Google Ads: beginner’s guide

Everything you need to know to launch your first paid search campaigns with real results

10 min

Google Ads is the most powerful digital advertising platform in the world. It lets you show ads to people actively searching for what you offer, at the exact moment they need it. Unlike social advertising, with Google Ads you don’t interrupt: you answer existing demand.

This guide covers the core concepts for launching effective search campaigns: campaign types, keyword selection, bidding strategies, quality score, ad extensions and conversion tracking setup.

Google Ads campaign types

Google Ads offers multiple campaign types depending on the goal and format. Search campaigns show text ads on the SERPs when someone searches for a specific keyword. Display campaigns show banners across the partner network. Shopping campaigns show product cards with images and prices.

For beginners, search campaigns are the recommended starting point: they capture active demand, allow precise budget control and deliver measurable results from day one. Performance Max is the full-funnel option that combines all formats with Google’s automation.

  • Search: text ads on search results (highest purchase intent)
  • Display: visual banners across the partner network (awareness and remarketing)
  • Shopping: product cards with image, price and store (ecommerce)
  • Performance Max: automated multi-format campaign combining all channels
  • Video: ads on YouTube (awareness and consideration)

Keywords and match types

Keywords are the terms that trigger your ads. Choosing the right keywords and match type is the most important decision in any search campaign. Match types control how much the user’s search can deviate from your keyword.

Broad match triggers the ad for related searches, phrase match when the search contains your keyword’s meaning, and exact match only for searches that match the exact intent.

  • Broad match: maximum reach, least control (keyword without modifiers)
  • Phrase match: moderate reach with context control ("keyword")
  • Exact match: maximum control, least reach ([keyword])
  • Negative keywords: exclude irrelevant searches that waste budget

Quality Score: the metric that changes everything

Quality Score (QS) is the 1-to-10 rating Google assigns to each keyword based on three factors: ad relevance, landing page experience and expected CTR. A high QS lowers the CPC you pay and improves your ad’s position.

Improving Quality Score is the most cost-effective lever in Google Ads. With a QS of 10, you can pay up to 50% less than a competitor with a QS of 5 for the same position. The secret is coherence: the keyword, the ad and the landing page must all address the same topic.

  • Ad relevance: the ad copy must contain the keyword and answer the search
  • Landing page experience: the destination page must be fast, relevant and useful
  • Expected CTR: a history of strong CTR indicates your ad is relevant to users
  • Organise campaigns into tightly themed ad groups with closely related keywords

Bidding strategies

The bidding strategy determines how much you’re willing to pay per click or conversion. Google offers manual bids (you set the maximum CPC) and automated bids (Google adjusts bids in real time based on conversion likelihood).

For beginners, the recommendation is to start with “Maximise Clicks” to gather data, then switch to “Target CPA” or “Target ROAS” once you have at least 30–50 monthly conversions. Automated bidding needs enough data to perform well.

  • Manual CPC: full control but requires constant optimisation
  • Maximise Clicks: ideal for the initial data-gathering phase
  • Target CPA: optimises for conversions at a defined cost
  • Target ROAS: optimises for maximum return on ad spend

Ad extensions (assets)

Ad extensions (now called “assets” by Google) expand your ad with extra information: links to specific pages, phone number, location, prices, structured snippets, promotions and more. They increase the ad’s visual footprint and boost CTR.

Set up at least four extension types per campaign: sitelinks (links to key pages), callouts (highlighted benefits), structured snippets (product/service categories) and the call extension (phone number) if relevant to your business.

Conversion tracking

Without conversion tracking, Google Ads is blind spending. Correctly configuring which actions count as conversions (purchase, lead, call, download) is essential for measuring ROI and for automated bidding strategies to work.

Implement the Google Ads conversion tag or set up tracking via Google Tag Manager. Define each conversion’s value (actual or estimated) and make sure the tag fires correctly before launching the campaign.

  • Define which actions are primary conversions (used for bid optimisation) and secondary (observation only)
  • Implement Google Tag Manager to manage tags without depending on developers
  • Set up enhanced conversions to improve attribution in a cookieless environment
  • Verify tracking in GTM’s preview mode before publishing

Key Takeaways

  • Search campaigns capture active demand with high conversion intent
  • Quality Score lowers CPC and improves ad position
  • Negative keywords are just as important as positive ones
  • Ad extensions increase visual space and CTR
  • Without properly configured conversion tracking, you cannot optimise

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