The 13-Step Guide to Creating a Profitable Google AdWords Campaign from Scratch

18 Jun The 13-Step Guide to Creating a Profitable Google AdWords Campaign from Scratch

We know that when it comes to AdWords the most important acronym for our clients is ROI, and why shouldn’t it be!? In this article, we are going to walk you through everything you need to know when it comes to creating a profitable Google AdWords campaign from scratch.

Introduction to AdWords (now Google Ads)

Google AdWords, now known as Google Ads, is Google’s flagship platform for online advertising. With Google Ads, businesses of all sizes can create targeted campaigns that reach potential customers right when they’re searching for products or services on Google Search, browsing YouTube, or visiting websites across the Google Display Network. Whether you’re looking to boost brand awareness, drive more site traffic, or increase sales, Google Ads offers a flexible and powerful way to connect with your target audience. In addition to Google Ads, understanding the basics of Amazon Advertising can further expand your digital strategy across different e-commerce platforms. Understanding how to create and manage a Google Ads campaign is the first step toward unlocking the full potential of digital advertising and reaching more potential customers through the Google search ecosystem.

Define Your Campaign Goal

Before you dive into creating your first Google Ads campaign, it’s crucial to define exactly what you want to achieve. Are you aiming to drive more traffic, generate high-quality leads, or boost online sales? Google Ads offers a variety of campaign types—such as search ads, video ads, shopping ads, and display ads—each tailored to different business objectives. For example, if your goal is to increase website traffic, a search ad campaign targeting relevant keywords will help your business appear in Google Search results when potential customers are actively looking for your products or services. If you want to showcase products visually, shopping ads can display your offerings directly in the Google Shopping tab. By clearly defining your campaign goal, you’ll be able to choose the right campaign type and set your Google Ads campaign up for success.

13 Steps to Creating a Google Ads Campaign

Google Ads are an incredible lead generating resource which when executed well becomes a powerful, conversion-driven sales funnel. The Google Ads platform serves as the core system for managing ad campaigns and facilitating the entire paid advertising process on Google. In this guide, we’ll cover how to create, manage, and optimize both PPC campaigns and various types of ad campaigns within Google Ads. So, let’s get started so you can begin creating a profitable Google Ads Campaign.

1: Create a Google Ads Account.

First things first. Visit the Google Ads Website and set up your account. During the setup process, you will be prompted to enter your business name and website, which are essential for establishing your online presence. If you are having any issues, you can call and get assistance from a Google Ads specialist. Tip, have your financial information ready to complete the setup process. Once your account is set up, you can proceed to create your first campaign by following the guided steps provided by Google Ads.

2: Understand Ad Groups

Ad groups are the building blocks of any successful Google Ads campaign. Each ad group contains a set of ads that share common targets, such as keywords, ad copy, and landing pages. Organising your campaign into well-structured ad groups allows you to tailor your messaging and offers to specific segments of your audience. For instance, if you run an online store, you might create separate ad groups for different product categories—like shoes, accessories, or dresses—each with its own set of relevant keywords and customized ad copy. This approach not only improves the relevance of your ads but also helps you track performance and optimize your Google Ads campaign more effectively. By leveraging ad groups, you can ensure that your ads resonate with the right audience and drive better results from your ad spend.

3: Conduct Competitor and Keyword Research

A successful Google Ads campaign starts with thorough competitor and keyword research. Understanding what your target audience is searching for—and how your competitors are positioning themselves—gives you a strategic edge. Use Google Ads’ Keyword Planner to discover high-potential keywords that align with your products or services and to gauge search volume and competition. Dive deeper with tools like Auction Insights to see how your ads stack up against competitors, and consider third-party platforms like Ahrefs or SEMrush for a broader view of the competitive landscape. By analysing which keywords your competitors are targeting and identifying gaps in their strategies, you can refine your keyword list and craft ads that better capture your target audience’s attention. This research phase is essential for building a Google Ads campaign that stands out and delivers results.

4: Set Up Keywords and Match Types

After identifying your target keywords, it’s time to set them up in your Google Ads campaign using the right match types. Google Ads offers several match types—broad match, phrase match, and exact match—each controlling how closely a user’s search query must align with your chosen keywords for your ad to appear. Broad match casts the widest net, showing your ads for related searches and variations, while phrase match targets searches that include your keyword phrase in order. Exact match is the most precise, only triggering your ad for searches that match your keyword exactly. For example, targeting the exact match keyword [women’s shoes] ensures your ad only appears for that specific search, while broad match might include searches like “best shoes for women.” Choosing the right mix of match types helps you balance reach and relevance, ensuring your ads connect with the right audience at the right time.

5: Choose Your Bidding Strategy

Selecting the right bidding strategy is key to maximising the effectiveness of your Google Ads campaign while controlling your costs. Google Ads offers several bidding strategies tailored to different goals, such as cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), and cost-per-acquisition (CPA). If your main objective is to drive conversions, a CPA bidding strategy allows you to set a target cost per conversion, and Google Ads will automatically optimise your bids to help you achieve that goal. For campaigns focused on brand awareness, CPM bidding lets you pay for every thousand times your ad is shown, making it ideal for reaching a broad audience. By aligning your bidding strategy with your campaign objectives, you can make the most of your ad budget and ensure your Google Ads campaign delivers measurable results.

6: Budget

Before jumping into the deep end, make sure you can afford to target specific keywords in your niche. To do this you need to calculate your ideal maximum cost per click (CPC). Your maximum CPC bid is a crucial factor in the Google Ads auction process, influencing your ad’s placement and visibility. Google’s calculation for the Actual CPC is based on your set Maximum CPC, Quality Score, and the Ad Rank of competitor ads. The Max CPC values need to be based on your website, your prices, and your profit margins. In many cases, the minimum bid for certain keywords can be just a few bucks, making Google Ads accessible for advertisers with various budgets.

Google has some great information on how to calculate this on their Google Ads help page.

It’s important to strategically spend money and manage your ad budget to ensure you are spending money efficiently and maximising your return on investment.

7: Check Out the Competition

Once you have an idea for your direction, it’s time to research your customers, keywords, and competitors. Researching competitors involves analysing which search queries they are targeting to understand how they attract customers. Uncover your competitors’ keyword strategy using smart tools like SpyFu. Identifying your target market and customizing your advertising strategy to reach this specific audience segment is essential for effective keyword research.

8: Create AdWords with a powerful USP

A strong USP (unique selling point) is what makes you stand out from the rest. For this reason, it is essential to create a USP to generate more sales and increase conversions.

9: Ad Copy & Images

The images and copywriting in your ads need to grab the attention of prospective customers. Image ads are particularly effective on the Google Display Network for capturing user attention. Your ad needs to stand out from the millions of other campaigns out there. Choose the best images, work on your eye-catching headers, and create compelling copywriting.

Ad creation involves developing both text ads for search results and responsive search ads, which allow you to input multiple headlines and descriptions for Google to optimize automatically. Starting with a few ads in different ad formats, such as text ads, image ads, and responsive search ads, allows you to test and refine your approach for better results.

10: (a) Optimise your Landing Page

Your landing page is where people “land” after clicking on your ad. Your landing page conversion

rate is one of your biggest leverage points in online advertising. Tips for this are to ensure you have an attention-grabbing headline, remove distractions, and make it clear and concise.

10: (b) Optimise your Product Pages.

It is important to optimise your product pages so Google knows which keywords your product should show up for. Optimizing your product pages also helps your product listings appear more prominently in Google search results and shopping ads.

To do this, use keywords in your product title, page title, meta description, image alt text, and product description copy.

Well-optimized product pages can directly contribute to more website sales by making it easier for customers to find and purchase your products.

11: Create a Call to Action

The number one thing you can do is make it as simple as possible to contact you. Don’t hide the details away, make it clear and obvious.

12: Set up Tracking

Conversion tracking measures the sales generated by your AdWords campaign. If you’re not properly tracking your conversions and sales you will be throwing away your investment. Make sure that all relevant tracking is set up across all website form submissions, sales, phone calls etc.

13: Negative Keywords

It’s a good idea to make sure you’re not receiving clicks from unrelated searches. To achieve this you should add a negative keywords list to your ad campaign. In AdWords, you can set up negative keywords at an ad group or campaign level.

You are on your way to Creating a Profitable Google AdWords Campaign. We hope these 10 tips help you to save time and avoid eating into your marketing budget. Feel free to reach out to our team via online.