A Beginner’s Guide to Launching Your First Search Campaign

Creating your first search campaign can be exciting, but many beginners struggle before they even get started. This is not because Google Ads is hard, but because they often begin the wrong way. If you jump straight into keywords and ad copy without a solid foundation, you might end up wasting time and money.

Here are some simple steps to guide you in creating a successful search campaign.

1. Set Up Conversion Tracking First

Before you do anything else, you need to define what success looks like. A “win” could be:

• Filling out a form
• Making a phone call
• Booking an appointment
• Completing a purchase

Make sure you track these actions before any traffic hits your website. Using tools like Google Tag Manager to set up goals will help. If you do nothing else on this list, doing this step will put you halfway to success. Without conversion tracking, you can’t optimize your campaign.

2. One Offer Per Campaign

Think of a campaign as a budget container. If you sell different services, do not mix them in one campaign. This can lead to the wrong services eating up your budget.

For your first campaign, focus on the service with clear buying intent. For example, “Emergency Plumber” is more specific than “Plumbing Tips.” This will help you find customers who are ready to buy.

3. Tight Ad Groups, Themed by Intent

Inside each campaign, create ad groups focused on specific keywords. Avoid putting too many unrelated keywords into one ad group, as this can lower your ad’s relevance.

Instead, keep ad groups small and related. For example, “Emergency Plumber” deserves its ad group separate from “Boiler Installation,” even if both are plumbing-related.

4. Keywords: Temporarily remove broad match options for the time being.

Many new advertisers waste money on keyword match types. For beginners, stick to phrase match or exact match keywords. Broad match can bring in unwanted traffic, which you can’t control yet.

Start each ad group with:

• 3-5 exact match keywords
• 3-5 phrase match keywords

This way, you’ll focus on keywords that are most likely to convert.

5. Incorporating Negative Keywords from Day One

Negative keywords tell Google Ads what not to display your ads for. Before launching, create a list of negative keywords. This includes obvious terms like “free,” “how to,” and “courses.”

Also consider specific industry terms you don’t want, like “DIY” for an emergency plumber. Regularly check your search terms report for the first two weeks to add any irrelevant queries.

6. Common Settings That Most Beginners Frequently Misconfigure

Some settings can waste your budget. Change these before launching:

• Networks: Turn off the Display Network and Search Partners. This helps keep your data clean.
• Location Targeting: Set to “Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations” to avoid paying for distant clicks.
• Ad Rotation: Leave on “Optimize.”
• Devices: Don’t adjust bids at first; you need data.
• Content Suitability: Filter out low-quality placements.

Taking a few minutes to adjust these settings can save you money.

7. Bidding and Budget

Start with Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks with a bid cap for a new campaign. Smart Bidding strategies need data, which you don’t have yet. Once you gather 25-30 conversions in a month, you can try strategies like Maximize Conversions.

Week One is dedicated to Observation, Not Adjustment

In the first week, the biggest mistake is making too many changes. Check your search terms report, add negative keywords, and pause any obviously broken ads, but try not to change bids or budgets much. Allow the campaign to collect data for about two weeks before making significant changes.

The Boring Truth

Launching a Google Ads search campaign is easy, but making it profitable and successful requires effort. Focus on laying a strong foundation, and you will be on your way to generating valuable leads.

By following these steps, you’re more than halfway to creating an effective Google Ads campaign!

This is a condensed version of the article available at https://ppchero.com/how-to-create-your-first-search-campaign/.