How to Build a Google Ads Campaign from Scratch

Setting up your first Google Ads campaign can feel overwhelming. There are dozens of settings, unfamiliar terms, and enough options to spend hours second-guessing every decision before you even launch.

This guide cuts through all of it. You'll find the exact steps to go from a blank Google Ads account to a live, properly structured Search campaign — including the settings most beginners get wrong and the ones you can safely ignore.

Before You Start: What You Need

Before building your campaign, make sure you have:

• A Google Ads account — sign up at ads.google.com (you'll need a Google account)
• Conversion tracking set up — without this, you're flying blind. See our Google Ads Conversion Tracking guide first
• A landing page — a specific page relevant to your ad, not your homepage
• A budget — minimum $10–15/day is workable for most niches; $30–50/day gives faster data
• A clear goal — what counts as a conversion? Form submission, phone call, purchase?

Step 1: Choose Your Campaign Type

When you click + New campaign in Google Ads, the first decision is campaign type. For most businesses starting out, the right answer is Search.

Choose Search when:

• You want to reach people actively searching for your product or service
• You have a limited budget and need maximum efficiency
• You want full control and visibility over what's happening

When to consider other types:

• Shopping: if you sell physical products with a product feed
• Performance Max: if you have 50+ conversions/month and want to expand reach
• Display/YouTube: for brand awareness, not direct conversion

For this guide, we'll build a Search campaign — the most important campaign type to master first.

Step 2: Set Your Campaign Goal and Bidding Strategy

Selecting your goal:

1. In Google Ads, click Campaigns (left nav) → + New campaign
2. Select your goal:
• Leads — if you want form submissions, calls, or sign-ups
• Sales — if you're driving purchases
• Website traffic — only use this if you have no conversion tracking yet (not recommended long-term)
3. Select Search as the campaign type
4. Select your conversion action (this should already be set up from your conversion tracking)
5. Click Continue

Choosing your bidding strategy

This depends on how much conversion data you have:

If this is your first campaign, start with Maximise Clicks with a maximum CPC bid cap (set it to 2–3× your target CPA to avoid overpaying). Switch to Maximise Conversions once you have 15–20 conversions in the account.

See our full Smart Bidding vs Manual CPC guide for a detailed breakdown.

Step 3: Configure Campaign Settings

1. Campaign name: Be specific. "Search — [Service/Product] — [Location] — [Date]" is better than "Campaign 1." You'll thank yourself later when you have multiple campaigns.

2. Networks: This is one of the most important settings beginners get wrong. Uncheck both:

1. ❌ Search Network — includes Google Search partners (Bing, Ask.com, etc.) — lower quality traffic
2. ❌ Display Network — completely different from Search; don't mix them

Run your Search campaign on Google Search only first. Add partners later once you have baseline data.

• Target only where your business operates
• Use Presence (people in your targeted location), not Presence or interest — this default includes people who are interested in your location but aren't physically there

4. Languages: Set to match your target audience. If you serve English speakers, set English — don't leave it on "All languages."

5. Budget: Set your daily budget. Google may spend up to 2× your daily budget on high-traffic days but averages out over the month.

6. Ad schedule: Leave this as all days/times to start. Once you have data, you can add bid adjustments for your best-performing hours.

Step 4: Build Your Ad Groups

Ad groups sit inside your campaign and contain your keywords and ads. The key principle: tightly themed ad groups with highly related keywords.

Wrong: One ad group called "Services" with 50 keywords

Right: Five ad groups, each with 5–10 closely related keywords

Example for a digital marketing agency:

Campaign: Search — Digital Marketing — UK

Ad Group 1: Google Ads Management

Keywords: google ads management service, google ads agency, hire google ads expert

Ad Group 2: SEO Services

Keywords: seo agency, seo consultant, seo services for small business

Ad Group 3: Facebook Ads

Keywords: facebook ads management, facebook advertising agency, meta ads service

Each ad group gets its own ads written specifically for those keywords. This is what drives high Quality Scores and low CPCs.

Adding Keywords

For each ad group:

1. Click + Keywords
2. Enter your keywords — one per line
3. Choose match types:
• [exact match] — brackets — only triggers for searches very close to your keyword
• "phrase match" — quotes — triggers for searches containing your phrase
• broad match — no formatting — triggers for related searches (use carefully)

Recommendation for beginners: Start with phrase match for most keywords. Add exact match for your highest-value, highest-intent terms. Avoid broad match until you have conversion data and a solid negative keyword list.

Add your negative keywords immediately. Before your campaign goes live, add a negative keyword list to prevent irrelevant clicks. Common universal negatives: free, jobs, careers, salary, DIY, course, template, how to make. See our complete negative keywords guide for a full list by industry.

Step 5: Write Your Ads

Each ad group needs at least one Responsive Search Ad (RSA). RSAs let you write up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions — Google tests combinations and serves the best performers.

Headlines (30 characters each — aim for all 15):

Your first three headlines should cover:

1. The keyword / what you do: "Google Ads Management UK"
2. The core benefit: "Cut CPC, Boost Conversions"
3. A differentiator or CTA: "Free Audit — Book Today"

Fill the remaining slots with variations on benefits, features, social proof, and offers.

Descriptions (90 characters each — use all 4):

• Description 1: Expand on your main benefit + handle the most common objection
• Description 2: Social proof or specific result
• Description 3: Feature-led with a CTA
• Description 4: Urgency or secondary offer

Display URL paths (2 × 15 characters):

Use these to reinforce the keyword, e.g.: conversite.net/google-ads/free-audit

Ad strength indicator: Google rates your RSA as Poor / Fair / Good / Excellent. Aim for "Good" or "Excellent" — this requires enough variety in your headlines that Google has meaningful combinations to test.

See our Google Ads copywriting guide for detailed headline formulas and frameworks.

Step 6: Set Up Ad Extensions (Assets)

Extensions are additional pieces of information that expand your ad — and they're free. They increase your ad's visual footprint, improve CTR, and contribute to Quality Score.

Essential extensions to add before launch:

1. Sitelink extensions: 4+ links to specific pages on your site Example: "Services", "Case Studies", "Pricing", "Contact Us"

2. Callout extensions: Short phrases highlighting key selling points (25 chars each) Example: "No long-term contracts", "Free initial consultation", "Google Partner agency"

3. Structured snippets: List specific services, products, or features Example: Header "Services": Google Ads, SEO, Facebook Ads, Content Marketing

4. Call extension: Your phone number (if calls are a conversion goal)

5. Lead form extension: Lets people submit their details directly in the ad without visiting your site
   
   

How to add extensions: In your campaign, click Assets (left nav) → + New asset → choose type → fill in details.

Step 7: Review and Launch

Before hitting publish, run through this checklist:

Campaign level:

• Networks limited to Google Search only (partners unchecked)
• Location targeting set to "Presence" only
• Daily budget set correctly
• Bidding strategy appropriate for your conversion data level

Ad group level:

• Each ad group has a tight, consistent theme
• Keywords are phrase or exact match (not all broad)
• Negative keyword list added at campaign level

Ad level:

• At least one RSA per ad group
• 10+ headlines per RSA using varied angles
• All 4 descriptions written
• Display URL paths include the keyword
• Final URL leads to a relevant landing page (not homepage)

Extensions:

• Sitelinks, callouts, and structured snippets added
• Phone number added if calls are a goal

Conversion tracking:

• Conversion action confirmed active in Google Ads
• Status shows "Recording conversions" (not "Unverified")

When everything checks out, click Publish.

Step 8: The First 2 Weeks After Launch

Don't make major changes immediately. Let the campaign run for at least 7 days before drawing conclusions. Google's algorithm needs time to gather data.

Do check daily:

• Are ads serving? (Check status — if it says "Eligible (limited)" check the reason)
• Is spend tracking to budget?
• Are there any disapproved ads?

After 7 days, check:

• Search Terms Report (Keywords → Search terms): Are the queries relevant? Add irrelevant ones as negative keywords
• Quality Score (Keywords → Columns → Quality Score): Any keywords below 5? Check which component is pulling it down
• Impression share: If under 50%, you may be losing to competitors on budget or bid

After 14–30 days:

• Review which ad group themes are performing
• Identify your first converting keywords — these deserve their own tightly themed ad group
• Consider your first bidding strategy upgrade if you have 15–20 conversions

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should I budget for my first Google Ads campaign? The minimum viable budget depends on your industry's average CPC. Multiply your target CPA by 10 to get a monthly budget that gives the algorithm enough data. If you want leads at $50 each, start with $500/month ($16/day). Lower than this and the campaign may not generate enough data to optimise.

How long before I see results from Google Ads? First clicks typically appear within hours of launch. First conversions usually come within the first 1–2 weeks if targeting is correct. Meaningful optimisation data (enough to make reliable decisions) takes 30–60 days.

Can I pause and restart a Google Ads campaign? Yes. Pausing preserves all your settings, historical data, and Quality Scores. When you resume, there's usually a brief re-learning period of a few days. Avoid frequently pausing and restarting — it disrupts Smart Bidding learning cycles.

What's the difference between a campaign and an ad group? A campaign contains the budget, bidding strategy, and targeting settings. Ad groups sit inside campaigns and contain keywords and ads. One campaign can have multiple ad groups — each focused on a different keyword theme.

Do I need a Google Ads account or a Google Ads Manager account? If you're managing ads for just your own business, a standard Google Ads account is sufficient. A Google Ads Manager account (MCC) is for agencies or businesses managing multiple accounts — it lets you access multiple ad accounts under one login.

Related reading: Beginner Guide to Google Ads | Types of Google Ads Campaigns | Google Ads Conversion Tracking Setup | Smart Bidding vs Manual CPC | Google Ads Negative Keywords | Google Ads Quality Score Guide