Ads are the core of Advanced Ads, and the ad edit page lets you configure all essential elements to optimize and position your ads effectively. It’s where you set up everything from basic settings to advanced targeting options.
On this page, you’ll learn everything you need to know about configuring ads in Advanced Ads—from fundamental settings to fine-tuned targeting controls.
Table of Contents
Elements of the ad edit page
Title
The title is for internal use only and does not appear on the frontend. Advanced Ads displays the ad’s name in the backend, in the statistics, and within the Google Analytics reports. Choosing a clear and meaningful title makes identifying a specific advertisement at a glance easier. Adding details like the advertiser, format, or targeting method can be helpful.
A well-structured title might follow this format:
Amazon: Product XYZ (Text link)Code language: HTTP (http)or
Advertiser XYZ | Campaign #123 | 250x250 | mobileCode language: PHP (php)Usage
This meta box lets you add additional notes, which you can display as a column on the ad overview page under Advanced Ads > Ads. It’s helpful to keep ad titles concise while storing extra details or links related to specific advertisers.
Additionally, this box contains the PHP snippet and shortcode for the ad, allowing you to insert it manually into your website. You can copy these codes to your clipboard with a single click.
Ad Type
Advanced Ads offers various ad types to help you manage your ads efficiently. When creating a new ad, you need to select an ad type. The most common types are the Image Ad type, used for banners, and the Plain Text and Code ad type, ideal for inserting custom ad code. Advanced Ads also provides dedicated support for AdSense and Google Ad Manager.
Available ad types:
- Plain Text and Code: For HTML, JavaScript, CSS, or PHP code
- Dummy: Useful for testing ad placements
- Rich Content: WYSIWYG editor for formatted text ads
- Image Ad: For banners and image-based ads
- Ad Group: Inherits settings across multiple ads (ideal for advanced setups)
- AdSense ad: Specialized support for Google AdSense ads
- AMP: For Accelerated Mobile Pages (requires AMP Ads add-on)
- Google Ad Manager: Loads ad units directly from a Google Ad Manager account (requires GAM Integration add-on)
Each ad type has unique features and functions, allowing you to choose the best fit for your needs.
For a detailed guide on each ad type and its specifications, visit this dedicated ad types manual.
Ad Parameters
This section lets you define the required input based on the selected ad type. For example, you can enter the ad code here when you choose the Plain Text and Code ad type. With Image Ads, you select an image and specify the target URL. If you opt for the AdSense ad type, you pull the desired ad unit from your connected account.
Allow PHP
Available for Plain Text and Code ads. Enables the execution of PHP code within the ad unit.
Execute Shortcodes
Available for Plain Text and Code ads. Allows shortcodes to run inside the ad unit. A common use case is embedding a product table created with a table plugin.
Please note that nested ad, group, or placement shortcodes inside ads won’t execute.
Size
Optionally set a specific ad size to reserve space for the unit.
Tracking
You can choose between default tracking settings or custom rules, such as disabling click, impression, or all tracking for this ad.
Target URL
Define the destination URL users will be directed to when they click the ad.
Target window
Choose whether to open the link supplied in the previous field in a new tab (target=”_blank”).
Add “no follow”
Add optional attributes like rel=”nofollow” or rel=”sponsored”.
Privacy
Enable Ignore Privacy Settings to display the ad even if users have not given consent. This option is not available for Image Ads, as they do not require consent in general. However, you can extend this behavior to other ad types, such as text links or locally hosted ad content.
Ad Group
If you select the Ad Group ad type, you can assign an existing group to the ad using the dropdown menu. This option is designed for advanced ad setups and specific use cases. For more details, refer to the manual on inheriting ad settings.
Layout / Output
When creating or editing an ad unit, you may customize its layout and behavior on the frontend using the following options.
Position and margins
You can control the placement and spacing of your ad within the content. The Text Flow option lets you align the advertisement as a block (left, center, or right) or float it to the left or right. The Margin setting defines the spacing between the ad and surrounding elements.
Container adjustments
You can assign an ad a specific container ID or one or more CSS classes, allowing you to target it later with custom CSS styling.
Ad Label
Advanced Ads allows you to add a label like “Sponsored” to your ads. You may apply it to all placements by default, as well as customize and add basic HTML to this label in Advanced Ads > Settings > General.
The Ad Label field on the ad edit page lets you override the global setting. For example, you could display “Recommended” instead of “Sponsored” for a specific affiliate ad.
Check out this manual for more tips on using and customizing ad labels.
Debug mode
The ad debug mode is a valuable tool for troubleshooting ad delivery issues. When enabled, it replaces the actual ad with debug information while ignoring all ad restrictions.
This mode provides key details such as the ad status, post information, ad ID, and placement. It’s beneficial for identifying issues with Display and Visitor conditions. Developers can also add a specific line to the wp-config.php file to display the debug mode exclusively for administrators.
Display only once
The Display only once option prevents the same ad from appearing multiple times on the same page. This feature comes with Advanced Ads Pro and is especially useful when you place ad groups in various locations, as it ensures that individual ads do not repeat unnecessarily.
Enabling this option increases ad variety as users see a broader range of creatives. It optimizes ad exposure by maximizing the number of unique impressions and helps reduce banner blindness by preventing repetitive placements.
Custom code
The Custom Code feature in Advanced Ads Pro lets you add custom CSS, HTML, or JavaScript to specific ads. This additional code allows you to customize the ad’s appearance, such as rounding the corners of ads, modifying its behavior, or integrating custom tracking codes.
Author
This meta box allows you to assign an author to each ad. You can display an Author column on the ad overview page and filter ads by author. Using the Quick Edit or Bulk Edit options, you can modify the author directly from the overview page.
Targeting
This meta box lets you define Display and Visitor Conditions to precisely control where ads appear and who sees them, helping you optimize ad performance.
- Display Conditions target content based on attributes like category, tag, URL parameters, or specific keywords.
- Visitor Conditions target users based on factors like browser width, geo-location, referrer URL, or ad impressions count.
Statistics
This section is available only if the Tracking add-on is activated. When using the internal tracking method, you’ll see a graph displaying impressions and clicks for the ad. Additionally, you can generate a shareable link to provide advertisers access to these statistics.
The meta box also allows you to:
- Set click and impression limits, e.g., to stop delivering an ad after selling a fixed number of impressions.
- Configure email reports for the ad, defining the reporting period and email frequency.
Ad overview page
The ad overview page under Advanced Ads > Ads provides access to all ads created with Advanced Ads. While the placements overview is the core of ad management, this page represents your complete ad inventory. Here, you can edit, rename, or delete ads.
Screen options
The Screen Options allow you to customize the ad overview page to display only the data that matters to you. You may sort ads by title, date, impressions, clicks, or click-through ratio (CTR), making it easy to identify top-performing ads at a glance.
Available columns include:
- Ad Type
- Ad Title (sortable)
- Ad Size
- Ad Planning (e.g., draft or published)
- Ad Shortcode
- AdSense ID
- Date (sortable)
- Notes
- Ad Preview (for image ads)
- Used In (shows groups and placements)
- Debug Mode
- Ignore Privacy
- Author
- Statistics (impressions, clicks, CTR)
- Impressions (sortable)
- Clicks (sortable)
- CTR (sortable)
Filter
Advanced Ads includes a filtering function to help manage extensive ad inventories efficiently.
Filters make it easier to find specific ads based on the following criteria:
- Ad type
- Ad size
- Ad groups
- Debug mode (enabled/disabled)
- Ad author
You can customize the filter settings by turning specific criteria on or off. Additionally, you may choose whether the filter options remain visible by default or require manual activation.
Quick Edit and Bulk Edit option
The ad overview page includes a Quick Edit function, whose settings you can also apply in Bulk Edit mode. This approach allows you to efficiently update multiple ads at once, saving time when making widespread adjustments.
A common use case for beneficial bulk editing is modifying privacy settings after activating a privacy plugin. For example, some ads—such as affiliate links—may not require user consent and should continue to be displayed without restrictions, unlike other ad types. Another frequent use is adding missing link attributes, like “sponsored,” to multiple ads to ensure compliance with ad policies.
With Quick Edit and Bulk Edit, you can instantly adjust the following properties for one or multiple ads:
- Group and rotation assignments
- Author
- Status
- Debug mode
- Expiry date
- Ignore privacy settings
- Ad label
- Tracking settings
- Target URL
- Link cloaking
- Target window
- Add “nofollow”
- Add “sponsored”
- Email report recipient
Importing and exporting ads
With the Import/Export function, you can back up or migrate ads to another site. You’ll find this option under Advanced Ads > Tools. When exporting, you can choose to export only the ads or include placements, groups, and settings. Advanced Ads will add ad units to your existing inventory when importing ad units. Find more information in the import/export manual.
