How to set up a Google Ads campaign, step by step

The problemBefore you start: what you need

Three things make the setup go smoothly: a clear goal (leads, sales or calls), a landing page that matches what you advertise, and a rough budget you are comfortable spending per day.

• A Google Ads account (free to create).
• One goal per campaign, so you can measure what works.
• A landing page that delivers on the promise in your ads.

The approachStep 1: Create your Google Ads account

Go to ads.google.com and sign up. Skip the "Smart" guided setup if it appears; switch to Expert mode so you keep full control over campaign structure, keywords and bidding. You can pause everything before anything goes live, so there is no risk in setting it up.

In practiceStep 2: Choose Search and a single goal

Google Ads has several campaign types, each serving a different purpose. Search shows text ads in search results and is the foundation for reaching users with buying intent. There are also six other types for reach, display, and video. Link each campaign to a single objective - multiple goals in one campaign make the data muddy and optimization harder.

AdBuilder builds all these campaign types for you based on your website, in the language of your project. Performance Max, App, Video, and Demand Gen do require working conversion tracking in your Google Ads account.

• Search: text ads based on keywords.
• Performance Max: Google distributes your budget across all channels and optimises for conversions.
• Dynamic search ads: Google matches on your page content and generates the headlines.
• Display: image ads (banners) on the Google Display Network.
• App: promote your mobile app (installs or in-app actions).
• Video: ads on YouTube.
• Demand Gen: images and video across YouTube, Discover and Gmail.

What you getStep 3: Campaigns and ad groups

Structure is what separates a campaign that performs from one that wastes budget. Group keywords into tight ad groups around a single theme, so every ad can speak directly to that intent.

A simple, effective split is by intent: a Brand campaign (your own name), a Generic campaign (category terms people search before they know you) and a Specific campaign (your concrete products or services).

• Brand: your company and product names. Cheap clicks, high intent.
• Generic: broad category terms. Higher volume, explain what you do.
• Specific: exact products or services. Strong intent, better conversion.

QualityStep 4: Keywords and negative keywords

Add keywords in the match type that fits your control level: Exact for tight control, Phrase for a balance, Broad only when you trust Smart Bidding to steer it. Just as important: add negative keywords to stop your ads showing for searches that will never convert (think "free", "jobs", "diy").

• Start with Exact and Phrase match for predictable traffic.
• Build a negative keyword list and reuse it across campaigns.
• Review the search terms report weekly and add new negatives.

OverviewStep 5: Write Responsive Search Ads

Each ad group needs at least one Responsive Search Ad: up to 15 headlines (30 characters each) and 4 descriptions (90 characters each). Google mixes them automatically, so write headlines that work in any order, include your main keyword in a few, and put your strongest benefit and a clear call to action up front.

• Keep headlines within 30 characters and descriptions within 90.
• No ALL CAPS, no exclamation marks in headlines, no half sentences.
• Cover different angles: benefit, offer, trust, call to action.

How it worksStep 6: Add extensions (assets)

Extensions make your ad bigger and more clickable at no extra cost. Add sitelinks (links to key pages), callouts (short selling points) and structured snippets (lists like services or brands). They improve click-through rate and give people more reasons to choose you.

The trade-offStep 7: Budget and bidding

Set a daily budget you are comfortable with; Google may spend up to roughly twice it on a busy day but balances over the month. For bidding, Maximise Clicks is fine to gather data early, then switch to a conversion-based strategy (Maximise Conversions or Target CPA) once conversion tracking is running.

PricingStep 8: Review, then launch

Before you publish, check every ad against Google policy, confirm the right landing page URLs, and make sure conversion tracking is set up. Then enable the campaign. Watch it daily for the first week and adjust keywords, negatives and bids based on the search terms you actually get.

In shortSkip the manual work

Every step above is exactly what AdBuilder automates. Paste your website and AI builds the full structure, Brand, Generic and Specific campaigns with ad groups, keywords, negatives, Responsive Search Ads and extensions, all within Google's character limits and policies. You review it, then push it straight to your Google Ads account. No spreadsheets, no import.

Building and previewing your campaign is free. Paid plans (Solo, Basic, Pro and Agency) add the push to Google Ads plus the ongoing optimization and insights below. AI is included on every plan.

FinallySetup is just the start: optimize and track

Launching a clean campaign is only the beginning. Once it is live, AdBuilder keeps working with you to improve performance and keep an eye on the account.

Optimize: AdBuilder analyzes real performance and gives live recommendations, like excluding wasted search terms, adjusting budgets, pausing campaigns that do not convert, adding missing extensions and fixing broken links. Each one is applied in your Google Ads account with one click, and it is reversible.

Insight: a performance dashboard with charts, segments and period comparison, plus a written AI analysis of cost, conversions, CPA, ROAS and impression share. You can also ask a chatbot questions about your account and get straight answers.

• Live recommendations applied in one click in Google Ads, and reversible.
• Cut waste: exclude search terms, adjust budgets, pause non-converting campaigns.
• Dashboard with charts, segments and period comparison.
• Written AI analysis plus a chatbot about your account.