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Pace, forecasts and budget changes

Pacing Console compares each campaign's spend with what it should have spent by the hour the number was pulled, projects the month-end total from that run rate, and on Pro lets you queue a new daily budget that the Google Ads or Microsoft Ads script applies on its next run.

Set budgets and change a daily budget

  1. Open a campaign
    On the Pacing page, press a campaign row, or press Add campaign.
  2. Set the budget and schedule
    Enter the Monthly budget and choose Runs on: All days or Weekdays. Optional: Flight starts and Flight ends, Target cost per conversion, Client or group, and Platform campaign ID so the match survives a rename.
  3. Plan different months
    Open Budget plan by month to set a different amount for any of the next 6 months. Empty months use the monthly budget. Press Save.
  4. Queue a new daily budget (Pro)
    For a Google Ads or Microsoft Ads campaign, go to Change the daily budget in the platform, enter the New daily budget and an optional Reason, and press Queue change. You can also press Apply in platform on a recommendation.
  5. Let the script apply it
    The next hourly run of the script applies the change. The change log under the form shows Waiting for the next script run, then Applied or Failed. Press Cancel to withdraw a change that is still waiting.

How the numbers work

NumberWhat it means
ExpectedThe share of the budget that should be spent by the hour the spend was pulled, counting only active days (weekdays only for a Weekdays schedule) inside the flight dates.
PaceSpend divided by expected spend. 100% is exactly on plan.
ProjectedThe month-end spend if the campaign keeps its month-to-date run rate.
Daily to hitThe daily budget that spends exactly what is left by month end. Below it, set shows the daily budget in the platform today.
Most in one dayWhat the platform may spend in one day at that setting: about 2 times the daily budget for Google Ads and Microsoft Ads and 1.5 times for LinkedIn Ads.

Statuses: On pace, Overpacing, Underpacing, Over budget, Not started, No data, Paused and Not in flight. A campaign is flagged when pace is outside 100% plus or minus your Pacing tolerance (%).

Insights (Pro)

The Insights page adds a Forecast spend range from the month-to-date run rate and the last 7 complete days, Vs budget, Forecast conversions and Needed per day; the Spend against plan chart; Daily spend by channel; every recommendation with its dollar impact; Channel efficiency; and Month over month. The forecast range appears after a few days of history.

Good to know

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