How to Duplicate a Campaign in Google Ads?

Choose the right way to duplicate a Google Ads campaign (so you don’t duplicate problems)

Duplicating a campaign is one of the fastest ways to scale what’s working, build regional or product-line variations, or create a clean “v2” rebuild without starting from scratch. Done well, it preserves the structure you’ve already validated (ad groups, targeting, and bidding framework) while letting you change the handful of variables that actually matter.

Done poorly, duplication can create instant self-competition (two campaigns eligible for the same searches/audiences), budget dilution, and messy reporting where you can’t tell which version is truly driving results. Before you copy anything, decide what you’re trying to achieve: a true clone to run side-by-side (usually risky), a template you’ll heavily modify, or a controlled test.

Duplication vs. experiments: a simple way to decide

If your goal is to compare “original vs. variant” fairly (for example, new bidding approach, different landing page, different broad match strategy), a controlled experiment is typically the cleaner route because it’s designed for split testing. If your goal is operational (new geography, new budget allocation, new product category, or migrating structure), duplication is usually the right move—just plan your changes so the new campaign has a clear, non-overlapping job.

How to duplicate a campaign in the Google Ads interface (fastest method)

The built-in copy/paste workflow is the quickest option for most advertisers. You can duplicate one campaign or many at once, and you can choose to keep the new campaigns paused so nothing launches by accident.

Step-by-step: duplicate a campaign inside Google Ads

1. Go to the Campaigns section and open the Campaigns table (where you see the list of campaigns).
2. Select the checkbox next to the campaign (or campaigns) you want to duplicate.
3. Open the Edit drop-down and choose Copy.
4. Open the Edit drop-down again and choose Paste.
5. If you see an option to pause new campaigns after pasting, use it unless you are intentionally launching immediately.
6. Confirm the paste action to create the duplicate.

From there, treat the duplicate like a new build. Rename it immediately in a way that explains what’s different (for example: geo, audience focus, match type strategy, or budget tier), because “Copy” naming gets confusing fast once you have multiple iterations.

Duplicating across accounts in a manager setup (MCC workflows)

If you’re logged in through a manager account, the paste step can include an account picker, letting you paste the campaign into one or more child accounts. This is powerful for rolling out a proven structure across franchises, regions, or multiple brands.

Two practical realities matter here. First, you’ll typically want the new campaigns paused on arrival so you have time to adjust settings that must be account-specific (conversion setup, business hours, locations, budgets, brand language). Second, cross-account pasting only works when the destination account uses the same currency as the source account—so plan your rollout around that limitation.

What the duplicate includes (and what you still need to verify)

When you duplicate a campaign, you’re essentially cloning the structure and core settings. In most cases this includes items like ad groups, ads, keywords, negative keywords, targeting settings, and the bid strategy configuration. That’s exactly why duplication is efficient: you’re reusing the heavy lifting.

But “copied” doesn’t automatically mean “ready.” After pasting, you still need to confirm the duplicate is aligned with the destination reality: the right conversion goals are being optimized, budgets make sense, and the campaign won’t overlap with existing campaigns in a way that muddies performance.

Performance Max (PMax) duplication: what’s different

Performance Max campaigns can be copied and pasted, but you need to watch for shopping-related structures. In particular, listing group structures may not carry over when duplicating, and that can leave a “copied” campaign not set up the way you expect for product targeting.

Also, inside a Performance Max campaign, asset groups can be duplicated directly from the asset group menu. This is useful when you want the same creative framework but a different audience signal, different final URL focus, or a separate product set—just make sure your product segmentation doesn’t overlap in a way that defeats your intent.

How to duplicate campaigns using Google Ads Editor (best for large accounts and bulk builds)

If you manage accounts at scale, Google Ads Editor is often the fastest and safest way to duplicate and modify campaigns because you can copy, paste, rename, and adjust settings in bulk before posting changes live. It’s also the most practical option when you’re moving campaigns between accounts regularly.

Copy the whole campaign vs. copy the “shell” (template-only)

In Editor, you can copy an entire campaign with its contents, or copy only the campaign “shell” (settings-only). Settings-only duplication is ideal when you want a standardized framework (like networks, bidding approach, ad schedule, devices, basic targeting configuration) but you don’t want to bring along all the keywords and ads.

One important nuance: when you copy only settings, some targeting elements (notably location targeting) may not be included—so if your duplicate must match the original’s geo setup, you’ll want to confirm locations after the paste (or copy locations explicitly).

Copying between accounts in Editor (and avoiding name errors)

Editor supports copying campaigns within an account and also pasting into a different open account window. Just remember that campaigns can’t be posted with duplicate names—so build a naming convention that bakes in what’s different (market, language, objective, or version date) and update names immediately after you paste.

Post-duplication tune-up: the checks that prevent wasted spend

In my experience, most “duplicate campaign” issues aren’t caused by the copy process—they’re caused by launching a clone without redefining its role. Treat the next steps as part of the duplication process, not optional cleanup.

The 10-minute safety checklist before you enable the new campaign

• Pause first, then edit: Start paused so you can verify everything without paying for surprises.
• Budget and bidding sanity: Confirm the budget is intentional and the bid strategy matches your goal (and isn’t unintentionally tied into a shared setup you didn’t mean to extend).
• Conversion goals: Make sure the campaign is optimizing toward the right conversions for this account (especially after cross-account pastes).
• Locations, languages, and ad schedule: Verify geo targeting and schedule align with the new campaign’s purpose (don’t assume “copy” equals “correct”).
• Overlap control: Prevent two campaigns from chasing the same traffic unless you have a deliberate reason (use negatives, geo splits, audience splits, or product splits).
• Ads/assets readiness: Scan for disapproved or limited ads/assets and fix before launching so delivery isn’t throttled from day one.
• Performance Max specifics: Re-check listing group/product segmentation if shopping is involved, and confirm asset group intent is unique.

How to make the duplicate outperform the original (not just copy it)

The best duplicates are built with a clear hypothesis. If you’re duplicating to expand, isolate one variable that changes the outcome—like a new geography, a different product margin tier, or a different landing page set—then keep everything else consistent so you can attribute performance shifts correctly.

Also remember that a duplicated campaign is still a new campaign. Even if it looks identical, it may go through its own learning and stabilization period depending on your bidding approach. Plan for that by starting with a controlled budget, watching performance daily at launch, and only scaling once you see stable conversion volume and efficiency.

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If you’re duplicating a Google Ads campaign to roll out the same structure to a new market, product line, or account, the real win comes after the copy/paste: keeping the new campaign paused, renaming it clearly, and quickly sanity-checking essentials like conversion goals, budgets, locations, and overlap so it doesn’t compete with what’s already live. That’s also where Blobr can help: it connects to your Google Ads account and runs specialized AI agents that continuously review campaign settings and performance, then surfaces clear, prioritized actions—useful when you’re cloning campaigns at scale and want a consistent “pre-launch” check without spending hours in the interface.