Google Ads Editor: Making Bulk Changes Offline

What Google Ads Editor is

In the words of Google's own overview, Google Ads Editor is "a free, downloadable application for managing your Google Ads campaigns." The process Google describes is simple: "download one or more accounts, make changes offline, then upload the changes to Google Ads." Nothing you change in Editor reaches your live account until you post it, so you can work in draft, review everything and only then publish.

Google lists what the app is good for, including bulk editing tools, searching and replacing text across ad groups or campaigns, copying or moving items between ad groups and campaigns, undo and redo, managing several accounts at the same time and working offline. Google's 6 steps to using Google Ads Editor sum up the workflow: review your settings, download an account, make changes, optionally share proposed changes with colleagues, check changes, and post.

When it is worth using

Google says any advertiser can use it, but that it is "especially useful for accounts with multiple campaigns and long lists of keywords or ads." For a small business with one search campaign and a handful of ads, the website is usually enough. Editor starts to pay off when you:

• change the same text, URL or setting across many ads or ad groups (a new phone number, a seasonal offer, a moved landing page);
• add or update long keyword lists, for example after reviewing the search terms report (see our search terms and negative keywords guide);
• build a new campaign from a spreadsheet, or copy a proven ad group structure to another campaign;
• want a colleague or client to review the changes before anything goes live;
• manage several accounts, for example through a manager account.

If you are new to Google Ads itself, start with how Google Ads works; Editor speeds up the work but does not change how the auction, keywords or bidding work.

Install and download an account

Google's system requirements page says Google Ads Editor is available for 64-bit Windows 10 or later and macOS 13 or later. You download it from Google for your operating system; Google notes that the Windows version needs a 64-bit operating system.

Before your first edit, Google suggests reviewing the app settings, which include default targeting for new campaigns. Then download an account: open the accounts manager, add the account, and choose which part of it to download. Google points out that choosing Active downloads only active campaigns, "leaving paused, removed, and ended campaigns on the server." If you have a manager account, you sign in with the manager account and open the client accounts from its list. Google says Editor 11.0 and later can open several accounts side by side.

Keep it in sync with the website

Using Editor does not lock you out of the website. Google says you "can still sign in and make changes" at ads.google.com, and then download your recent changes so Editor has the latest version of the account. That step matters: Editor works on the copy you downloaded, so a change someone made on the website since then is not in it until you get recent changes.

Get recent changes offers Basic or More data. Google says Basic is usually faster when you work on a small set of campaigns, and More data when you work across many, and that More data adds bid estimates and Quality Score. Two warnings from Google: if a campaign with unposted changes is not in your download selection, "you'll lose the unposted changes" (Editor warns you and lets you cancel), and where a downloaded change conflicts with your local edit, you choose which version to keep. A full download (Account menu, Full download) overwrites the copy and discards every unposted change.

Bulk editing tools

Two tools do most of the bulk work:

• Replace text. Find and replace text works on the items you select within an account, campaign or ad group. Options include match case, match whole words only (Google's example: searching for cat ignores catnip), preserve capitalization, and making the changes in duplicate items instead of the originals. If you leave the replacement empty, the found text is removed.
• Make multiple changes. The make multiple changes tool takes a pasted or imported list of items to add, edit or remove, such as keywords with a CPC bid and final URL. Fields are separated by tabs or commas, and Google says that if you include a header row, the column headers must be in English.

Copying and moving keywords, ads and ad groups between campaigns works with copy and paste. Ad copy itself still has to meet the usual limits; our responsive search ads guide covers headlines and descriptions, and the sitelinks and assets guide covers the assets you may be adding in bulk.

Import and export CSV files

CSV files are how Editor talks to spreadsheets. To export, use the Account menu and export the whole account, selected campaigns and ad groups, or the current view. Google calls the CSV export useful "for sharing your account information with someone who doesn't use Google Ads Editor", and if you downloaded statistics, they are included.

To prepare a CSV file for import, Google's rules are:

• each row describes one item, such as a campaign, a targeted location or an ad;
• the first row is treated as the column header row, and Google recommends the standard Editor column names;
• several values in one cell are separated with semicolons, for example en;de for English and German;
• Editor "doesn't import XLS files", so save as CSV; from Excel, Google recommends Unicode Text encoding.

When you import a CSV file (Account, Import), Editor shows the column headers so you can correct them, previews up to 100 rows (larger files are still imported in full), and then shows the imported rows as proposed changes that you keep or reject. To edit existing ads without recreating them and losing their history, Google describes a #Original column method: the original value goes in a column tagged #Original, for example Headline#Original, and the new value in a plain Headline column. For changes that are not tiny, Google suggests exporting a CSV from Editor, editing it, and importing it back, which keeps the column names right.

Check changes and fix errors

Editor checks some issues while you work. In Google's error and warning checks, a red icon is an error: Editor "can't check or post the affected item" until you fix it or request an exception. A yellow icon is a warning that does not block posting, and a green icon after a check means the item passed Google Ads policy checks. Google adds that Editor "doesn't flag all editorial violations", so the ads policies still apply.

Before posting, run Check changes from the toolbar; you can select several accounts in the accounts manager. Google also suggests using the All unposted changes view filter to review unposted changes type by type before you post.

Post changes

To post changes, click Post, choose all campaigns or selected campaigns, review the summary and confirm. You can pause a post and resume it, post several accounts at once, and work on another account while one posts. Afterwards Editor shows a report including errors; campaigns and ad groups with changes that did not post "remain in bold type". Google says successful changes appear in the account immediately, with a possible slight delay before they show on the Google Network.

One caution from the same page: when you edit an ad in Editor, any field that exists in the Google Ads website but is not supported in Editor has its text stripped when you post. For those ad types Google recommends making the change in the website instead.

Undo and back up

Before posting, you can revert changes by right-clicking the changed rows. Google notes this is not a step-by-step undo: an item edited twice goes back to the version you last downloaded. A move counts as two changes, so reverting a moved keyword can remove it from the new ad group without putting it back in the old one. A full download also starts over.

After posting, Google says "there's no way to undo the changes automatically." The safety net is an archive file: export one before a large change, and if needed, import it to restore the account to that state. Make that a habit before any bulk edit.

What Editor does not do

Editor does not cover everything the website does. Google's feature table marks several features as limited or unsupported; for example, it says shared budgets are read-only in Editor and shared creatives need the website. Some entries in that table name older features, so treat it as a guide and check the item you plan to change. Google adds that types of changes vary by campaign type. Setting up what you measure is a separate job; see our conversion tracking guide.

A checklist

• Editor installed on a supported system, settings and default targeting reviewed.
• Get recent changes (or a full download) run before you start editing.
• Archive file exported before any large change.
• Bulk edits done with Replace text, Make multiple changes or a CSV exported from Editor.
• Imported rows reviewed as proposed changes before you keep them.
• Check changes run; all red errors fixed, yellow warnings read.
• Unposted changes reviewed with the view filter, then posted; post report checked for bold items.

FAQ

Is Google Ads Editor free?

Yes. Google describes it as a free, downloadable application for managing Google Ads campaigns.

Which computers does Google Ads Editor run on?

Google says it is available for 64-bit Windows 10 or later and macOS 13 or later.

Can I still use the Google Ads website while I use Editor?

Yes. Google says you can keep making changes on the website. Get recent changes in Editor before you edit, so you work on the latest version of the account.

Do my changes go live as soon as I make them in Editor?

No. Changes stay in Editor until you post them. Google recommends running Check changes first.

Can I undo changes after posting them?

Not automatically. Google says the way back is an archive file you exported before the change, which you import to restore the account.

Can Editor import an Excel file?

Not as XLS. Google says Editor does not import XLS files, so save the sheet as CSV; from Excel, Google recommends Unicode Text encoding.

Want help running or cleaning up a Google Ads account? See our services or email [email protected].