Overview
The Performance Simulator is a beta modeling tool in Realize that uses historical data from the same campaign to simulate potential changes in performance or scale in this campaign due to budget adjustments. It helps you identify the sweet spot for your investment.
How Does It Work?
Using historical data, it provides insights to guide smarter budget decisions to enhance your marketing strategy and campaign's performance.
You also have the option to adjust your budget according to the simulation directly in the platform
Which Campaigns Have Access to the Performance Simulator?
Firstly, the Performance Simulator will only be visible for campaigns that have tracking in place and are using Maximize Conversions.
The simulation will be available for most* of the following campaigns:
At least 4 spending days in Maximize Conversions, and there was no change to the budget during these days
At least 1 conversion (click-through only)
A daily budget of $10 or more
90% depletion of the daily budget or more
Campaign status is ‘Running’
*Additional considerations may lead to simulator disablement.
How Should I Use The Performance Simulator?
1. Log in to your Realize account and navigate to the ‘Campaigns’ report.
2. All campaigns that meet the eligibility criteria for the Performance Simulator will have a blue icon next to them. You will also see this blue graph icon across the account.
3. Click on the icon to open the simulation for this campaign. Here is how to understand the simulation:
a. The simulation is built at the campaign level based on the campaign’s own data. You will find the campaign ID and current bidding strategy in the top left corner.
b. The simulation is built based on the specific date range, which you can find in the top-left corner.
c. Your daily spend, CPA, and number of conversions on the day of the simulation are marked with a gray dot and labeled on the graph.
d. Available simulations are marked by white dots with a blue stroke—click on them to review the simulator's suggestion.
e. When you are ready to apply budget changes, click the Adjust budget button next to the budget suggestion.
f. The dark blue line is a forecast line.
g. Light blue zones around the forecast line indicate possible deviations from the forecast.
h. At the bottom of the simulator, you will find a disclaimer regarding the accuracy of the forecast.
The simulator's current accuracy is 80%, meaning your campaign's results—specifically, the number of conversions and the CPA—will fall within the light blue zone around the forecast line 80% of the time. This also means there's a 20% chance that your results will be outside of this range. For example, campaigns that are more stable and have a higher number of conversions are likely to be much more accurate because their historical data is more predictive of future outcomes.
It's a common understanding across many platforms and simulations that external factors can impact final results. A campaign's accuracy can be influenced by variables not always accounted for in the prediction. That’s why we highly recommend avoiding any changes to the campaign a few days before and after the simulator’s application (aka budget change). |
4. Once you make a decision about your budget, click Adjust budget. You will be redirected to your campaign settings where you can review your new budget and spending limits, and confirm the change. Note that for monthly and lifetime budgets, you will need to type a new budget before saving.
5. Click Save to save the change and exit.
✅ If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Account Manager, email us at support@taboola.com, or reach out via chat within Realize.