Consistent naming conventions are one of the most overlooked parts of marketing operations. When campaigns, emails, and ads follow different naming styles, performance becomes harder to track. Reports break. Pivot tables stop working. And teams spend hours trying to understand which creative, audience, or test produced results.
A strong naming system fixes all of this.
This guide walks you through a clean, scalable naming convention framework for paid ads, email marketing, and raw data reporting. It is based on the actual Naming Conventions Template used inside GrowthAssistant’s GrowthSpurt Newsletter system.
By the end, you’ll understand how to create clear, repeatable structures that keep your reporting accurate, your campaigns organized, and your team aligned.
Why Naming Conventions Matter
Naming conventions are essential because they:
- Make reporting faster
- Improve accuracy in dashboards and Looker/Sheets
- Reduce confusion across campaigns
- Help teams filter and sort performance quickly
- Standardize how multiple people work inside accounts
- Prevent “mystery campaigns” in Ads Manager or ESP platform
- Keep creative testing organized
- Help with historical performance audits
A good naming system eliminates guesswork and makes performance trends easier to understand.
1. Paid Ads Naming Conventions
Paid ads often generate the largest volume of creative variations, tests, and audience splits. Without structure, even a small account becomes chaotic.
The naming convention used in the template includes three layers:
A. Campaign Naming
A clean structure includes:
- Launch date
- Audience type
- Targeting style
- Objective
- Offer
- Strategy or angle
A sample structure might look like:
012525_Prospecting_Broad_TOF_UGC_Static_FreeTrial
is tells you instantly:
- When it launched
- What audience it uses
- What the goal is
- What creative type is inside
- What offer is being promoted
B. Ad Set Naming
Ad Set names should capture:
- Demographic filters
- Interest or behavioral targeting
- Placement choices
- Testing conditions (ex. ATC audiences, LLAs)
Example:
F25-45_LLA2p_ATC_AdvantagePlus
This makes filtering inside Ads Manager much easier.
C. Ad Naming
Ad names contain the most detail because they track creative-level variables. They typically include:
- Creator
- Format (Static, Video, UGC, Carousel)
- Hook
- Version number
- Testing condition
Example:
EmmaUGC_Hook1_30s_V2_Static
2. Email Naming Conventions
Email naming conventions help teams track performance across newsletters, flows, A/B tests, and seasonal sends.
From the template, email naming includes:
A. Campaign Names
A standard email campaign name includes:
- Date
- Campaign type
- Theme or purpose
- Product or offer
- Optional test label
Example:
0125_Newsletter_ProductHighlight_NewArrivals
This allows marketers to understand the intent of the email immediately.
B. A/B Test Naming
The template uses a smart structure where Variation A and Variation B are named consistently with only the test variable changing.
Example:
A: 0125_Newsletter_Welcome_SubjectTestA
B: 0125_Newsletter_Welcome_SubjectTestB
If the two variations differ significantly, the system auto-labels the parent as Mixed, making reporting cleaner.
This structure is ideal for:
- Subject line tests
- CTA tests
- Creative format tests
- Body copy tests
3. Naming Conventions for Raw Data Formatting
The template also includes a Raw Data Format tab that helps break down long naming strings into spreadsheet-friendly segments.
Each naming component feeds into its own column, allowing easier filtering and pivoting.
For example, from a naming line like:
012525_Prospecting_Broad_TOF_UGC_Emma_Hook2_LP1
The raw data split gives you individual cells for:
- Launch Date
- Funnel Stage
- Audience Type
- Creative Format
- Creator
- Hook
- Landing Page
This makes performance reporting extremely clean.
Benefits of a raw data split:
- Faster pivot tables
- Easier A/B test evaluation
- Cleaner CAC and ROAS attribution
- More reliable creative insights
- Better automated reporting using tools like Funnel.io or Supermetrics
Teams often underestimate the value of this step, but it is what turns naming conventions into actual reporting power.
4. Best Practices for Naming Conventions
Here are universal rules included in the template to keep your naming system consistent:
Keep It Short Enough to Read
Aim for names under:
- 80 characters for campaigns
- 120 characters for ad sets
- 150 characters for ads
Avoid special characters
Do not use:
- Slashes
- Commas
- Parentheses
- Emojis
Use underscores or hyphens instead.
Use consistent capitalization
Choose one style and stick to it:
- Prospecting_Broad_UGC_30s (recommended)
- Avoid mixed styles like Prospecting_BROAD_ugc
Create a reference tab
Add a simple “dictionary” for recurring terms:
- TOF
- MOF
- BOF
- Static
- UGC
- Creator names
- Offer types
Train the whole team
A naming template only works if everyone follows it.
Consistent usage builds clean historical data.
5. How Naming Conventions Improve Your Reporting
Teams often underestimate the long-term value of naming conventions. Here’s what they unlock:
Clear performance comparisons
You can easily answer:
- Which creator performs best?
- Which hook drives the lowest CAC?
- Which email themes generate high open rates?
Better creative testing
You can group all:
- 30-second videos
- Hook 1 variations
- Seasonal campaigns
- Top-of-funnel emails
Stronger trend analysis
You can analyze:
- AOV by audience
- ROAS by objective
- CTR by creative format
- Email revenue by theme
Cleaner team handoffs
New team members instantly understand your structure.
Faster scaling
With clarity in your naming system, you scale decisions quickly without confusion.
A Good Naming System is the Foundation of Good Reporting
A strong naming convention system is one of the easiest ways to improve your marketing operations. It creates alignment across paid ads, email, analytics, and reporting. It helps your team move faster, reduces errors, and supports better decision-making.
The template you shared is already a powerful starting point, and with a few improvements, it can serve as a standard naming guide for any growing brand.
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