How Can I Exclude Periods for Bid Adjustments?

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Accessing the Function
3. Step-by-Step Guide
4. Limitations & Special Notes
5. Tips & Best Practices

Overview

With the Excluded Periods in Bid Adjustments setting, you define which date ranges should not be considered in data analysis. This is especially helpful for regularly recurring outliers such as special promotions, major sales events, or holidays whose performance data often does not represent normal business.

Accessing the Function

You’ll find this setting under Account Settings in the Tool Settings tab. Here you can manage the date ranges you want to exclude.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open Tool Settings

Go to your Account Settings and select the Tool Settings tab. There, besides other cross-functional settings for your account, you’ll find the section for managing exception dates.

Step 2: Add a New Period

Click on Add New Date Range. A new row will appear where you can enter your desired period. Enter a clear period description, such as “Black Friday.” You cannot save changes without a description. Next, use the calendar to set both the start and end dates. Both fields must be filled out. The selection will apply every year until you delete it. You can add as many periods as you need – for different events or holidays.

Step 3: Review and Edit the Period

Check the description and the selected date range you entered. You can edit both at any time. Multiple and even overlapping periods are possible if you want to exclude different activities close together.

Step 4: Remove a Period

If you want to remove an existing exclusion, click the Trash Can icon in the corresponding row. The period will be removed from the list. After saving, this exclusion will no longer apply.

Step 5: Save Your Changes

To confirm your current list of excluded periods, click Update. Your selected periods will be saved and your list will be replaced with the current selection. Successful changes are confirmed with the message "The periods were saved successfully." If saving fails, you’ll see the error message "The periods could not be saved. Please try again."

Note: In the Essential plan, the options Add New Date Range and Update are disabled and only available with an upgrade.

Step 6: Understand the Effect – Know the Expected Result

Directly in the Excluded Periods in Bid Adjustments area, you’ll find information about why and when this function applies. Performance data from the excluded periods will be ignored for all future bid and structure adjustments. This applies to recurring events until you manually remove the period. However, data from the past that has already been evaluated or saved will not be changed retroactively.

Limitations & Special Notes

• If you are on the Essential plan, the function to add or edit exclusions is disabled.
• Date ranges are applied every year as long as they remain saved.
• Saving always overwrites the entire list, not just a single entry.
• A period description as well as start and end dates are mandatory. Without them, you cannot save.

Tips & Best Practices

• Choose descriptive names like “Black Friday,” “Prime Day,” or “Christmas” to stay organized.
• Define periods as tightly as possible to avoid unnecessarily excluding data.
• Review your list of excluded periods at least once a year and remove events that are no longer relevant.
• Internally document which campaigns are affected by special events to plan exclusion periods more effectively.