How to Set Up a Google Search Ads Campaign

From B2B tech to affiliate marketing, I’ve helped a wide range of businesses hit the ground running with Google Ads. In this post, I will explain how to set up a new Google search ads campaign, covering best practices across all of the necessary steps including campaign structure, assets, and conversion tracking. 

Review Historical Data (if available)

If your brand has never run any Google Ad campaigns before, skip to the next session. Otherwise, I recommend checking the historical data in GA4 before relaunching, because you may uncover valuable insights for optimizing campaign performance

Google Ads traffic will automatically show up in GA4 as medium = cpc. In the Acquisition overview report, the card that shows sessions by session campaign is dedicated to Google Ads campaigns. Apart from the standard reports, you can also build custom exploration reports. For example, you could build a report that combines the keywords that you bid on, with the search term that a user entered on Google before clicking on the ad.

Conversion Tracking in GA4

Conversion tracking using GA4 is easy, but it requires several steps. First, link the Google Ads and GA4 accounts. To check whether the accounts are linked properly, in GA4, the Google Ads account should be listed under “Google Ads Links.” In Google Ads, the GA4 property should appear under Linked accounts. 

Next, import Key Events from GA4 to use as conversion actions in Google Ads. Here’s a helpful tutorial video on how to do this.

When creating your ads in GA4, make sure that the final URL has UTM parameters. 

For example:

https://datachai.com/utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term={keyword}&utm_campaign=datachai&utm_content=none&utm_campaign_id={campaignid}

The above UTM template includes two dynamic values. {keyword} automatically inserts the actual search query that triggered the ad, and {campaignid} automatically inserts the Google Ads campaign ID. Google Ads replaces these placeholders with real-time values when someone clicks your ad.

Note that GA4 takes 24-48 hours to get attributed, so your conversions on Google Ads will be delayed by that much.

Campaign Structure

A well-structured Google Search Ads account typically includes separate campaigns for brand terms, competitor keywords, and themed campaigns organized by products, services, or target industries. To maintain efficiency, stick with exact or phrase match keywords for the brand campaign, exclude competitor names as negative keywords across all campaigns except the dedicated competitor campaign. 

Google’s algorithm needs options to optimize performance, so aim for at least 2 ads per ad group to enable testing. If you’re unsure of what to test, minimum variation is fine. For example, use straightforward copy in the one version (ex. “Marketing Automation Solutions”), versus urgent or price-sensitive copy in another (ex. “15% Off, Limited Time Offer”). To save time, draft ad copy in a spreadsheet for bulk uploads.

Bidding Strategy

Start manual cpc to control the budget, and then switch to smart bidding after you get some conversion data in your account. If necessary, you can set a manual maximum cpc higher than the campaign or ad group default, to boost bids for one expensive keyword while keeping all others low. 

Once you've set up and launched the ad campaigns, monitor them especially closely over the first 1-2 weeks. Avoid over-optimizing too soon because Google's algorithm needs conversion data. I'd wait for a minimum of 50 clicks before acting on any early trends such as underperforming ads or converting keywords.

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Launching a new Google Search Ads campaign requires careful planning —from ad copywriting to technical implementation. Whether you’re setting up a new account or relaunching an existing one, these best practices will help you to hit the ground running and maximize ROAS. Remember to start with manual CPC to control spend, give the algorithm enough data before making major adjustments, and leverage GA4 for reporting.

If you found this post helpful, share it with a colleague, or bookmark it for your next Google Ads campaign setup. Ready to take the next step? If you're looking to launch a new Google Ads campaign and require a digital marketing specialist, feel free to reach out to me —I offer full-service including campaign setup, conversion tracking, and ongoing optimization and reporting.