Troubleshooting performance fluctuations and changes in Smart campaigns

In this article, we’ll outline different reasons for Smart campaign fluctuations and changes, why they may lead to changes in campaign performance over time and how you can use the tools in your Google Ads account to understand what’s driving these changes.

Keep in mind: It’s normal for your campaign performance to vary.

Six common reasons why your performance is fluctuating

1. Recent changes to account or campaign settings

Editing any account or campaign settings, such as budget, keyword themes, search terms, ad text, landing page, location targeting and ad scheduling can change your performance.

Learn more in 'Smart campaign performance fluctuations: Changes to account or campaign settings'.

2. Budget settings

Your campaign may be more likely to have performance fluctuations when its budget is limited.

Learn more in 'Smart campaign performance fluctuations: Budget settings'.

3. Low creative coverage and diversity

Smart campaigns are created using the assets that you upload, so it’s important to ensure that you have a diverse set of creatives across ad formats.

Learn more in 'Smart campaign performance fluctuations: Creative coverage and diversity'.

4. Targeting settings and overlaps

If your campaign is targeting a smaller subset of users with very specific keyword themes, location, ad schedule or language settings, it may also be more likely to have performance fluctuations. You may have multiple Smart campaigns in your account that are eligible to enter overlapping auctions due to similar keyword themes or other targeting.

Learn more in 'Smart campaign performance fluctuations: Targeting'.