Automated rules let you make changes in your account automatically, based on the settings and conditions you choose. Read below about customizable run frequency and flexible date ranges and how to use them in your daily workflow.
Run Frequency
Run Frequency determines when and how frequently the rule will run. It is no longer fixed to one particular time. You can configure the rule to run every day in the evenings, weekly at weekends, or even once a month on a certain day and time all by yourself from your own account!
Let's consider an example.
You own a hotel booking app and know that people search for bookings mostly on Friday evenings, so you would like to increase keyword bids at this time of the week.
Now, you can do that via an automated rule. Just set Run Frequency as Weekly > on Fridays, at 8 P.M., and your rule will run every Friday at 8 P.M., raising CPT bids when your target users are most active.
What options are available?
When creating or editing a rule, you can select one of the available options:
a. Once – The rule will run only once on the selected date and time.
b. Hourly
Every 3 hours – The rule will run every 3 hours, starting from the earliest possible time: 12 AM, 3 AM, 6 AM, 9 AM, 12 P.M., 3 P.M., 6 P.M. or 9 P.M.
Every 6 hours – The rule will run every 6 hours, starting from the earliest possible time – 12 A.M., 6 A.M., 12 P.M. or 6 P.M.
Every 12 hours – The rule will run every 12 hours, starting from the earliest possible time – 12 AM or 12 PM.
c. Daily – The rule will run every N days at the selected time, where N can be chosen from:
Every day
Every 2 days
Every 3 days
Every 4 days
Every 5 days
Every 6 days
Every 7 days
Every 10 days
Every 14 days
Every 30 days
d. Weekly
Every week – The rule will run every week on the selected day and time.
Odd weeks – The rule will run every odd week on the selected day and time.
Even weeks – The rule will run every even week on the selected day and time*.
* Weeks are calculated from the beginning of the year.
e. Monthly – The rule will run every month on the selected day and time.
Can I run the rule just after I created it?
Yes, you can use the option Run this rule right now. If you select it, the rule will run right after you save it and then will continue running in accordance with the set frequency.
Can I change Run Frequency after the rule is already created?
Yes, you can edit the created rule and change Run Frequency. You can do it by clicking the Edit icon near the rule you would like to edit.
Where can I see the set Run Frequency for all my rules?
The set Run Frequency will be displayed on the Automation page in the Run Frequency & Date Range column.
What time zone will be used?
Scheduling is based on your account time zone.
Date Range
This option will set what period the rule should check for the selected conditions. There are three new options here: previous 60 days, previous 90 days, and, most importantly, custom date range.
What options are available now?
Note. All the options with "previous" (for example, previous 14 days) don’t include today, while the options with "same" include it.
What is Custom Date Range?
The custom date range option lets you check the data for a number of days excluding the days you specify. You can use this option to exclude a certain time period or set a custom date period that is not available in the presets.
Use case 1. Excluding days (offsets)
Example:
You have a hotel booking app. For the past 7 days, you had a special promotion. You want the rule to check the data for 30 days but don’t want to take the last 7 days into account.
So you enter 37 as the number of days to count back from today and exclude the last 7 days from this range. The rule will then check the data for 30 30-day time period but with an offset of 7 days.
Note. When using a custom date range:
Keep in mind that the system considers the number of days, not specific dates,
Count days back including today.
Use case 2. Custom range —number of days not available among preset options.
Example:
You want the rule to check the data from the previous 10 days and this option is not available in the presets.
So you enter 10 as the number of days to count back from today and exclude 0 days from this range.
What is the maximum date range you can set for the rules to look back at?
180 days
What is Same Day?
The same day includes the time from 12 A.M. to 11.59 P.M. of the current day.
Can I change Date Range after the rule is created?
Yes, you can edit the created rule and change the set date range. Click the Edit icon next to the rule you would like to edit.
Where can I see the set Date Range?
The set date range will be displayed on the Automation dashboard in the Run Frequency & Date Range column.
What time zone will be used?
Scheduling is based on your account time zone.