The Impact of Weather Based Bid Adjustments: Google Ads Scripts

Paid search advertising is a dynamic and competitive landscape. To stand out in the crowd and maximise your return on ad spend (ROAS), you need to harness the power of data-driven decision making. One way to achieve this is by creating a weather bid adjustment script that optimises your ad campaigns based on weather conditions. In this blog, we’ll explore the process of creating a weather based Google Ads acript and how it can benefit your advertising efforts.

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Why Does Weather Impact Google Ads Campaigns?

Weather can significantly impact customer behaviour. For example, people are more likely to search for and engage with ads related to seasonal products or services when the weather aligns with their needs. A few examples include:

• Apparel: Clothing retailers can benefit from adjusting bids when the weather turns cold, promoting winter coats, boots, and scarves.
• Travel: Airlines and hotels can increase bids for sunny destinations when people are searching for a winter getaway.
• Food and Drink: Restaurants and delivery services can adjust bids when it’s rainy, encouraging consumers to order in instead of going out.

How to Apply a Weather Bid Adjustment Script

To apply a weather bid adjustment script, you’ll need to follow these steps:

Utilise Google’s Script Templates

Inside the Script Editor, you’ll find a library of pre-built script templates created by Google. Among these templates, there is a great script where you can bid by weather. 

By making a copy of the spreadsheet provided, this will allow you to input your own relevant data in order to adjust bids based on your desired conditions.

Choose a Weather Data Provider:

Begin by selecting a reliable weather data provider, such as OpenWeather or The Weather Channel API. These services offer real-time weather data and forecasts that can be integrated into your script.

Define Your Target Conditions:

Identify the weather conditions that are most relevant to your business. For example, if you run a sporting goods store, you might be interested in sunny or warm weather, while a ski resort would focus on snowy conditions.

Set Bid Adjustment Rules:

Determine how you want to adjust your bids based on weather conditions. You can create rules that increase or decrease bids by a certain percentage or fixed amount when specific conditions are met. For instance, if it’s raining, you might want to increase your bid by 20% for rain-related keywords.

Add the Source Code Under Script Setting:

Alongside the spreadsheet, the template also includes source code for you to paste into a new script on your Google Ads account. The only changes you will need to make here are adding your Open API key for your weather platform, alongside pasting your spreadsheet URL and targeting in the relevant fields.

Schedule Regular Updates:

Weather conditions can change quickly, so it’s essential to schedule regular updates for your script. This ensures that your bid adjustments remain accurate and relevant. We recommend scheduling this script to run hourly in order to adjust to rapid changes.

Benefits of a Weather Bid Adjustment Script

• Improved Relevance: By aligning your ad campaigns with current weather conditions, you can make your ads more relevant to potential customers, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
• Cost Efficiency: You can optimise your ad spend by reducing bids during unfavourable weather conditions and increasing them when weather-related demand is high. This helps you make the most of your advertising budget.
• Competitive Advantage: Many advertisers overlook weather-based bidding, so implementing this strategy can give you a competitive edge in your industry.
• Seasonal Marketing: Easily adapt your marketing strategy to seasonal changes, promoting the right products or services at the right time.
• Data-Driven Insights: Over time, you can gather valuable insights about how weather impacts your campaigns, allowing you to refine your bidding strategy further.

Get Help With Your Weather Scripts Today

Creating a weather bid adjustment script is a smart way to make your online advertising campaigns more responsive to seasonal conditions. By using weather data, you can enhance the relevance of your ads, save money, and gain a competitive advantage in the ever-evolving digital advertising landscape.

Need help implementing your Google Ads scripts? Get in touch with our team of PPC professionals and they will be happy to help.