Create rules and add display variants

Rules help you reach the right audience with the right message, at the right time. Create rules based on various signals, then assign variants to those rules. You can create variants for your customizable project either before or after setting up rules.

Create rules

Rules use signals such as the customer's location or topics of interest to determine when they apply.

1. Open the project you want to work on, then go to the Rules page.
2. Click Create rule.
3. Select the signal type you want to use.
4. A blank priority group table is added with your rule and a column for the signal type you selected. Optionally, add more signal types by clicking Add signal type.
5. Add signals for each signal type. For example, if you chose Location as a signal type, click Add location. The signal selection window opens.
6. Search, browse, or enter the specific signals that you want to add. You'll see a running list of all the signals you select or specify.
7. Click Apply.
8. Repeat the signal selection process as necessary for each signal type. Every row must have at least one signal specified for each signal type you add.

To set up another rule, click Add row.

Add multiple signals

You can add multiple signals to a row.

• If you add multiple signals of the same type (that is, within the same table cell), your rule will apply when any of those signals match (an "OR" relationship).
• If you add multiple signals of different types (that is, in different table cells), your rule will apply when all of the signal types match (an "AND" relationship).

Example

The below row applies when the location is either San Francisco or Oakland, and only during June 2022 for either location.

Rule limits

A project can have up to 100 rows.

When you export your project, some ad platforms may expand the rules table so that each combination of signals is counted as a separate rule. A project can have up to 200 rules after expansion. Projects with rows containing complex sets of signals may reach this limit before 100 rows.

Example

Upon export, the row below would expand into 2 rules, one specific to San Francisco and the other one to Oakland, both with the June 2022 schedule.

Edit rules and signals

You can change rules by editing or removing signals, or deleting rows and signal types.

Edit a single rule

• To change the signals in a cell, click Edit in the cell.
• To remove a specific signal, click Dismissnext to the signal.
• To delete a row, select the checkbox to the left of the row, then click Delete at the top of the table.
• To delete a signal type, hover over the column header for the signal type, click MoreDelete.

Edit signals in bulk

Bulk editing lets you make changes to signals in multiple rows.

1. Select the checkbox next to each row that you want to edit.
2. Click Edit Edit signals at the top of the table. The Edit signals panel opens.
3. Make any changes you want to apply to all of the selected rows:
   • Add signals that should be added to all selected rows.
   • Delete signals that should be removed from all selected rows.
4. Click Apply.

The Edit signals panel lists all signals included across all selected rows, and doesn't indicate when different rows contain different signals. Only signals that you explicitly add within the panel will be added to all selected rows.

Filter rules

If you're working with a lot of rules, you may find it helpful to filter the rules table to show only certain rows.

When you apply filters:

• Only the rows that match your filter are shown in the rules table.
• The other rows still exist, but are hidden from view.
• You won't be able to edit any rows that are hidden from view until you remove the filters that are hiding them.

Add filters

1. Click Filter at the top right of the table. The field opens at the top of the table.
2. Click Add filter. A menu pops up.
3. Select the type of filter you want to apply. For example, you can filter by signal assignment, signal name, variant assignment, variant name, asset assignment, or asset name.
4. Specify the values you want to use to filter rules.
5. Click Apply.

Only rows that match the active filters will show in the table. You can add multiple filters by repeating the steps above.

Remove filters

• To remove a single filter, click Dismiss next to the filter.
• To remove all filters, click Remove all filters at the right end of the field.

Set rule priorities

When you create your first rule, it's automatically added to a priority group. If you only have one priority group, all rules in the group have the same priority.

When you want to prioritize rules, you can add your highest priority rules in your first priority group, then add broader rules for each lower priority group. Google's ad servers will look for a match starting from the first priority group in the list. If no match is found for your first priority group, the next group is checked for matches, and so on.

If none of your rules match, a default variant will run if you set one. If you export your project without setting any default variants, a Display & Video 360 user will need to set one before they can publish the creative.

For more information, go to How Display & Video 360 chooses which ad variant to show.

Add priority groups

If you want to prioritize certain rules, add your highest priority rules to your first priority group, then put lower priority rules in priority groups below it. Google's ad servers will look for a match starting from the first priority group in the list. If no match is found for your first priority group, the group below it is checked for matches, and so on.

1. Click Add priority group. Note: Only one group can be open at a time. When you create a new group, the previous group will close.
2. Select the signal type you want to use for the first rule in the group.
3. A blank priority group table is added with your rule and a column for the signal type you selected. Optionally, add more signal types and rules.
4. Repeat these steps if you want to add more lower priority groups. Keep in mind that the rules in each lower priority group should be less specific than the rules in each higher priority group. If you add rules that always match in a high priority group, your lower priority groups will never be matched.

Change the order of priority groups

You can change the order of your rules at any time. Make sure the rules in your top-most priority group have the narrowest rules, or the rules in the groups below it may never have a chance to match.

1. Find the priority group you want to change.
2. There are two ways to change a priority group's order:
   • Click Reorder table menuand drag the priority group to move it up or down.
   • Click Reorder table menuon the priority group. A menu opens. Click Move up or Move down.

Rename a priority group

1. Find the priority group you want to change.
2. Click MoreRename. A window opens with the current priority group name.
3. Enter the new name for the priority group.
4. Click Apply.

Copy a priority group

When you're using similar rules, you can save time by creating a copy of a priority group. When you create a copy, your rules and signals are copied, but assigned variants aren't copied.

1. Find the priority group you want to make a copy of.
2. Click MoreCopy. A copy of the priority group is created below the first group. "(Copy)"  is added to the end of the name. All signal rows are copied from the original priority group, but no variants are assigned.

Delete a priority group

1. Find the priority group you want to delete.
2. Click MoreDelete. A window opens asking you to confirm that you want to permanently delete the group.
3. Click Delete to remove the group permanently. If you don't want to delete the group, click Cancel to go back.

Priority group limits

You can add up to 10 priority groups per project.

Add variants

Once you've added rules, you can add variants to each row. The signals for each row will determine intended audience or context for the variant.

1. Click Add variant in the row with the rule you want to apply. Any existing variants for the project will be displayed.
2. Create a new variant, duplicate an existing variant, or select an existing variant.
   • To create a new variant, click Create variant, enter the new variant name, then click Save. You'll be able to add assets to the variant later.
   • To make a copy of an existing variant, select the variant, then click Copy variant.
   • To find an existing variant, you can search for the variant name in the Search field, or view only variants that are currently assigned or unassigned to the current rule by selecting the appropriate filters.
3. Repeat the previous step to add additional variants. You can assign multiple variants to the same row to enable creative rotation. You can also assign the same variant to more than one row.
4. Click Apply to add all of the selected variants to the row.

Multiple variants assigned to a row

If you assign more than one variant to a row, you'll see "Variants assigned" with the number of variants in parentheses, and additional rows below for each assigned variant. These additional rows contain no signals and don't count against your row limit. You can use these rows to edit variants.

Set default ad variants

Default ad variants run when none of your rules match. If you set more than one default variant, they'll be evenly rotated.

You're not required to set a default variant, but it's recommended. If you export a project to Display & Video 360 that doesn't have a default variant, a Display & Video 360 user will need to choose one before they can publish and run your creative.

1. Find the "Default" group at the end of your list of rules.
2. Click Expand to open the default variants table. Note: Only one group can be open at a time. When you open a different group, the previous group will close.
3. Find the "Variant name" column.
4. Click Add variant. A page loads with any existing variants for the project.
5. Select one or more variants to serve when none of your rules match.
6. Click Apply to add all of the selected variants.

Edit variants

When a variant is assigned to a row, the rules table displays the assets for each swappable element. You can swap out assets directly within the rules table to edit those variants.

Edit a single variant

• To swap out an asset, click Edit next to the asset.
• To remove an asset, click Remove next to the asset.
• To rename a variant, click Rename next to the variant name.

Edit assets in bulk

Bulk editing is useful when you want to use the same asset in multiple variants.

1. Select the checkbox next to each variant that you want to edit.
2. Click Edit Edit assets at the top of the table. The Edit assets panel opens.
3. For each asset that you want to change:
   • To swap out an asset for all selected variants, click Edit next to the asset. For text, enter new text in the field.
   • To remove an asset from all selected variants, click Remove next to the asset.
4. Click Apply.

If you edit or remove assets in a row displaying "Variants assigned" to indicate multiple variants, your changes will affect all of the variants assigned to that row.

If you don't want to see the assets for each variant in the rules table, click Hide Assets at the top of the table.

Preview variants

You can preview variants on the Rules page in the bottom panel.

Select a rule to see a preview of the assigned variant. You can select multiple rows, as well as rows with multiple variant assignments.

The preview panel only shows one variant at a time.

• If you selected multiple variants, click the left or right arrows next to the preview to view other variants, or use the first dropdown to select a specific variant.
• If your project has multiple sizes, select which size you want to preview by selecting it from the second dropdown.

You can resize the preview panel by dragging the handle at the top of the pane upward or downward.

Reassign and unassign variants

You can change your variant assignments.

• To assign a different variant or assign additional variants, click Edit next to the variant name and select the variants that you want to assign.
• To unassign a single variant, click Dismiss next to the variant name.
• To unassign all variants from a row with multiple variants, click Remove .

Save rules

Once you're done with the rules page, click Save. Your next steps may vary.

• If you want to view all your variants, go to the Variants page.
• If you're done making changes to your project, you can review it.