You can create Google Ads performance alerts with an automated rule whose action is Send email. You do not need to pause campaigns or change bids to receive a warning.
Keep native billing, policy, and serving notifications enabled as well. They cover platform events; your custom rules cover account-specific performance conditions.
Create an email-only rule in Google Ads
Google documents a native Send email rule for spend conditions. The rule setup separates the action, affected entities, conditions, and schedule.
- Open the campaign table and select the intended scope.
- Choose Create an automated rule from the table menu.
- Select Send email as the action or rule type.
- Set the condition, such as cost exceeding your chosen threshold.
- Choose the run frequency and the data period the rule should evaluate.
- Review the email settings and preview the selected entities and conditions.
- Save with a descriptive name, then verify execution and delivery after it runs.
Interface labels can vary by view. Before saving, confirm the action is email-only and the selected scope excludes campaigns you do not intend to monitor. Native rules are scheduled checks, so do not use an email rule as a guaranteed spending cap.
Five alert rules to adapt
These are design examples, not universal benchmarks or a promise that every platform supports each expression. Check the metrics, comparisons, and logic available in your chosen rule builder.
| Risk | Illustrative condition | First check after it fires |
|---|---|---|
| Possible measurement failure | Conversions = 0 AND spend > $750 over a mature 3-day window | Compare form, call, or order records with conversion reporting |
| Cost above target | CPA > $180 AND conversions ≥ 10 over 14 days | Separate CPC from conversion-rate movement |
| Conversion-rate decline | CVR down > 20% AND clicks ≥ 150 in comparable periods | Inspect query mix, landing page, and tracking |
| Volume decline | Conversions down > 30%, with at least 15 in the baseline | Check whether clicks fell too |
| Spend outside plan | Spend exceeds the approved limit for the selected period | Check budget changes, scope, and the spending plan |
Set values from the account’s economics and ordinary variation. A $750 zero-conversion trigger means very different things in accounts with a typical $40 CPA and a typical $500 CPA. A click minimum makes a rate more interpretable; it does not prove a change is statistically significant.
Handle zero conversions separately from high CPA
A CPA rule with a minimum of 10 conversions will intentionally ignore a window with zero conversions. That protects the ratio from weak samples but can hide a complete measurement failure.
Use two complementary checks:
- Efficiency rule: high CPA with enough conversions to review the ratio.
- Zero-conversion rule: no recorded outcomes after meaningful spend and sufficient time for conversions to arrive.
Do not treat a blank or undefined CPA as zero. When conversions are zero, cost ÷ conversions does not produce a usable finite CPA. Alert on conversion count and spend directly.
Likewise, a percentage change from a zero baseline is undefined. Use an absolute condition or wait for a usable baseline instead of interpreting a tool’s blank value as “no change.”
Make the comparison explicit
A useful rule name includes the scope, metric, and window: Non-brand Search | CPA > $180 | 14 days.
For relative rules, specify both periods. Exclude partial days when you intend to compare full days, and account for conversion delay. Use minimum impressions for CTR, clicks for click-based conversion rate, and conversions for CPA interpretation. Check both periods when the rule builder supports baseline minimums; otherwise validate the baseline during triage.
For more complex seasonal expectations, use the anomaly-detection baseline guide.
Test triggering and non-triggering cases
Before expanding a rule, verify:
- A matching condition produces the expected notification.
- An entity outside the selected scope is excluded.
- Low-volume data does not trigger a ratio rule.
- Zero conversions are covered by the separate rule.
- The date range and timezone match the intended review.
- Repeated matches behave as expected, and execution failures are visible.
If the tool supports cooldowns, configure them for persistent conditions. Otherwise, group repeated notifications in an incident log and keep one named owner per issue. Record expected promotions and pauses so the team can distinguish known events from new failures.
Choose a delivery workflow
Email-only native rules are a reasonable starting point for simple conditions. Use a script when you need custom comparisons and can maintain it. For channel setup and delivery troubleshooting, follow the Google Ads Slack alert guide.
LeadUp’s Google Ads monitoring software supports scheduled KPI rules, minimum-data conditions, cooldowns, and Slack or email delivery across subscribed accounts. Choose the workflow that covers your conditions and makes failed checks visible to the person responsible.