SOP 073: How to define a naming convention to your Meta Ads Accounts and apply it efficiently
\nDefine a naming convention that perfectly fits your account structure and effortlessly generate and apply naming conventions across your organization using the included tool.
\nLast Updated / Reviewed: 04/10/2025
\nExecution Time: 30 min - 1 hour
\nđ Goal: To define a naming convention that perfectly fits your account structure.
\nđ¤ Ideal Outcome: You have a set of simple-to-follow instructions on how your Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads.
\nđ¤ Why this is important: A clear naming convention will make it easier and more efficient for you and anyone that works on your ad accounts to get better control over your advertising campaigns, and to report on them.
\nđ§ Where this is done In a text document or a spreadsheet.
\nđď¸ When this is done: Every time you start working on a new ad account that doesnât already have one naming convention.
\nđ¨ Who does this: The person responsible for Meta Ads or Marketing strategy.
\nClick here to get the most up-to-date version of this SOP
\nThe ultimate, most efficient way to implement and consistently apply naming conventions across your organization.
\nClick on the image link below and make a copy of the Template 027 (web version)
\nIf you are using Metaâs Dynamic URL Parameters feature, make sure youâre not leaking any information that you would not want out since the Campaign / AdSet / Ad name will be visible for the world to see.
\nExample: Naming your campaign âFake 60% OFF saleâ is not a good idea if youâre using dynamic URLs since {{campaign.name}} would output âFake 60% OFF saleâ to the adâs URL.Note: If you are not sure, and you are the person responsible for implementing the Meta Ads campaign, it means that you are very likely not using it (you can learn more about that feature here .)
\nDo not adjust your account structure to fit a naming convention. Instead, adjust your naming convention to fit the optimal campaign structure.
\nNote: If you havenât already, you can follow SOP 069 (web version) to find an account structure that fits your business needs.
\nThis SOP is editable. We recommend not only following it but creating a copy of it for yourself to work on and create a naming convention that fits your needs.
\nUse dashes instead of spaces to separate your unique attributes.
\nExample:
\nGood: nike-TOFU-US-EN-reach-branding ads Bad: nike TOFU US EN reach branding ads
\nWhy/How to use this:
\nIt allows you to search for your string in between hyphens â-US-â and immediately find the items that are US related for instance.
\nIf you were using spaces you would have to search for âUSâ which would then retrieve all the results that contain that word there. (eg: âYouâre one of us - Adâ).
\nAn added advantage if you like to analyze your campaigns on an external tool (e.g Excel) you can separate them much easily (E.g: Using the âText to columnsâ in Excel and using the hyphen as a delimiter)
\nUse lowercase unless itâs an abbreviation/acronym. If itâs an abbreviation/acronym use uppercase.
\nExample:
\nGood: nike-TOFU-US-EN-reach-branding ads Bad: Nike-toFu-us-en-REACH-Branding Ads
\nWhy/How to use this:
\nWith this rule you donât need to think about capitalizing or not anymore.
\nIt allows you to visually tell an acronym (like US=United States) from simple text (like âyou are one of usâ). And be more efficient when glancing over your account.
\nOn some tools and platforms, you are able to make your search queries and reports case-sensitive which helps you only find and report on the campaigns/adsets/ads that contain that acronym vs finding all instances of that text string across all your campaigns.
\nUse YYMMDD (Year - Month - Day) for dates (i.e. Mar, 12th 2019 would be 190312).
\nExample:
\nGood: 190312-IMG-motivational quote neymar Bad: 120319-IMG-motivational quote neymar
\nWhy/How to use this:
\nHaving a set rule for dates makes sure different people working in the Ad Account are on the same page. If no rule existed itâd not be possible in most cases to know which digit is the year, the month, or the day.
\nIn most tools, sorting that column by name (as long as itâs either the first or the only thing in that column) will automatically have it sorted by date.
\nIf you are an advanced user, some tools will allow you to create a query that will retrieve an interval before/after/between dates.
\nWrite down your campaignâs unique attributes:
\nAsk yourself the following questions:
\nWhat sets this campaign apart from the others?
\nWhy did I create this campaign instead of using one of the other already existing ones?
\ni.e, âBecause this campaign is specific to [insert unique attribute here]â e.g, This campaign is specific to Germany. / This campaign is specific to Germany and the Bottom of Funnel
\nIdeally, every relevant unique attribute should be used in your naming convention.
\nIf there is no unique attribute that sets your campaigns apart, thereâs a chance there is something that could be improved about your account structure. When in doubt, follow SOP 069 (web version).
\nThe broader unique attributes go first, and then you get more specific as you move towards the end of the campaign name.
\nExample:
\nGood: [Brand]-[Funnel Stage]-[Location]-[Language]-[Objective]-[Description]
\nBad: [Description]-[Brand]-[Funnel Stage]-[Location]-[Language]-[Objective]
\nWhy/How to use this:
\nIf you do this, when you sort your campaigns by name, youâll group them straight away. (i.e. If you start your naming conventions with the brand name and you sort them by Campaign name all the campaigns from the same brand will be sorted right next to each other).
\nFor instance, a large ad account with a lot of campaigns and multiple brands could use:
\n[Brand]-[Funnel Stage]-[Location]-[Language]-[Objective]-[Description] This translates to:
\nNote: If you only have one campaign or have no apparent unique attributes that you can think of, use at least:
\n[Objective][Campaign Description]
\nE.g: Campaign #1: traffic-just do it neymar
\nWrite down your Ad Setâs unique attributes:
\nAsk yourself the following questions:
\nWhat sets this Ad Set apart from the others?
\nWhy did I create this Ad Set instead of using one of the other already existing ones? i.e, âBecause this Ad Set is specific to [insert unique attribute here]â
\ne.g, This Ad Set is specific to Germany. / This Ad Set is specific to Germany and to the Bottom of Funnel
\nIdeally, every relevant unique attribute should be used in your naming convention.
\nE.g. A large ad account with a lot of Ad Sets could use:
\n[Audience type]-[Language]-[Location]-[Device]-[Platform]-[Placement]-[Optimization]-[Audience Description]
\nThis translates to:
\nNote: If you only have one Ad Set or have no apparent unique attributes that you can think of, use at least:
\n[Traffic Type][Audience Description]
\nE.g: Campaign #1: stranger-traffic-just do it neymar
\nWrite down your Adâs unique attributes:
\nAsk yourself the following questions:
\nWhat sets this Ad apart from the others?
\nI.e, âThis Ad contains [insert unique attribute here]â E.g. This Ad contains an image. / This Ad contains an image and is a variant of the original, with red text instead of blue.
\nIdeally, every relevant unique attribute should be used in your naming convention.
\nNote: If you only have one Ad or have no apparent unique attributes that you can think of, use at least:
\n[YYMMDD]-[Asset type]-[Copy description]-[Asset description]-[Variant]
\nThis translates to:
\nAsk yourself the following questions:
\nWhat sets this Audience apart from the others?
\nNote: If you only have one Audience or have no apparent unique attributes that you can think of, use at least:
\n[Source]-[Description of the Audience]-[Location]-[Days]
\nRemember:
\nThereâs a 50-character limit for the audience name; Thereâs an additional âdescriptionâ field you can use to get into more details about that custom audience. Still, critical information should be on the audience name since inside Ads Manager, youâll not always have that description readily available; the same is true for third-party tools.
\nIn âAdditional resourcesâ, youâll find a list of common abbreviations that you might want to use straight away. Pick those that youâd like to use:
\nVery often, abbreviations & acronyms have already been created for you and are standardized across the world. To find those you can try Googling queries like: â[topic] ISO abbreviationâ, â[topic] code listâ Example:
\nIf the abbreviations you need havenât been created yet (possibly because they are very specific to your business), list them out and standardize them.
\nExample:
\nAsk yourself the following questions:
\nBy simply looking at this [Campaign/Ad Set/Ad/Audience] name, does it give me, or any other person, enough information to get a good understanding of what this [Campaign/Ad Set/Ad/Audience] is about?
\nIf the answer is yes, excellent, youâve got a solid naming convention, and no changes are required!
\nIf the answer is no, go through this SOP once again and make sure you fine-tune it until that is the case.
\nCountry Codes:Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1#Current_codes
\nCurrencies:Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217#Active_codes
\nLanguages:Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes
\nColors:Â https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_47100
\nCommon Digital Marketing Abbreviations:
\nGet familiar with the spreadsheet: You will notice that the template already has information in there. This template is the one ClickMinded uses internally, you will have to adapt it to fit your business needs.
\nThere are 7 Sheets on this Spreadsheet:
\nNaming Convention Rules: This is the place where youâll quickly type the naming convention rules for that Ad Account. It is recommended to print this and keep it near your desk, this way you can refer to it quickly when in doubt.
\nName Generator: These sheets are where you will be generating your Campaign, Ad Set, and Ad names (respectively), on a daily basis. In order to use those, you first need to configure them on the settings sheets for each.
\nName Generator Settings: Edit these sheets whenever you want to make changes to your naming convention. If this is the first time you are using this sheet you will also need to update these.
\nOn the âNaming Convention Rulesâ sheet, you will already find some generic rules. Leave the ones that apply to your naming convention and __add/remove/edit the ones that donât. __
\nOn the âSettingsâ sheet, you will already find some generic entries. Leave the ones that apply to your naming convention and add/remove/edit the ones that donât.
\nMost likely, you wonât need all the fields that are available to you. If that is the case, first of all, hide those columns that you donât need.
\nImportant: Do not delete those columns; doing so will break your spreadsheet.
\nEdit the fields that remain according to the naming convention you should have already defined by now:
\nMake sure you repeat this for the 3 âSettingsâ sheets.
\nOpen the âCampaign / Ad Set / Adâ sheet and hide the same columns that you hid in the previous step.Important: Do not delete those columns, doing so will break your spreadsheet.
\nThatâs it, itâs that simple. Your own Meta Ads Campaign, Ad Set and Ad name generator is ready to be used.
\nGenerating your Campaign, Ad Set, or Ad names is extremely simple after you have already edited the spreadsheet to fit your needs.
\nDepending on what youâre looking for, select the appropriate sheet below:
\nInside that sheet youâll find dropdowns that will list your possible options to pick from, some fields are open fields that you can write as you wish, for these types of fields, the spreadsheet will already lowercase whatever it is that you type.
\nNote: In some cases, the spreadsheet will already fill out additional information:
\nExample: When generating Ad names, you will already have todayâs date being added for you:
\nThatâs it really, youâll find your Campaign / Ad Set / Ad name in the column to the right.
\ni) Just copy it from the spreadsheet:
\nii) And paste it into Ads Manager:
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