Digital advertising does not happen in a vacuum. Your customers behave differently throughout the year. Shopping spikes during the holidays, travel searches increase in the summer, and sales decline in slower seasons. That’s where seasonal adjustments to Google ads come in.
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What are seasonal adjustments in Google Ads?
Seasonal adjustment is a feature in Google Ads that allows advertisers to inform Google’s bidding algorithm about expected short-term changes in conversion rates. This adjustment helps smart bidding strategies, such as Target RAA or Target CPA, react appropriately to temporary shifts in performance, without being overly accurate based on unusual spikes or dips.
Instead of waiting for the algorithm to “learn” from a sudden spike (like Black Friday), advertisers can proactively signal that performance will deviate from the norm — and that it’s only temporary.
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Why Are Google Ads Seasonal Adjustments Important?
Smart bidding relies on historical data to predict how likely a click is to convert. But if sudden changes in conversion behavior are expected, historical data can be misleading. Seasonal adjustments help mitigate this by allowing advertisers to input changes in expected conversion rates, helping to maintain bid performance during fluctuating periods.
Without seasonal adjustments, Google’s algorithm may fail to adjust to your trends. There are two ways this can happen:
Short-term spikes in performance
First memory can’t take advantage of big trends. Without an understanding of the upcoming spike, Google can underbid during high-performing periods, missing out on valuable conversions and potentially costing your company revenue.
But that’s only part of the problem. After the spike ends, Google may control the increase and overreach, thinking that high conversion rates are a new trend.
Short-term dips in performance
Seasonality isn’t just when the market is really hot. It can also be for a cold period.
I regularly work with B2B accounts, and there are three times during the year that stick out to me when things are almost distinctly slower: spring break, the last two weeks of summer, and the week between Christmas and New Year’s.
During each of these periods, it’s very common to see conversion rates drop and sales slow. If those dips and slowdowns are large enough (which we’ll talk about in the next section), then it’s in our best interest to add a seasonal adjustment so Google doesn’t fail to see the slowdown and overbid, then pull the bid back so much that we lose the bounce.
A keyword research tool, eg Google Trendscan help you decide when seasonal adjustments will be most beneficial throughout the year.
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When should you use seasonal adjustments?
Google recommends using them only for short-term events, usually between one and seven days, although you can set a longer period if necessary. Here are some example use cases:
- Holiday promotions (eg, Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday)
- Limited-time offers (eg, 48-hour sales)
- Launches or restarts the product
- Seasonal events (eg, tax season for financial services, back-to-school for retailers)
But don’t forget the downside either. Most of the time, when people think about seasonal adjustments, they only focus on the good times. Here are some scenarios for which to buck the hype and expect lower returns:
- Holiday breaks (such as Christmas, spring break)
- Bad press (eg, a product recall) can bring in lots of searches with low intent.
When not using seasonal adjustment
Given how effective seasonal adjustments can be, it might be tempting to use them too often, but Google warns against it. They just want you to use them sparingly. Sometimes knowing when not to use something is just as important as knowing when to use it.
Seasonal adjustments are not intended to account for long-term seasonal trends (such as Q4 performance in retail) or permanent business changes (such as a new pricing model or improved landing page).
Smart Bidding is already designed to accommodate these types of gradual shifts over time, so if you’re using a Smart Bidding strategy from Google, they’re already taking this type of trend for you.
Using seasonal adjustments too frequently or inappropriately can confuse the algorithm and make performance less stable. Here are some scenarios when you should avoid using seasonal adjustments:
- Ongoing seasonal behavior (eg, interest in long summer trips)
- Constant conversion rate changes
- Unforeseen or uncertain events
Seasonal adjustments work well in the short term with the Google Ads Smart Bidding strategy (outlined in orange above), but they’re not necessary for long-term, gradual performance fluctuations because Smart Bidding already accounts for it.
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How to Make Seasonal Adjustments in Google Ads
Setting up a seasonal adjustment is quite simple.
Start by going to the main menu on the left, then navigate through these steps: tools > Budgets and speech > Adjustment > seasonal
Once you are there, Click the blue plus button or +New Seasonal Adjustment.
From there, select Conversion ratethen Give your adjustment a name In detail if you like. Personally, I like to use the name field to say what event it’s for and some sense of time (like Black Friday 2026), and then in the description, you can write more notes if the name isn’t self-explanatory.
Next, you can choose a date range for this adjustment. It will contain a date and a time of day selected up to one hour.
You then select the scope of the adjustment, including which campaign types and devices you want to affect, but you can also select individual campaigns to exclude all others from the adjustment for the target. This will be particularly impactful if you are selling on a particular product or product line and expect large performance changes, but not the rest of your offering, which will likely remain stable.
Finally, you can determine the expected conversion rate change from your baseline. This will be represented as a percentage.
For the image below, this would indicate to Google that you expect your conversion rate to increase by 25% during the weekend sales. It’s not saying that you expect your conversion rate to be 25% during your sale, just that the conversion rate will be 25% higher than usual.
Quick Tips for Using Seasonal Adjustments in Google Ads
Here are some final thoughts on seasonal adjustments before I send you on your way:
- Test and review: After the event, check the performance measurements to see if the adjustments helped and if your estimated performance change was correct. Use these insights for future campaigns.
- Do not overuse: Smart Bidding handles most of the bid optimization for you. Seasonal adjustments should only be used for obvious, short-term changes.
- Communicate with stakeholders: If you’re working with a client or a large marketing team, make sure everyone understands when and why you’re using adjustments. This can be a good resource to check to make sure your expected performance changes are realistic.
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Try Google Ads Seasonal Adjustments for your next timely push
Seasonal adjustments are a powerful tool for guiding Google ads during predictable, short-term shifts in performance. When used strategically, they can help you maximize impact events without disrupting long-term bid performance. Use them wisely, sparingly, and always with a clear business case in mind, and you’ll keep your campaigns one step ahead of the calendar. For more ways to complement your always-on marketing strategy, see how our solutions can boost your campaigns year-round.