Google Ads Management Essentials

Google Ads is an online advertising platform that helps businesses promote their products and services on Google. When you search for something, you often see ads at the top or bottom of the search results page. These ads are created using Google Ads.

Why Is Google Ads Important?

• Wide Reach: Google is one of the most visited websites, so your ads can be seen by millions of potential customers.
• Targeting Options: You can target specific audiences based on their interests and location, reaching people likely to be interested in your products.
• Budget Control: You can set your own budget and only pay when someone clicks on your ad.
• Measurable Results: Google Ads provides metrics to track how well your ads perform, helping you see what works.
• Quick Impact: Your ads can start showing almost immediately, bringing traffic to your website right away.

Setting Up Your Google Ads Account

Setting up your Google Ads account is the first step toward running successful campaigns. Whether you’re new to digital advertising or just new to Google Ads, getting your account configured correctly from the start will make sure you have the foundation you need for effective advertising. In this section, we’ll walk through the setup process and explain key account features.

Creating Your Account: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Sign Up for Google Ads

Visit the Google Ads website and click the “Start Now” button. You’ll be asked to sign in with your Google account. If you don’t have one yet, you’ll need to create a Google account first.

2. Choose Your Campaign Goal

Google Ads will ask you to select a campaign goal—whether you want to drive website traffic, increase sales, or boost brand awareness. Choosing the right goal at this stage helps Google Ads tailor your experience and suggests relevant campaign types.

3. Set Up Your Billing Information

Before running any ads, you’ll need to input your billing details. This includes selecting your currency, payment method (credit card, bank account, etc.), and setting a billing threshold. Google Ads typically charges on a prepay or post-pay basis, depending on your region.

Note that once you select a currency, you cannot make changes to this setting.

4. Create Your First Campaign

Once your account is set up, you’ll be asked to create your first campaign.

Choose your Objective

There are several objectives to choose from. Selecting an “Objective” can help focus you on the campaign types that are most relevant for your business. However, we usually recommend selecting “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance” so you can select from all the available options.

Select your Campaign Type

You’ll choose your campaign type (Search, Display, Video, etc.). Choose the campaign type that is most aligned with your marketing goals and the assets you have available.

Search
Target users based on the keywords they are searching in Google Search. Displays a text-based ad, occasionally with a thumbnail image and or logo.

Performance Max
Target users based on keywords, interests, customer data and other audience-based data. PMax ads can be images, video or text-based and appear across Google’s properties, including Search, Gmail, YouTube and their display network.

Demand Gen
Target users based on interests or other audience-based data. Demand Gen is a visual campaign type that is similar to PMax that primarily appears on YouTube, Google Discover and Gmail. You require video and image assets for this campaign type.

Display
Target users based on interests or other audience-based data. Display are classic image-based advertisements that appear across the Google display network, which includes more than 3 million websites.

Video
Target users based on interests and audience-based data specifically on YouTube. Video ads can appear before, after and during other videos watched on YouTube. Video ads may also appear in the YouTube network and Connected TV

Shopping
Use keywords and audience-based data to advertise your inventory of products directly in Google Search. A Google Merchant feed is required to run shopping advertising.

Select Conversion Goals and Results

If you have not already done so, import any conversion action data you may have from Google Analytics or other web platforms. If you do not have this already setup, you may need to setup conversions in Google Ads or Google Analytics before proceeding with your campaign launch.

Be sure to select the conversions that are most relevant to your campaign goals. Google will optimize for the easiest to obtain conversion that you set, so be cautious selecting too many conversions, or conversions that are not tied to real business revenue.

Set Your Daily Budget 

After choosing your campaign type, you’ll need to set a daily budget and select a bidding strategy. Your daily budget is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend per day on a specific campaign. Unlike other campaigns, you cannot set a total campaign budget, so you may need to do some math to calculate what your daily spend should be.

Choose a Bidding Strategy

Selecting a bidding strategy is highly dependent on the type of campaign you are running and the user data that you have connected to your Google Ads account. If you are looking for traffic or to outrank competitors in search, choose “maximize clicks” or “maximize impression share”. For lead generation, we usually recommend “maximize conversions”. If you have transaction and revenue data connected to your Google Ads account, choose a bidding strategy such as “maximize conversions” or “maximize conversion value” is often the most successful.

Many automated bidding strategies rely on having conversion data from your website connected to your Google Ads account. Data can be connected to your Google Ads in the “Conversions” section of the Google Ads platform. We do not recommend running conversion-based campaigns on automated bidding without conversion data.

Most automated bidding approaches have a “learning period” before they begin to generate successful results. Selecting the correct bidding strategy for your business goals is often a complex and dynamic element of Google Ads management. If you are not getting the results you expected with one strategy after a few weeks, we recommend experimenting with another.

Read more about automated bidding strategies.

Select your Audience

Depending on the type of campaign you select; you will be asked to identify who the ads should be shown to. For Search campaigns this will include selecting a list of search terms (keywords) to target. For most campaign types you will also have the option to restrict your audience to people with specific interests, demographics, geography, and people who have previously engaged with your web assets (remarketing lists).

Choosing an audience that is broad enough to achieve your goals, but targeted enough to focus your ad spend on the audience most likely to convert is a challenging task for first-time advertisers. We recommend starting conservatively with your most valuable audiences and expanding gradually as your marketing budget allows.

Create your Ads and Assets

Ad creation is an important component of a successful Google Ads campaign. For a Search campaign, Google will suggest you create up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions for each of your ads. We recommend starting smaller, with a few headlines and descriptions that you know resonate with your audience (perhaps from other marketing campaigns). From there you can experiment with new headline options as your account matures.

If you are using visual assets in your campaigns, be sure to create more than one ad variation in a variety of sizes, to test which assets resonate the most with your audience. There are many tools available that can assist with this.

We highly recommend uploading as many asset types as possible (sitelinks, logos, phone number etc.) to maximize your real estate in the search results where your ads appear.

5. Launch Your Campaign

Now, you should be ready to launch your campaign. Google Ads will show your ad to the targeted audience based on the criteria you’ve set, and you can start tracking performance from your Google Ads dashboard.

Understanding User Access and Permissions

Google Ads allows you to manage who can access your account and what they can do. There are three main access levels:

• Admin: Full control over the accounts, including creating and editing campaigns.
• Standard: Can manage campaigns but can’t change account-level settings.
• Read-only: Can view data but cannot make changes.

To add or modify user access, go to the “Tools and Settings” menu, select “Account Access,” and invite users by email. You can adjust their permissions at any time.

Proper budgeting makes sure your Google Ads campaigns stay on track and deliver results. Here’s what you need to know about managing your budget and billing options.

How to Set Your Budget

For each campaign you will be asked to set a daily budget. This is the maximum amount you’re willing to spend per day. Google will spread the budget throughout the day but may overspend up to 20% of your daily budget. Google balances your ad spend throughout the month, so some days it might spend more, and some days it may spend less, balancing out to the daily budget you set over the month.

Understanding Billing Options and Payment Methods

• Billing Options: Choose between Prepay (pay in advance) or Post-pay (pay after your ads run, once you reach a spending threshold).
• Payment Methods: Google Ads accepts credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, and PayPal (depending on location). You can update your payment methods anytime under the “Billing” section. Depending on how much you are spending in Google Ads monthly, some options may or may not be available to you.
• Automatic vs. Manual Payments: With automatic payments, Google charges you once your spend hits a threshold. Manual payments require you to pre-load funds before ads run.

Understanding the key components of a Google Ads campaign will help you create more efficient and effective campaigns.

Key Components of a Google Ads Campaign

1. Campaign: The highest level in your Google Ads account, where you set your campaign goals, budget, and targeting options.
2. Ad Groups: Within each campaign, ad groups allow you to organize your ads by themes or keywords. Each ad group should focus on a specific set of related keywords.
3. Ads: The actual text, video or image ads shown to your audience based on their search queries or browsing behavior.
4. Keywords: The terms or phrases people search for, which trigger your ads. Choosing the right keywords makes sure your ads are seen by the right audience.

Organizing Your Campaigns and Ad Groups

To maximize performance, it’s important to keep your campaigns and ad groups well-organized. Here’s how:

• Campaign Organization: Structure your campaigns by product categories, services, or regions. This lets you set distinct budgets and targeting for each area of your business.
• Ad Groups: Keep ad groups focused on specific themes or keyword sets to improve relevance. For example, if you’re selling shoes, separate ad groups for “running shoes” and “formal shoes” will allow you to write more targeted ads.

Exploring Campaign Types

Google Ads offers a variety of campaign types to help you reach your audience in different ways. Here’s some common campaign types:

Search Ads: What You Need to Know

Search ads appear when users search for specific keywords on Google. They’re text-based ads that show up in search results, ideal for capturing user intent and driving traffic to your website.

Display Ads: Reaching Your Audience

Display ads are visual ads that appear on websites, apps, and Google partner sites across the internet. They’re perfect for brand awareness and targeting users as they browse online.

Video Ads: Engaging Through Visual Content

Video ads appear on YouTube and across the Google Display Network. They’re highly engaging and effective for storytelling, product demonstrations, or promoting brand awareness.

Shopping Ads: Selling Products Online

Shopping ads show up in Google search results and on Google Shopping. They display product images, prices, and your store name, making them ideal for e-commerce businesses looking to sell products directly.

App Ads: Promoting Your Mobile Applications 

App ads promote mobile apps across Google’s properties, including Search, YouTube, and the Google Play Store. They’re designed to drive app installations and user engagement. 

In Google Ads, it’s important to distinguish between keywords and search terms, as both play a key role in your advertising success.

Defining Keywords and Their Role in Campaigns

Keywords are specific words or phrases you select to trigger your ads. For example, if you’re in the travel tourism industry, you might choose keywords like “luxury beach resorts” or “affordable family vacations.” These help Google understand when to show your ads, connecting you with potential customers searching for those terms.

What Are Search Terms and Why They Matter

Search terms are the actual phrases users typed into Google when they saw your ad. For instance, a user might search for “best gluten-free bakery near me.” If this search term matches your keywords, your ad could appear. Understanding search terms is crucial because they show what users search to find your ads.

Effective keyword research is key to a successful Google Search Ads campaign. Here is some important information about conducting effective keyword research.

Tools and Techniques for Finding the Right Keywords

• Google Keyword Planner: A free tool in Google Ads that helps you discover keyword ideas, search volume, and competition levels.
• Competitor Research: Analyze competitor websites or use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to identify keywords they rank for.
• Search Term Reports: Use data from past campaigns to see which search terms brought traffic and conversions.

Long-Tail Keywords: Maximizing Your Reach

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific phrases with lower search volume but often higher intent. These keywords can help you target niche audiences, reduce competition, and maximize your budget by focusing on more qualified leads.

Keyword Match Types

Once you have your list of keywords you would like to target, you will need to choose a “match type”. Google has 3 options to choose from: broad match, phrase match and exact match.

Keyword match types are a constantly changing and controversial aspect of managing a Google Search campaign. To see current definitions of keyword match types, please check Google’s latest documentation.

Despite what Google may suggest, we recommend starting with “exact match” keywords and expanding over time. This approach minimizes the need for negative keyword management and reduces wasted ad spend.

Once your campaign is up and running, you will want to optimize your ads to maximize their profitability. To do this you will need to track key metrics that measure performance and ROI.

Key Metrics to Track: Clicks, Impressions, and CTR

• Clicks: The number of times users click on your ad. More clicks generally mean your ads are engaging and relevant.
• Impressions: How often your ad is shown to users. A higher number of impressions can indicate good visibility.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The ratio of clicks to impressions. A higher CTR shows your ads are compelling and relevant to the audience.
• Conversions: The number of conversions events that resulted after someone clicked on a Google Ad. Examples include, phone calls, form submissions or purchases.

Avoiding common mistakes can help you run more efficient campaigns and prevent wasted spend. Here’s what to watch out for:

Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Campaigns

• Ignoring Negative Keywords: Failing to add negative keywords can lead to irrelevant traffic and wasted budget.
• Broad Targeting: Overly broad targeting may result in low-quality clicks that don’t convert. Always refine your audience based on performance.
• Not Tracking Conversions: Without conversion tracking, you can’t measure ROI or optimize campaigns effectively.

Best Practices for Long-Term Success

• Monitor and Optimize Regularly: Regularly review performance and adjust targeting, keywords, and bids.
• Leverage Automation: Use automated bidding strategies to improve efficiency. Experiment with new campaign types as they become available.
• Focus on Quality Score: Improve your Quality Score by writing relevant ads, choosing targeted keywords, and optimizing landing pages. This can lower your cost-per-click and improve ad positioning.

From selecting the right keywords and understanding search terms to managing your budget and analyzing performance metrics, each element plays a vital role in your advertising success. By applying the insights and strategies covered in this guide, you can create more effective campaigns that reach your target audience and drive meaningful results.

But let’s be honest, doing all of this is both complex and time consuming. Our Paid Specialists have years of experience navigating the complexities of Google Ads. If you need assistance with setup, troubleshooting performance or ongoing management, we can help.