Google Ads Previewer Tool [FREE Download]

PPC Article

Preview Google Ads in Google Sheets.

Google Ads, love it or loath it, we all have our individual opinions on it and most of the bugbears are well justified. Like Google’s mission to hide more and more data from advertisers to push us towards automation. Looking at you, Performance Max.(Though, we see you Google, giving us some control back…)

Personally, my main annoyance is not being able to visualise ad copy in situ for my team or clients, before going through the campaign creation process or upload. Even with all the recent improvements to Google Ads Editor, preview options are super limited and not very helpful.

We needed a tool to solve this gripe. So we built one. ✅

The method behind the madness

Spreadsheets are my thing. If it can be built in a spreadsheet, you bet I’ll build it.

With simple formatting, the clever use of randomising formulas, and a custom-built Google Apps script to build ad combinations as close to the way Google would do it, we’re now able to visualise our ad copy holistically at ad group, campaign or account level.

Quite simply, you name your ad groups, build out your ad copy (URL, headlines, paths, descriptions), select which ad groups you want to view and how many variations, and hey presto! You’re ready to proof your ads and see how they’ll look on the SERPs - as are your clients or whoever signs off your ads. Which we know is paramount.

This spreadsheet bodes a few useful features to help you along the way. The main one being the shuffling of Responsive Ads in an attempt to replicate the potential combinations of assets - this was a key one for us, and our clients. Other helpful features include:

Ad completion tracking
Adjustable settings to accommodate up to 3 RSAs per ad group
Supports Dynamic Keyword Insertion
Able to “pin” headlines and descriptions
Character count highlight across assets
Easily duplicate to use across your client base
Troubleshooting for the previewing area

After using this tool for a couple of years, it’s certainly saved us time and streamlined our process so much more. We’ve even adapted it further. Clients now use this as an ad copy proofing tool prior to the build/launch of any campaigns. They can load it up, choose which ad groups to review the copy for as it would be served to their prospective customers, then sign off to upload. If there’s something they want changing, they can leave feedback in real-time, especially through Google’s nifty commenter access feature.

Streamline your process. Download your new previewer

Wew, you’ve made it.

Whether you want to adopt this tool into your current process, criticise it (please, let us know your thoughts) or show your boss and take full credit, feel free to download a copy of your new Google Ads previewer tool. If you get stuck on using it, feel free to reach out, it’s what we’re here for.

Download Now