Sandbox: try a Lift recommendation before you make it

Sandbox shows what a recommendation is likely to do before you make it: a range, judged on the campaign's goal, with the working. Once the change is made, it reads every day whether it is doing better than campaigns left as they are, and says "Not clear yet" until it can tell.

Where to find it

• Sandbox is in the Lift section of the sidebar, after Results (https://app.tapper.ai/lift/sandbox). It lists every change tried or saved.
• Try in Sandbox (outlined, with a test tube icon) sits on every open Google Ads card in Recommendations, for Owners, Admins and Managers.
• Sandbox works on Google Ads recommendations, in the Tapper app. The white-label partner app has no Sandbox page.

Try a recommendation

1. In Recommendations, open a Google Ads card.
2. Press Try in Sandbox. Its run page opens. Nothing changes in your account.
3. Read what the change is expected to do and how Sandbox worked it out.
4. Under How do you want to try it?, pick a way and press Choose this way. Save for later keeps the run on the Sandbox page. Not now returns to the card.

The run page

Under the change: "Simulated on the last {N} days · nothing has changed in your account".

Expected over the next 28 days

Labelled "on the campaign it touches", or "on the two campaigns it touches".

• The figure: the likely change in what it is judged on, with its range. Under 30 counted conversions in the days learned from, the range only.
• The tag: Likely better when the figure is above zero and the chance of doing better is at least 60%; Likely worse when below zero and that chance is 40% or less; Could go either way otherwise. No tag with a range only.
• The line under it: the chance the campaigns end the 28 days ahead, how cost moves and, with campaigns to compare with, "The rest of the account should not move."
• One tile per campaign, and Both together or All together for the figure the change is judged on.

Judged on

Read from the campaign's bidding, for example "{campaign} bids on Maximise conversion value, so Sandbox judges it on conversion value."

Steps before a purchase, such as add to cart, are left out. When the change can move sales between campaigns: "Read on {campaigns} together, because the change can move sales from one to the other. Each on its own can look worse even when the two campaigns do better."

What it is compared with:

A campaign is never used for comparison when it shares a budget or portfolio strategy with a changed campaign, is paused, removed or ended, has too little data, or reports in another currency.

Change what it is judged on offers Conversion value and return on ad spend, Conversions and cost per conversion, Clicks and cost per click, Impression share and impressions, Store revenue and store orders, and Store orders and store revenue. Press Judge on this; the card then reads "You chose {metric} on {day}, so Sandbox judges it on that."

The chart

The change day by day from when it is made (with minus without): shaded band for the range, dashed line for the likely figure. "First 7 days settle, not counted".

How Sandbox worked it out

Numbered sentences give the working, including what it leaves out. Sandbox works from the part of the past the change removes or adds, such as the spend and sales of excluded search terms, then puts a range around it. For a budget or target change it starts from Google's simulator, and Google's simulation sits beside its figure: "These are Google's own projections, not measurements Tapper made." The two are never blended. It ends with Low confidence, Medium confidence or High confidence and the counted conversions.

Changes with no part of the past to read (assets, audiences, ad strength, creative) show No estimate with the reason and no chart. The ways are still offered.

How do you want to try it?

Up to four ways. The proposed one is picked when the page opens.

Choose a way

1. Pick the way.
2. Press Choose this way, or Choose the Google experiment.
3. The confirmation names the way, what it changes and how to undo it: "Nothing is written to your account until the change is approved." Confirm with the same button.

"Saved with this way. The change is made once it is approved." A run keeps the first way you choose.

Made the change yourself

Under the ways: "Made the change yourself in Google Ads? Tell Sandbox the day, and it watches it the same way."

1. Press Tell Sandbox the day.
2. When did you make the change? lists the steps: make the change in Google Ads, leave the comparison campaigns as they are, and tell Sandbox the day.
3. Pick the Day of the change (today or earlier) and press Watch it. "Sandbox watches it from that day."

When a way is not offered

The way stays listed, cannot be picked, and says why:

Choosing a way is for Owners, Admins and Managers. Others read "Choosing a way is for a workspace manager, admin or owner." and do not see the made-it-yourself line. See Roles.

The Sandbox page

Titled with counts, such as "5 changes · 1 being watched". Press a row to open its run. Over 25 runs, the table has pages.

Where it is: Simulated with "Made {day}" or "Saved {day}" (not made yet); Not enough to go on (no estimate); a verdict with "Not clear yet, day {N} of 28" or "Day {N} of 28" (being watched, see Verdicts); a verdict with "Finished on day {N}"; or Undone on day {N} with why.

Empty, it says No changes tried, "Open a recommendation and choose Try in Sandbox to see what it would do before you make it.", with Open recommendations.

How the estimates held

Once a run finishes, this sits above the table: per ad account, how many finished estimates landed inside their range, such as "4 of 5 finished estimates landed inside their range", and the days measured.

• Only finished runs count: not unmade, still watched or undone ones.
• From 20 finished runs it adds the share, such as "{N}% inside the range"; until then, "A share is given from 20 finished runs."
• Each account stands alone, with no money shown. An account with finished runs in more than one currency says so, and none is counted.

The watch page

Once made, the run reads "Applied {day} · watching, day {N} of 28", then "finished on day {N}" or "undone on day {N}".

What the change has added so far draws So far as a solid line over Expected and Expected range; the first 7 days are marked as not counted. By campaign, {N} days lists each campaign's added figure and expectation, then Both together or All together.

What else changed lists other changes in Google's change history since, with day, campaign, change and who: You, in Google Ads, Tapper or Google. With none: "Nothing else on these {N} campaigns in Google's change history since {day}." With one: "Another change landed on these campaigns since {day}, so this read is muddied."

Verdicts

While the range includes no change, the line reads "Not clear yet: the range still includes no change"; in the first 7 days, "The first 7 days settle and are not counted. Day {N} of 28."

Keep watching, Undo, Keep it now

• Keep watching: "Sandbox keeps watching. You get an alert if it falls below the range."
• Undo asks Undo this change?: "Tapper puts back the setting that was there before, in Google Ads, and Sandbox stops watching." Confirm with Undo.
• Keep it now asks Keep the change now?: "The change stays as it is and Sandbox stops watching. The figures so far stay on the Sandbox page." Confirm with Keep it.

Below the low end of its range three days running, you get one alert with Open the change: an early warning, not the result. Nothing is changed back; press Undo for that.

A change Tapper makes from a run is a normal fix: the Activity tab lists it, and reverting it there also undoes the run (Automatic fixes and the Activity tab).

If something goes wrong

• No Try in Sandbox. It shows only on open Google Ads cards, to Owners, Admins and Managers.
• "Sandbox could not open this one." Try again from the card; if it keeps failing, contact Tapper support.
• "This Sandbox run could not be opened". Press Open the Sandbox page: every run is there.
• "The ways to try it could not be read. Reload the page to try again." Save for later still works.
• "The Sandbox runs could not be read. Reload the page to try again." Reload.
• A way cannot be picked. See When a way is not offered.

Related

• Read a Lift card: money, priority and evidence
• Fix, mark as done, dismiss and revert
• Automatic fixes and the Activity tab