To set up a Google Ads Search campaign, go to Campaigns, click the plus icon for a New campaign, choose Sales, Leads or Website traffic, select Search, then work through bidding, targeting, assets, ad groups, ads and budget before you click Publish. Ads are typically approved within one business day, though it may take a few days for them to start showing.
Here's the catch. Every Search campaign needs at least one conversion goal, even if you choose Create a campaign without a goal's guidance. And you can only use one type of ad group per campaign, standard or dynamic, so pick before you start building. The good news is that Search ads don't need special assets like images or videos, which is why they're the easiest place to start.
Step 1: create the campaign and set a goal
- Go to Campaigns within the Campaigns menu.
- Click the plus icon to create a New campaign.
- Choose Sales, Leads or Website traffic, or Create a campaign without a goal's guidance.
- Under Select a campaign type, choose Search.
- Add your conversion goals, then give the campaign a name on the next page.
Your changes are saved as a draft automatically. If you stop halfway, your draft sits at the top of the campaign list; click Resume and continue to pick it back up.
Step 2: choose your bidding
Google's page puts it simply: targeting decides who sees your ads, and bidding decides what you want them to do. Match the bidding focus to your objective.
| If you want | Focus bidding on | What it needs |
|---|---|---|
| Sales or leads | Conversions | Conversion tracking on your website |
| Website traffic | Clicks | Nothing extra |
| The best return on what you spend | Conversion value | Conversions with a value attached, so you can target a return on ad spend |
| Your ad showing as often as possible | Impression share | A target share of relevant search result pages |
If you're more experienced, you can select a bid strategy directly instead. Click Show more settings to pick which conversions to bid for, set an ad schedule for specific days and times, and choose ad rotation, which either favours better performing ads or shows them all evenly.
Step 3: networks, locations and audiences
Two boxes here change where your budget goes, so check them. Include Google search partners shows your ads on other search engines beyond Google; untick it and you'll only appear on Google search pages. Display Network extends your reach to other sites, and Google says it'll show your ads there whenever it sees an opportunity.
Then set your locations and any exclusions. For example, you could target a whole country except one city. Location options let you refine by how people relate to a place, which helps if, say, you're promoting an event that's mostly attended by out-of-towners. If your targeting is so narrow that predicted clicks drop to 0, you'll get an alert. Choose the languages your ads and keywords are written in, and add audiences based on demographics, interests, online activity or remarketing if you want.
Step 4: add assets
Assets give people more ways to act on your ad and can make it appear larger in search results. Sitelink, callout and call assets fill in by default; click Ad asset to see the rest.
- Sitelinks send people to specific pages on your site.
- Callouts highlight unique offers and promos.
- Call assets let people phone you.
- Structured snippets list your products or services.
- Lead form assets let people fill in a form for more information.
- Location, price, promotion, app and image assets cover the rest.
Step 5: build ad groups and keywords
Each ad group should match what people interested in one product search for. Google's example is a furniture business with a Couches ad group targeting leather couches, sofas and loveseats, with ads that link to the couches section of the site.
Standard ad groups are the default and the one Google suggests if you're new. You enter keywords one per line, get ideas from the Get keyword ideas box, and set match types. By default, keywords match a broad set of related searches. Put quotation marks around a keyword for phrase match, square brackets for exact match, and a minus sign in front to make it a negative keyword that blocks searches.
Dynamic ad groups work the other way round. Google uses your site's content to target searches and create ads, and you enter your domain, pick categories or pages, and can target pages by rules, such as those with shoe in the URL. Google says these suit larger advertising programmes.
Step 6: write your ads
Relevance to your keywords matters most, and Google recommends at least 3 ads per ad group. Enter the final URL where people land; by default only the domain shows, so fill in the display path if you want more of the URL visible. Write your headlines and up to 2 lines of description, using up to 90 characters, then click Done and New ad to add more.
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Step 7: set the budget and publish
Enter an average daily budget. Google suggests several options based on similar campaigns, or you can set your own. On busy days you may spend more, but over the month it averages out. Alternatively, set a total campaign budget, which needs a start and end date, and Google aims to spend it evenly without going over.
On the review page, click Fix it on any alerts, then Publish. You can edit settings, ad groups and ads later from the Overview page.
My verdict on Search campaigns
For a small business I'd start with a single Search campaign, standard ad groups and clicks or conversions as the bidding focus, depending on whether tracking's in place. Untick the Display Network until you've seen how search performs on its own. Do your research in Keyword Planner before you build, and once it's live, keep an eye on your Quality Score.
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Frequently asked questions
Do I need a conversion goal for a Google Ads Search campaign?
Yes. At least one conversion goal is required to create a Search campaign, even if you select Create a campaign without a goal's guidance.
How long does it take for Google Search ads to be approved?
Ads are typically approved within one business day, but it may take a few days for your ads to start showing.
Can I mix standard and dynamic ad groups in one campaign?
No. You can only use one type of ad group per campaign.
How many ads should each ad group have?
Google recommends creating at least 3 ads per ad group.
Does a Google Ads Search campaign show on other sites?
Only if you choose to. Include Google search partners adds other search engines, and the Display Network box extends reach to other sites.
