How to Duplicate Google Ad Campaign

Thinking about launching a new Google Ads campaign that's similar to one you already have? Don't start from scratch. Duplicating an existing campaign is a massive time-saver, letting you copy over all your hard work on ad groups, keywords, and creative in just a few clicks. This guide will walk you through exactly how to duplicate a campaign, the common situations where it makes sense, and the critical adjustments you need to make afterwards.

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Why Bother Duplicating a Google Ads Campaign?

Copying a campaign isn't just about saving time, it's a strategic move for targeted testing and expansion. It preserves the structure of a proven campaign while giving you a fresh slate to tweak one or two key variables. Think of it as creating a "control" and a "variable" for your advertising experiments.

Here are a few of the most common reasons marketers duplicate campaigns:

• Targeting New Geographic Locations: This is the most popular use case. If you have a successful campaign in California, you can duplicate it to target users in New York. All you'll need to change is the location setting and maybe some local-specific ad copy.
• Testing Bidding Strategies: Wondering if a "Target CPA" bidding strategy would outperform your current "Maximize Conversions" setup? Duplicate your campaign and test them against each other with the same ads and keywords to get a clean comparison.
• Splitting Budgets for High Performers: Let's say one ad group within your campaign is performing exceptionally well and eating up all the budget. You can duplicate the campaign, then pause all ad groups in the original except for the high performer. In the new campaign, you pause the high performer and let the others run. This lets you assign dedicated budgets to different parts of your campaign's strategy.
• Promoting Similar Products or Services: If you're an ecommerce store launching a new line of running shoes, and you already have a successful campaign for your existing running shoes, duplicating the campaign gives you a perfect starting point. The keywords and audience are likely very similar.
• Creating Seasonal Variations: Got a "Black Friday" campaign that did great last year? Duplicate it and update the creatives and offers for this year instead of rebuilding the entire campaign structure from memory.
• A/B Testing Campaign-Level Settings: Some settings, like bidding strategy or network selections (Search vs. Display Select), can only be configured at the campaign level. Duplication is the only way to A/B test these major settings effectively.

The Two Main Ways to Copy a Campaign in Google Ads

Google provides two straightforward methods for copying your campaigns. Which one you choose depends on your workflow and the scale of your task.

1. The Copy-and-Paste Method: This is done directly within the main Google Ads online interface. It's fast, easy, and perfect for duplicating a single campaign or a handful of them.
2. Using Google Ads Editor: This is a free, downloadable desktop application from Google. It's designed for making bulk changes, working offline, and managing multiple accounts more efficiently. It's the go-to for power users who need to duplicate dozens of campaigns at once.

We'll walk through both methods step-by-step.

Method 1: The Quick Copy and Paste in the Google Ads UI

This is the most direct way to get the job done and will likely be your default method. Don't let the simplicity fool you, it copies everything you need - ad groups, ads, keywords, bids, and most settings.

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Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Log in to Your Google Ads Account: Go to ads.google.com and sign in.
2. Navigate to the 'Campaigns' Tab: On the left-hand navigation menu, under "Campaigns," make sure you're on the main Campaigns screen where you can see a list of all your campaigns.
3. Select the Campaign to Duplicate: Find the campaign you want to copy in your list. Click the small checkbox to the left of its name. This will make a blue action bar appear at the top of the campaign list.
4. Click 'Edit' > 'Copy': In that blue bar, click the 'Edit' dropdown menu. The very first option will be 'Copy.' You can also use the standard keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+C on Windows or Cmd+C on a Mac.
5. Click 'Edit' > 'Paste': Now, with the campaign on your clipboard, click the 'Edit' dropdown menu again. This time, select 'Paste.' The keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+V or Cmd+V.
6. Confirm the Paste: A pop-up window will appear asking you to confirm. It will also give you an important option: "Pause new campaigns after pasting." Always leave this box checked. This gives you time to review and edit the duplicated campaign before it starts spending your money. Click the blue 'Paste' button to finish.

Google will then get to work creating a full replica of your campaign. If your original was named "Running Shoes - USA," the new one will appear as "Running Shoes - USA #2." It will have a "Paused" status, ready for you to make your critical adjustments.

Method 2: Using Google Ads Editor to Duplicate Campaigns

If you're managing large accounts or need to copy many campaigns at once, Google Ads Editor is your best friend. It lets you stage all your changes on your local machine and then upload them in one go.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Open Google Ads Editor: Launch the application. If you don't have it, you can download it for free from the Google Ads website.
2. Download Your Account: Above the main toolbar, click on "Get recent changes" to make sure you're working with the latest version of your account. Select "Basic" or "More data" depending on what you need and click "OK".
3. Select Your Campaign: In the upper-left navigation panel (the "tree view"), select your account and then, under the "Manage" list, click on "Campaigns". Your campaign list will appear in the main window (the "data view").
4. Copy the Campaign: Find and highlight the campaign you want to duplicate in the data view. Right-click on it and choose "Copy," or use the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+C / Cmd+C.
5. Paste the Campaign: Right-click anywhere in the data view window and select "Paste," or use Ctrl+V / Cmd+V. The copy will now appear in your campaign list, ready to be edited. Crucially, it's not live yet - it only exists in your local Editor app.
6. Make Your Edits: Now you can edit the duplicated campaign right within Editor. Rename it, change the budget, adjust location settings, etc.
7. Post Your Changes: Once you've made all your adjustments, click the blue "Post" button in the upper-right corner of the application. This will upload the new campaign to your live Google Ads account. Editor will ask you to confirm which changes you want to post. Click "Post" again to finalize.

The Post-Duplication Checklist: Don't Forget These 6 Steps!

Simply copying a campaign isn't enough. The value of duplication comes from the specific changes you make afterward. Your new campaign is created in a paused state for a reason - to give you a chance to run through this critical checklist.

1. Rename Your New Campaign Immediately

The default "[Campaign Name] #2" isn't a helpful name. You'll quickly lose track of which campaign is which. Adopt a clear and consistent naming convention. For example, if you copied a US-based campaign to target the UK, change:

From: Search - Services - USA #2

To: Search - Services - UK - 2024

A good format includes the channel, purpose, location, and maybe the year or version. This makes filtering and reporting a breeze.

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2. Review and Adjust Location Targeting

If your goal is to target a new area, this is the most important change. In the campaign's settings, go to the "Locations" section. Remove the old location(s) and add your new ones. Double-check advanced settings too, like ensuring you're targeting "People in or regularly in your targeted locations" not just people who show interest in it.

3. Set a New Budget and Confirm Bidding Strategy

Your new campaign will inherit the exact same daily budget as the original. You almost certainly want to change this. Go to your campaign settings and enter the daily spend for your new initiative.

While you're there, confirm your bidding strategy. If you duplicated the campaign to test a new bid strategy, now is the time to make that change (e.g., switching from "Manual CPC" to "Target ROAS").

4. Tweak Ad Copy, Extensions, and Landing Pages

Your ads should feel relevant to the new context. At a minimum, you might need to localize things like city names, pricing, or currency. If targeting the USA, your ad or landing page might mention free shipping. If you've duplicated that campaign for Canada, you should update that copy to reflect Canadian shipping policies or prices.

Don't forget about your ad extensions! Sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets should all be reviewed to ensure they're relevant to the new campaign's goals.

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5. Check Your Negative Keywords and Exclusions

All your negatives - keywords, placements, audiences - are carried over in the duplication. This is often helpful, but it's worth a quick review. A negative keyword that makes sense in one campaign might unnecessarily block traffic in another.

6. Enable the Campaign When You're Ready

Once you've run through the checklist and are confident the new campaign is configured correctly, it's time to launch. Next to the campaign name, click the green dot dropdown and change the status from "Paused" to "Enabled." Your new campaign is now live and will begin entering auctions.

Final Thoughts

Duplicating a Google Ads campaign is a simple copy-paste operation that can unlock powerful testing and expansion strategies. The most important work, however, happens right after you paste. By systematically renaming your new campaign, confirming its settings, adjusting targets, and localizing your creative, you set yourself up for success and skip hours of manual setup.

Once your old and new campaigns are running, comparing their performance is crucial to justify your strategy and make smarter decisions. Tracking multiple campaigns, especially across different platforms, can mean endless manual reporting. At Graphed , we connect directly to your Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Shopify, and other marketing accounts. You can use simple language to instantly build live dashboards that analyze your new campaigns' performance against your goals without ever having to wrestle a CSV file again.