Home / Free tools / Black Friday planner
Plan your Black Friday ad budget.
Enter last November’s ad revenue, your growth target and the ROAS you expect to see what to spend, and how to split it across the peak.
How much should I spend on ads for Black Friday?
Work back from revenue. Set a November revenue target from last year’s figure plus your growth goal, then divide it by the ROAS you expect during peak. That gives the total ad budget. Most brands then weight it towards Black Friday week, when conversion rates are highest, after a warm-up period to build audiences.
Example figures shown. Use last year’s platform-reported revenue for the same channels.
| Phase | Budget | Per day | Revenue target |
|---|
Split: 25% warm-up (14 days), 20% early deals (7 days), 35% Black Friday week (6 days), 20% Cyber weekend (3 days). Adjust to your own sales pattern.
Plan your peak with usHow to use the plan
Spend in the warm-up weeks builds the audiences you retarget during Black Friday week, when conversion rates are highest. Cutting it to save money for the peak usually makes the peak smaller.
Expect ROAS to rise during Black Friday week and fall in early November. Raise budgets and loosen ROAS targets a few days before the peak so Smart Bidding has time to adjust, and tell Google about the expected conversion-rate jump with a seasonality adjustment.
When should Black Friday ads start?
Most retailers start warming up audiences at the beginning of November, with offers ramping from the week before Black Friday through to Cyber Monday.
Should I lower my ROAS target for Black Friday?
Often, yes, for the warm-up phase, so campaigns can reach new customers. During the peak itself, higher conversion rates usually lift ROAS anyway.
What is a seasonality adjustment?
A Google Ads setting that tells Smart Bidding to expect a short-term change in conversion rate, such as during a sale, so bids react immediately rather than after the event.