Setting Up Your First Google Ads Campaign, Groups and Keywords

STUDENTS

***Updated 7/5/2023***

This article is part 3 of a 3 part series. If you would like to read the first two articles, please choose an article below:

1. How To Set Up The Full Version Of Google Ads
2. How To Come Up With An Initial Google Ads Campaign, Group and Keywords

Creating A Google Ads Campaign

Here, we are starting in the account we created earlier ( https://ads.google.com/home/ ).  The first thing we need to do is click on CAMPAIGNS and then the + as shown below:

You will then need to click NEW CAMPAIGN

Now, you need to select the goal of the campaign you want to set up.  We will set this up manually for this assignment so you can select “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.”

 

You will then get a screen that looks similar to this.  Since we want our ads to show when people are doing a search in Google, select the “Search” option for campaign type.

You will then be asked to pick which result you prefer from the campaign. Since we want website visits to our website, please choose WEBSITE VISITS and enter your URL.  You also need to give your campaign a name.  After selecting a name click continue.

 

Next we will go to the Bid strategy page.  Here we will pick what we want to focus on.  To keep it simple we will focus on clicks and then pick a Maximum Cost per click.  You can pick the limit that works best for you.  In the example below I chose $2.00.

 

 

We will be taken to the main campaign settings page.

Deselect the two options as shown below.  I only want my ads to appear on Google, and I do not want my ads to show up on any display networks.

 

The next option I am asked is where I want my ads to show. There are a lot of ways to pick where you do and do not want your ads to show. I am simply going to pick that I want my ads to show in Fort Collins, Colorado. Play around with the radius targeting and the EXCLUDE options. Then choose where you would want your ads to show.

 

There are some optional Location Options but leave those as is for now. Leave the languages and the Audience alone as well. The last thing we will do on this page is set an end date for our Ads.  This well be under “More Settings.”

 

 

On the next page we will give our first Ad Group a name. Use the Ad group name we came up with in the previous guide.

There is a place to enter keywords and they will prefill with keyword ideas. Be careful there. Just because Google recommends it doesn’t mean that you should use it. 90% of those keywords will be bad keywords.  Only use a keyword if it really makes sense for your Ad group. You should enter the keywords you came up with previously.

 

The last thing we will need to do is write an ad that will display in the Google SERP. I entered all my text in the form below to create my ad.  The preview is shown on the right. The Final URL is where the person who clicks your ad will be taken. Make sure you have a designated landing page for each group and that it is not just your home page. Follow all the best practices for writing the Ad that you saw in the Google Ads Fundamentals training.

 

Next you should give your ad at least three headlines.

You can then enter some descriptions for your ads. If you have the additional information you can enter it also. The more you fill out the better your ad will do.

Once you have everything filled out you can click NEXT.

 

On this screen you will set your budget.  Google will have some suggestions based on the cost of your keywords and anticipated traffic.  You can accept their recommendations or pick a custom amount. Once you select an amount you can click NEXT.

You will then get a screen that will review what you entered.  If there is a policy violation you may need to go fix it.  Once everything looks good you can go ahead and PUBLISH CAMPAIGN:

You will be able to see your Google ADS dashboard. You can see in the image below that we would need to set up billing before this ad would run. I also made a couple notes. Please take a look at those for some basic Google Ads dashboard functionality.  If Google Ads is new for you then you should definitely be clicking around and playing with all the options to see what happens with each.

This is where you will be monitoring your keywords throughout the three days.  I will film a video that shows what to look at before starting Google Ads and what to look at while your campaign is running.