Monitoring and updating Google Ads manually can take up your whole work week. While automated rules help to an extent, Google Ads scripts will really boost your efficiency.

Google Ads scripts automate many reporting, optimisation, and performance tasks in Google Ads, saving you masses of time. They’ve been around for a while; back in 2021, we published our first list of 102 Google Ads scripts to boost PPC performance.

But not all these scripts are relevant or useful in 2024. The PPC world is rapidly changing, especially with the introduction of Performance Max and other automated campaign types.

With thousands of scripts available, it’s not always easy to know which ones are genuinely useful. So we’ve handpicked a list of 28 essential Google Ads scripts for campaign management in 2024 and beyond.

But before we start, let’s cover the basics: what are Google Ads Scripts, and how can they benefit performance marketers? Let’s dive in.

What are Google Ads scripts?

Google Ads scripts are snippets of JavaScript code that run specific Google Ads tasks automatically. You can customise them to return the exact information or perform the specific task you need.

Scripts can be used in all sorts of ways. You can create ad groups, update your bid strategy, retrieve campaign stats, and set ad schedules, all via Google Ads scripts.

This example script is designed to show you all the keywords currently in a specific ad group:

Google Ads scripts can also interact with other programs to give you more PPC automation flexibility. Bulk upload campaigns from a spreadsheet or Google Drive, export reports to a spreadsheet, and even run multi-channel reports with data from Google Analytics.

Basically, if there’s a task you want to perform in Google Ads, there’s probably a script that can do it for you.

Despite their appearance, you don’t need to be a coding expert to use Google Ads scripts. While they look very technical, they’re pretty easy to use once you get the hang of them. You won’t need to develop your own script — many codes are freely available and work straight out of the box.

The benefits of Google Ads scripts 

If you’re not yet using Google Ads scripts in your campaigns, here are four ways they can benefit performance marketers:

• Save time — Scripts can save you hours in manual work every week. Rather than scouring through campaigns one-by-one, a few lines of code will do the work for you.
• Spot errors — It’s easy to make mistakes, especially if you’re working with several campaigns or clients at once. Scripts can pick up errors and notify you, so you can find a quick resolution.
• Increase efficiency — Use scripts to make sure only the highest performing campaigns are running, reducing wasted budget and improving efficiency. 
• Boost campaign performance — Quickly deploy new campaigns without spending hours on setup, and get regular performance reports for continual optimisation. 

How to add scripts to your Google Ads account

Here’s a step-by-step guide to installing Google Ads scripts in your account.

1. In your Google Ads account, click Tools in the left-hand panel. Navigate to Bulk Actions, then Scripts.

2. Click the + icon to add a new script.

3. Paste the script code into the editor box and make any necessary amendments. When complete, click Authorize to give the script permission to access your campaigns.

4. Click Preview in the bottom right corner to run the script. See potential changes and results in the Changes/Logs panel.

5. When you’re happy with your results, click Run.

Now that you know what Google Ads Scripts are and how to add them to your account, let’s run through our list of 28 favourites from around the web, handpicked for 2024. 

High-impact Google Ads scripts for 2024

Let’s start with the Google Ads scripts that are likely to offer the most value for PPC specialists in 2024. Originally compiled by Google Ads experts Miles McNair and Bob Meijer, the eight Google Ads scripts below are highly relevant to almost all brands and advertisers.

Bob and Miles have worked for more than 200 clients, and profitably spent over €100M on Google Ads. They manage Google Ads campaigns every day, and all their insights are based on real, practical experience.

Note: At Lunio, we often partner with Bob and Miles to create industry-leading content focused on paid media. Check out our Profitable Performance Max webinar with Miles, and download our Expert Guide to Performance Max for more insights. Plus, sign up to Bob and Miles’s newsletter The PPC Edge to stay up to date with the latest developments and trends.

1. Performance Max spend allocation script by Mike Rhodes 

One of the biggest downsides of PMax is you can’t see how your budget is being split across Search, Display, Discovery, YouTube and Shopping. And that’s a huge missing piece.

Thankfully, Mike Rhodes from AgencySavvy has built an amazing script that creates graphs and tables that visualise PMax spend across Shopping, Video, Display, and Search.

Image Credit: Miles McNair

After setting up the script in your account you should analyse the data at least once a week to quickly take action on any new insights it gives you.

2. Labelizer script by Flowboost

Flowboost’s Labelizer script is designed to segment your PMax performance data based on performance. Configure the script with your target performance metrics and a date range, and the script will filter your products into four categories:

• Index — Products that perform on target.
• Over-index — Products that overperform.
• Near-index — Products that perform near their target.
• Under-index — Products that underperform.

Image Credit: Miles McNair

You can then create labelled charts based on product performance. This is a fantastic way to visualise and compare PMax results while reporting capabilities in PMax itself are limited.

3. Change history alert script by Nils Rooijmans

Get notified whenever someone makes a change in your Google Ads account. This is helpful if you’re working with clients or colleagues with edit access, or ad recommendations are applied automatically.

When you run the script, you’ll receive a list of changes. Check this against your expected actions and determine whether these changes are beneficial.

4. Quality score tracker script by Martin Roettgerding

This useful Google Ads script lets you see how your Google Ads Quality Scores have changed over time. The script saves the data in a spreadsheet, so you can check the history whenever you like.

Martin at PPC Epiphany recommends that you run this script daily to collect consistent data.

5. Zero impressions script by Tibbe Van Asten

If you’re managing several accounts and don’t have time to check them all every day, this script is a great way to get alerts for accounts or campaigns that might need particular attention. You’ll be notified if a campaign you’re running received zero impressions the previous day.

6. Standard deviation anomaly detector by Bas Baudoin

Like the Zero Impressions script above, this anomaly detector script is ideal if you’re managing lots of different accounts. If the script detects unusual campaign performance, you’ll receive an alert so you can check out any discrepancies.

Google offers its own anomaly detection script, but this enhanced version takes general account volatility into account, reducing the number of red herring alerts you’ll receive.

7. Link checker script by Tibbe Van Asten 

The cost of broken links can quickly add up when you’re running a Google Ads campaign. If a landing page link breaks — even temporarily — this script will notify you immediately. This reduces wasted ad spend and minimises the risk of irritated potential customers. 

All sites throw up 404 errors occasionally, so every Google Ads account can benefit from running this link checker script.

8. N-Gram script by Brainlabs

Nils Rooijmans optimised this script, so he’s well-placed to explain what n-grams are:

“An n-gram is a phrase made of n words: a 1-gram is a single word, a 2-gram is a phrase made of two words, and so on. For example, “this four word phrase” contains three 2-grams (“this four,” “four word,” “word phrase”) and two 3-grams (“this four word” and “four word phrase”).”

This script mines for specific n-grams and shows you the clicks, impressions, costs, and conversions of each query containing it. It also calculates click-through rate, cost-per-click, conversion rate, cost-per-acquisition and value/cost to give you a true picture of the impact of each n-gram.

With this information, you can find new keyword and ad group ideas, as well as adding any relevant negatives to your campaign.

Now we’ve highlighted the eight highest impact scripts, let’s dive into some other script categories which can save time and boost performance.

Bid management scripts 

Looking for a faster way to optimise your bids? These scripts are excellent bid management tools for keeping you on budget.

9. 24/7 bidding script by Tibbe Van Asten 

Google’s ad scheduling tool offers six different default bidding time periods. If you want to schedule your bids at more specific times, use this 24/7 bidding script to adjust your bids by the hour.

10. Pause overspending locations script by Optmyzr

Curb excess spending in specific locations with this script that allows you to automatically pause ads in certain areas. Set your spend limit for each location to ensure the right users are seeing your ads.

11. Bid adjustment script by KlientBoost

Use one of these two bid adjustment scripts to either increase or decrease your bids automatically. This allows you to constantly finetune your bids for ultimate optimisation, ensuring maximum performance for minimum spend.

View the increased bid adjustment script and the decreased bid adjustment script.

12. Bid testing script by Google

Google creates its own scripts that you can customise as needed. With this bid testing script, you can experiment with different bid levels to see which works best for your chosen keywords.

This script uses specific multipliers to automatically adjust your keyword bids, then records the results so you can decide which bids to apply.

Reporting scripts

Accurate reporting is essential for optimising PPC campaigns. Generate reports rapidly with these Google Ads reporting scripts for 2024.

13. Ad performance report script by Google

Compare the performance of your existing ad headlines or display URLs based on click-through rate. Use this data to optimise your ad copy for a higher CTR.

14. Ad spend report script by Remko van der Zwaag

As marketing budgets continue to be squeezed, it’s important to keep a close eye on your ad spend. This script will send you regular updates detailing ad spend, cost-per-acquisition, conversion, and recommended daily spend.

15. Search query report script by Google

Need some help finding negative (or target) keywords for your campaigns? This search query script compares search term performance to create keywords lists you can add or remove from your campaigns.

16. Declining ad groups report script by Google

Monitor performance of your ad groups with Google’s declining ad groups report script. This report notifies you if an enabled ad group within an enabled campaign has a CTR that’s been decreasing for three (or more) consecutive weeks.

17. Heatmap creation tool by Brainlabs

If you prefer visual data over spreadsheets and lists, this heatmap creation tool will be invaluable. The script converts your Google Ads data into a Google Sheets heatmap, and uses it to suggest bid adjustments.

18. Advanced Google Ads forecasting script by Wesley Parker

Forecasting is essential in marketing, especially when the spotlight is on your ad spend. Save time on PPC forecasting with this excellent script, which uses your existing data to create a forecast for the year ahead.

Analysis scripts

Put your data to better use with these analysis scripts for Google Ads. These scripts are designed to keep your account data clean and ensure your campaigns run efficiently.

19. Pause suspicious ads by hoofay

According to our Wasted Ad Spend Report 2024, invalid traffic (IVT) is the third biggest problem for PPC marketers. If your campaigns are being affected by high volumes of invalid traffic, this script can automatically pause ads with a high amount of suspicious activity.

20. Advanced broken URL checker by Dmytro Tonkikh

Check for broken URLs in landing page links and sitelink extensions to avoid wasting money on clicks that don’t result in page views. Running this script will check all the links in your Google Ads account to alert you to any broken links.

21. Fix capitalization errors by Russ Savage

Capitalisation is important when setting up your ads, and errors can impact ad performance. Run this script to identify and fix capitalisation problems across your campaigns.

22. Delete disapproved ads by Russ Savage

Tackling disapproved ads can be time consuming, especially if you run multiple Google Ads accounts. If you’d rather remove disapproved ads from your accounts, run this script to delete them in just one click.

23. Correct date and time zone by Nathan Byloff

Discrepancies can occur if your account is in a different time zone to the data centre where the script is running. This script will coordinate your other scripts so they’re all running in the same time zone as your account.

Alerts scripts

Alerts scripts ensure you get urgent notifications about suspicious activity in your Google Ads account, so you can take action to rectify any issues.

24. High CPC bid alert script by Nils Rooijmans

Google Ads costs can fluctuate dramatically. Certain industries have sky-high cost-per-click rates, so watch your bids to make sure your campaign remains profitable. With this script, you’ll be alerted of any CPC bids that are particularly high.

25. Daily overdelivery alerts by Nils Rooijmans

Did you know Google Ads can spend up to twice your average daily budget? Rein in Google’s tendency to overspend with daily overdelivery alerts. You’ll be notified if Google’s latest daily budget change will cause Google to overspend.

Display Network scripts 

Google Display Network (GDN) isn’t always the most profitable channel. But with these scripts, you can keep a tight handle on your display campaigns and run them more efficiently.

26. Google Display Network placement analysis by Derek Martin

Find out more about the performance of your GDN ad placements with this customisable script. By default, you can check the placement of ads that meet any of the following criteria:

• Ads converting at less than $40.
• Placements that have cost more than $50 but have zero conversions.
• Placements with <5,000 impressions and <0.1% CTR.

27. Automatic placement exclusion by Google

Want to remove a specific GDN placement for your ads? This script will allow you to identify and remove underperforming placements, so you’re no longer spending money on them.

28. GDN placement cleaner by artakulov

GDN doesn’t always place your ads on the highest quality sites. Run this script to prevent your ads being shown on sites related to games and other irrelevant content.

Optimise your Google Ads performance with Lunio

Google Ads scripts help all PPC marketers save time and improve efficiency. But there are still lots of challenges to contend with, including wasting your budget on invalid traffic.

Certain scripts — such as the Pause Suspicious Ads script (#19) — can help you avoid wasting some of your ad spend on IVT. But by pausing your ads, you’re also missing out on any genuine users that might convert. So it’s not exactly a flawless system.

Lunio removes IVT from your Google Ads campaigns without you needing to pause or adjust them. It identifies and eliminates suspicious traffic before the click, helping you maximise conversions and boost PPC revenue. Using Lunio, the University of Miami reports IVT click reduction of more than 19%, leading to $107,500 in ad spend savings per month.