can make for these rules. Head over to AdWords Help for additional instructions.

Additional Ad Creation and Support Options

One of my biggest complaints about Editor is that not all ad types are able to be created within the program. When you’re creating a large number of ads and applying them to a bulk number of campaigns or ad groups, this can really be a pain point.

However, you can now create Shopping Showcase ads and expanded dynamic search ads within the Editor program. This brings the ad creation types available within Editor to 22.

You are also now able to manage Gmail ads, Gmail image templates, Gmail single promotion templates and Gmail multi-product templates within Editor.

Being able to create and edit all of these additional ad types within this program is a great timesaver.

Advanced Changes

Hidden away in the Edit dropdown are several options that you may have missed.

Change Capitalization

This is something that can be easily adjusted with some formulas in Excel, but being able to do this in Editor makes these changes much easier.

Select the area of the ads (or campaign, ad group, extension) that you want to adjust by selecting the item in the left navigation bar and then selecting Edit > Change Capitalization. Select the portion where you want to adjust the capitalization.

Select the type of capitalization you would like. Select “make changes in duplicate items” or “select newly created items” if those apply.

 Change URLs

If you need to quickly change URLs or tracking template information, there is now another way to do that other than the find/replace function.

Naviagate to the ads or extensions that you want to change in the left navigation. Select Edit > Change URLs.

Select the URL or tracking template that you want to adjust and the adjustment you want to make. Select the “make changes in duplicate items” and “select newly created items” and apply the updates.

Change Bids

This is an adjustment that could be made in the AdWords interface once you have uploaded your changes, but you can also go ahead and set your keyword bids to your desired bids right in Editor.

Navigate to the ad group or keywords that you want to adjust in the left navigation. Select Edit in the top drop-down > Change Bids. Select Max CPC or Max CPV.

There are a good number of options available for adjustments that are similar to what you would find in the interface. This feature allows you to have all of your keyword bids set properly before uploading.

Conclusion

All of these features really streamline the workflow capabilities in AdWords Editor. I hope this helps you to save time when working in Editor.

If you want to see more ways to save time in your work days, check out the series of posts we did on automation and time-saving strategies.

What tips do you have for saving time in AdWords Editor? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.