Google is taking the pain out of campaign budget management. The search giant just rolled out campaign total budgets in open beta across Search, Performance Max, and Shopping campaigns, letting advertisers set a fixed budget across specific time periods without constantly adjusting daily spend. This solves a real problem for brands running time-bound promotions and sales events.
Google is shaking up how advertisers manage their budgets. The search giant just launched campaign total budgets in open beta, a feature that lets marketers stop obsessing over daily spend adjustments and focus on strategy instead.
The new tool works across Search, Performance Max, and Shopping campaigns, letting advertisers set a total budget they want to spend over a specific timeframe - whether that's a 72-hour flash sale or a month-long seasonal push. Then Google Ads handles the heavy lifting, optimizing daily spend to hit that target without going over budget or leaving money on the table.
Here's the real problem this solves: managing budgets for specific campaign flights - product launches, sales events, promotional bursts - typically means constant manual tweaks. Marketers are constantly checking whether the campaign's spending too fast or too slow, adjusting bids to keep pace. It's the digital equivalent of babysitting your spend spreadsheet.
"Managing budgets for specific campaign flights shouldn't require constant manual adjustments," said Josh Braverman, Group Product Manager at Google Ads. The new approach lets the algorithm do the thinking, aiming to "fully and effectively utilize your budget by your end date," he noted on the official announcement.
The timing matters. E-commerce is increasingly driven by time-bound events. Black Friday sales, holiday shopping seasons, flash promotions - these campaigns need precision budgeting. Overspend by even a little and margins get eaten. Underspend and you miss peak traffic moments.
