How to View Change History in Google Ads

In the fast-paced world of Google Ads, a single “minor” tweak can be the difference between a record-breaking ROAS and a budget-draining disaster. Whether you are managing accounts solo, auditing an agency, or overseeing a team, knowing exactly who changed what and when isn’t just helpful it is essential.

The Change History tool is your account’s black box recorder. If performance shifts, the answer is almost always waiting for you there. Here is how to master it.

How to Access Your Change History

Navigating to your data is straightforward. There are two primary ways to access these logs depending on how deep you want to dive.

Method 1: The Global View (Account Level) Use this when you want a bird’s-eye view of everything happening across the entire account.

1. Log in: Go to ads.google.com and open the account you want to review.
2. Tools & Settings: Click the wrench icon (Tools & Settings) in the top-right corner.
3. Select Change history: Under the “Setup” column, click Change history. By default, this shows all edits made in the last 30 days.

Method 2: The Focused View (Campaign Level) If you know a specific campaign is acting up, don’t sift through account-wide noise.

1. Open a specific Campaign.
2. Click Settings in the left-hand menu.
3. Click Change history (usually found in the top right or within the sub-menu). This shows only changes relevant to that specific campaign.

What You Can Track in Change History

The Change History tool is incredibly granular. It doesn’t just say “something changed”; it gives you the “Before” and “After” data. You can monitor:

• Who made the change: Was it a specific user, an automated rule, or a Google Ads script?
• When it was made: The exact timestamp of the adjustment.
• What was changed: This includes Budgets, Bids, Keywords, Ads & extensions, Campaign settings, Conversion tracking, and Automated rules.

Filtering Changes (The Pro Move)

In a busy account, there can be thousands of changes. To find the “needle in the haystack,” use the filters at the top of the page. This is particularly useful when multiple people or agencies have access to the same account. You can filter by:

• Date range: Go back up to 2 years.
• User: See exactly which team member made the edit.
• Change type: Narrow it down to just bid changes, ad copy edits, or budget shifts.
• Campaign / Ad Group: Drill down into specific areas of the account.

Common Reasons to Check Your Change History

As a PPC expert, I find myself checking this tool most often during these four “Red Flag” moments:

1. Performance suddenly dropped: Conversions tanked overnight? Check for a botched conversion tag update or a drastic bid strategy change.
2. Mysterious Budget Shifts: Did a budget change “mysteriously”? Check if an Automated Rule or a Smart Bidding tweak was triggered.
3. Auditing Work: If you are overseeing a freelancer or an agency, the Change History is the ultimate proof of activity. It shows the frequency and depth of their optimizations.
4. Tracking Automated Rules: Monitor how your scripts or automated rules are behaving to ensure they aren’t making counter-productive tweaks.

Pro Tip: You can download your Change History as a report to include in your monthly audits. It provides a transparent paper trail for stakeholders and helps you stay in total control of your ad spend.