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Examples and best practices for advanced filters

This page gives practical examples you can use to spot performance changes, find what’s driving results, and prevent inefficient spend using trend filters and advanced filters in Ads Manager.

Example 1: Spot spikes in acquisition costs (trend filter)

Goal: Catch sudden increases in cost-per-acquisition (CPA) across campaigns.

Example condition:

  • Average CPA (Total) ↑ more than 30% vs the Previous Period

This filtering option helps you quickly identify campaigns where performance may be slipping so you can respond (for example, adjust bid strategy, reallocate budget, or pause underperforming segments).

Build this in Trend filters: filter by changes over time.

Example 2: Focus on what drives impact (goal-based metrics)

Goal: Find keywords or ad groups that are improving monetization when your KPI is revenue (for example, purchases or subscriptions).

Example conditions:

  • Goals Revenue ↑ more than 20% vs the Previous Month
    OR
  • Cost per Goal ↓ more than 15%

Keep in mind! 

Goal-based filters require selecting a goal in Ads Manager.

Build this in Trend filters: filter by changes over time.

Example 3: Understand performance across dimensions (advanced filter across levels)

Goal: Combine conditions across levels to reveal issues you might miss with basic filtering.

Example conditions:

  • Ad Group Spend > $500
    AND
  • Campaign TTR ↓ more than 25% vs the Previous Quarter

This filter is useful when an element looks fine in isolation (for example, an ad group spends heavily) but isn’t contributing to upper-level performance (for example, campaign tap-through rate).

Build this in Advanced filters: build multi-level filters.

Example 4: Prevent spend leaks from non-performing keywords (advanced filter + cross-level comparison)

Goal: Find keywords that spend but don’t convert, so you can improve performance at scale.

Example conditions:

  • Keyword Spend > 3x Campaign CPA
    AND
  • Installs (Total) = 0

This helps uncover overspending keywords that haven’t converted.

Build this in Advanced filters: build multi-level filters

Best practices

Enable Compare mode first

Before applying any trend filters, make sure the Compare toggle is active in the date picker. This lets you analyze changes across time periods and unlock trend-based conditions.

Saved filters remember compare settings

When you save a filter (basic, trend-based, or advanced), your selected comparison range is saved with it. This helps keep results consistent the next time you apply it.

To learn more, see Save, reuse, and delete filters.

Watch for tooltips

If a filter or metric is unavailable, hover over the disabled item to see why. Tooltips explain whether it’s due to level restrictions, goal requirements, or metric incompatibility.

For details, see Eligibility, limitations, and tooltips for advanced filters.

Connect filters with Automations

Filters can help you surface the campaign elements that match your conditions and preview the matching results before setting up an automation. The filter structure in Ads Manager and the conditions in Automations are aligned, so what you see is what your automation will act on.

Use advanced filters with saved goals

If you’re optimizing toward a specific goal (for example, purchases or subscriptions), selecting that goal first unlocks relevant metrics for more targeted filtering. Your goal selection is also saved with saved filters for future use.

Related links

Need more help?

If you’re unsure how to structure your filters or want to confirm they align with your campaign goals, reach out to your Customer Success Manager or start a conversation via live chat from the platform.