Specify Google Ads location targets via bulksheet

In Google Ads campaigns, you can specify location targets and adjust bids by geographic locations. Google Ads ad groups always inherit these targets. That is, you can't specify location targets in a Google Ads group. 

Specify Google Ads campaign location targets in a bulksheet

1. Download the list of Google Ads geo codes: XLSX / CSV.
2. Navigate to a Google Ads account. 
   We recommend that you set at least one location target using the Search Ads 360 user interface before you download a bulksheet to add location targets.
3. Click the Campaigns tab.
4. Do either of the following to select the campaigns that you want to update:
   • Select the check boxes of the campaigns.
   • Filter the list to include only the campaigns that you want.
5. Download a report.
   1. Click the download icon , which appears above the reporting table.
   2. On the Download report tab, do the following:
      • Report name. Enter a report name or use the default name.
      • Scope. Use the default selection which is either Current selection in table or Current scope.
      • Format. Click the arrow and select a file format. Excel 2007 (.xlsx) is selected by default. 
      • Columns. Don't change the default option which is Editable columns (for re-upload).
      •  Include types:
        •  Clear the Campaigns check box. 
          If you include campaigns and ad groups in the bulksheet, it will include location columns for Country, Region, Metro, and City.  In the Country column you could see, US | CA;-90% in a campaign that targets the United States, and decreases bids by 90% to target Canada. 

          While you can specify location targets and bid adjustments, in the columns of a campaign row, we recommend using location target rows instead because you can enter all location types in the Location column.
        • Select the Campaign location targets check box.
   3. Optional. Select other options.
   4. Click Download.
6. In the bulksheet, specify location target settings in the appropriate columns: 
   1. Add a location target row for each location target  or edit existing location target rows.
      For example, to target Indiana and Denmark with a campaign named, Campcar, you'd enter US-IN in one location target row, and enter DK in a different location target row.
   2. Optional. In the Location bid adjustment % column, enter a percent to adjust the default bid.

7. Upload the bulksheet back into Search Ads 360.

Bulksheet columns for campaign location targets

Column name	Description
Row Type	To create or edit a positive location target, enter location target.  To create or edit an excluded location target, enter negative location target.
Action	Enter create to add a location target. Enter edit to change a bid adjustment. Enter deactivate to remove a location target.
Campaign	Enter a campaign name.
Location	Enter a geo code. For areas in the US, you can also enter a 5-digit ZIP code, and for the UK, Germany, and India, you can enter a 5-digit postal code.
Location bid adjustment %	Enter a percent from -90% to 900%. Applicable only for positive location targets.
Advertiser	Enter an advertiser name.
Account	Enter an account name.

 

Specify Google Ads negative location targets using a bulksheet

1. Navigate to a Google Ads account or campaign.
2. Click the Targets ▼ tab, and then click Location targets.
3. Click the Excluded tab.
4. Download a report.
   1. Click the download icon , which appears above the reporting table.
   2. On the Download report tab, do the following:
      • Report name. Enter a report name or use the default name.
      • Scope. Use the default selection which is either Current selection in table or Current scope.
      • Format. Click the arrow and select a file format. Excel 2007 (.xlsx) is selected by default. 
      • Columns. Don't change the default option which is Editable columns (for re-upload).
      •  Include types:
        • The Negative campaign location targets check box is selected for you.
   3. Optional. Select other options.
   4. Click Download.
5. In the bulksheet, specify negative location target settings in the appropriate columns: 
   1. Add a negative location target row for each location target that you want to exclude.
      For example, to exclude Indiana and Denmark from a campaign named, Campcar, you'd enter US-IN in one negative location target row, and enter DK in a different negative location target row.
6. Upload the bulksheet back into Search Ads 360.

If you exclude a location, you are also required to specify at least one location to include. That is, you can't specify only excluded locations.

Example

In the following example, the campaign nameed Camp1 displays ads in the United States state of Kanasas, and excludes the city of Altamont, Kansas.

Row Type	Action	Campaign	Location	Location bid adjustment %	Advertiser
location target	edit	Camp1	US-KS	20%	Adv1
negative location target	edit	Camp1	Altamont, US-KS, US		Adv1

 

 

Other Google Ads location target columns that appear in a downloaded report

If you download Google Ads campaigns and ad groups in a bulksheet, it will include the following location target-related columns. You can specify location targets in the columns, but we recommend using location target rows and columns instead.

• Country
• Region
• Metro
• City
• Excluded country
• Excluded region
• Excluded metro
• Excluded city

You can change the value in each location-targeting column to the following:

• empty
  When you edit an existing campaign and leave a column empty, Search Ads 360 keeps the current setting as is (that is, an empty value means “do not change”). When you create a new campaign and leave all of these columns empty, the campaign targets all locations, which is the Google Ads default.

• A list of geo codes, each separated by | (vertical bar)
  Specifies location targets to include and exclude. Be sure to specify country geo codes in the Country column, region codes in the Region column, and so on.

  If you are excluding an area using the Excluded bulksheet columns, it is not necessary to preface geo codes for the excluded area with a minus sign. For example, to exclude Canada from ads, in the Excluded country column, type just CA.

  If you exclude a location, you are also required to specify at least one location to include. That is, you can't specify only excluded locations.

  
  To automatically adjust the max CPC bids by location target, specify a bid adjustment percentage; enter the geo code for the location targets and separate the bid adjustment percentage with a semicolon (;).
  
  The range for bid modifiers is -90% to 900%. For example, to target the United States and Canada, but decrease bids in Canada, you would enter the following in the Country column:

   

  Country
  US | CA;-90%

  
  You can target specific ZIP or postal codes in the US, UK, Germany, and India by entering the code in a campaign's Metro column.
   

  Metro
  60613 | 705;+85% | 10318 | N16

• remove_content
  Removes any previously specified geo codes from the column. For example, if you specify remove_content in the Country column, the campaign no longer targets countries. If you remove the geo codes from all four location columns, the campaign returns to the Google Ads default setting of targeting US (United States).

• (inherited)
  For ad groups only. Because ads groups always inherit location targets, the location target columns are read-only and always display (inherited).

Effective location targeting columns

Each targeting column in a bulksheet is accompanied by a read-only effective column. These columns display the targeting that is currently in effect for each campaign and ad group.

Location:

• Effective country
• Effective region
• Effective metro
• Effective city
• Effective excluded country
• Effective excluded region
• Effective excluded metro
• Effective excluded city

Because Google Ads ad groups always inherit the location targeting setting from the campaign, the ad group’s effective columns display the value that’s being inherited.

For example, the Country column is accompanied by the Effective country column. If an ad group is inheriting location targets from a campaign, and if the campaign is targeting US and CA, the ad group’s Country and Effective country columns contain the following:

Country	Effective country
(inherited)	US | CA