Google Ads Playbook

How to set up, track, and run Google Ads Search, Performance Max, Demand Gen, and Shopping campaigns.

Account structure

Use one account per business or brand. Use a manager account (MCC) to group them.
Give every campaign the same naming pattern, for example Brand-Geo-Type-Goal.
Keep brand and non-brand search in separate campaigns so their budgets and results stay apart.
Use campaign experiments to test bid strategies and landing pages before rolling them out.

Install the Google tag directly or through Google Tag Manager.
Turn on enhanced conversions for web. For lead businesses, use enhanced conversions for leads to import offline outcomes.
Mark one or two conversion actions as primary. Set everything else to secondary so bidding does not optimize toward it.
Set conversion values, even estimated ones, if you plan to use value-based bidding.
In the EEA and UK, implement consent mode v2.
Link Google Analytics 4 and Merchant Center to the account.

Type	Use it for
Search	Capturing people who search for what you sell.
Performance Max	One campaign across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps. Best with a product feed or strong conversion data.
Demand Gen	Image and video ads on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail to create demand.
Shopping	Product listing ads from a Merchant Center feed, when you want more control than Performance Max gives.
Video	YouTube reach and awareness.
Display	Remarketing and reach on the Google Display Network.

Search: start with exact and phrase match on proven terms. Use broad match only with Smart Bidding and good conversion data.
Review search terms every week. Add negatives to shared negative keyword lists.
Upload Customer Match lists and remarketing lists. Add them to campaigns as observation audiences or Performance Max audience signals.
In Performance Max, add brand exclusions and account-level negative keywords where needed.
Set location targeting to “presence” (people in the location) unless you want people interested in it.

Responsive search ads take up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions. Fill most of them with distinct messages.
Pin headlines only when legal or compliance requires it.
Add sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and images at the account or campaign level.
Performance Max: fill each asset group with images, logos, headlines, descriptions, and at least one video you made. If you supply no video, Google may generate one.
Replace assets rated “Low” after they have enough impressions.

Start new campaigns on Maximize conversions or Maximize conversion value. Add a target CPA or target ROAS once results are stable.
Google can spend up to twice the daily budget on a single day. Monthly spend stays at or below the daily budget times 30.4.
Rule of thumb: change budgets and targets in small steps (about 20% at a time) so bidding does not restart learning.
Give Smart Bidding a week or two after a major change before judging it.

Daily: spend, disapproved ads, and policy issues.
Weekly: search terms, negatives, and budget pacing.
Every two weeks: asset ratings and ad copy tests.
Monthly: Performance Max channel and listing group reports; move budget between campaigns based on cost per result.