Hide deleted campaigns, Ad Groups, and more...

Here's a really short and to-the-point advertiser email that asks a great question:

I'm wondering how to really delete a campaign? You know, make it go away? Not see it any more?... - Make it gone

While everything you create within your account remains there permanently as an historical overview of your account's performance, hiding deleted campaigns, Ad Groups, ad creatives, or deleted keywords is actually quick and easy. And, should you ever decide that you want to see what you've done in the past, you may easily do so.

You may choose to hide deleted campaigns from the Campaign Summary page of your account by selecting "Show only active campaigns" (or "Show all but deleted campaigns" which will still show your paused campaigns) from the drop-down menu located near the top-center of the chart that shows your campaign stats.

Similarly, to hide deleted Ad Groups, go the campaign within which that Ad Group is located. Then, select "Show only active Ad Groups" (or "Show all but deleted Ad Groups") from the drop-down menu. In this case, you'll find this menu above and to the left of your campaign statistics chart. It's beneath the header that shows the campaign's name.

And, if you want to hide deleted keywords and deleted ads, simply make sure the check box that says "Include deleted items that were active in this date range" is unchecked. You'll find the check box above your keyword list, just below the date range tool, in the Ad Group view of your account.

For all of these settings, once you make a selection, that setting will be applied every time you log in to your account until you change it. If you do change your mind later, just select the appropriate option from the drop-down menus and/or the check box mentioned above. Voila!

Posted by Blake, Inside AdWords crew