How to Set Up a Google Search Campaign Step by Step (The Right Way)
What This Guide Covers
This is a complete, practitioner-level walkthrough of how to set up a Google Search campaign from scratch — inside a live Google Ads account. Every setting, every toggle, every button is explained in sequence, including the four critical mistakes Google’s own interface quietly nudges you into making.
Whether you are running lead generation campaigns or e-commerce search ads, this guide gives you a repeatable setup process built on real campaign experience — not theory.
Table of Contents
Who Is This Guide For?
This guide is for:
- Performance marketers setting up their first Google Search campaign
- Business owners running their own Google Ads without an agency
- Digital marketing managers auditing or rebuilding existing campaigns
- Agencies looking to standardize their Google Search campaign setup process
This is not a surface-level overview. Every section below maps directly to a setting inside Google Ads and explains exactly what to select, what to avoid, and why.
Before You Begin — What You Need Ready
Prerequisites for Setting Up a Google Search Campaign
Before you open Google Ads and click create, make sure the following are in place:
Google Ads conversion tracking: Your Google Ads pixel must be firing correctly on a successful event — either a lead form submission or a purchase confirmation page. This is non-negotiable. If your conversion pixel is firing on the wrong page or on every page visit, your entire campaign will optimize toward the wrong signal.
A tested landing page: The landing page your ads will send traffic to must be live, loading correctly on mobile and desktop, and have a working form or checkout.
A keyword list: Do not rely on Google to suggest your keywords during setup. Have your keyword research done in advance. Know which keywords are exact match, which are phrase match, and which (if any) are broad match.
Your campaign naming convention: Decide how you will name your campaigns before you start. A recommended format is: [Campaign Type] – [Product/Service] – [Location]. This keeps your account readable as it scales.
Step-by-Step Google Search Campaign Setup
Step 1 — Create a New Campaign
Open your Google Ads dashboard and click the large “+” (plus) button to create a new campaign.
Google will immediately ask you to choose a goal: Sales, Leads, Website Traffic, App Promotion, Awareness, or Consideration.
Should You Select a Campaign Goal?
For most advertisers, the recommended approach is to select “Create a campaign without a goal’s guidance.” Selecting a goal restricts the options Google shows you later in the setup process. Removing this restriction gives you full control over every setting from the start.
Step 2 — Choose Campaign Type: Search
From the campaign type options — Search, Performance Max, Display, Shopping, Video, App, Demand Gen — select Search.
Why Start With Search and Not Performance Max?
Search is the only campaign type where you have direct control over the keywords triggering your ads, the exact match types, and the specific search intent you are targeting. Performance Max operates as a black box. For any new account or new product, always start with Search.
What About Shopping Campaigns?
If you are in e-commerce and have a Google Merchant Center account set up, running Search and Shopping simultaneously is good practice. If you are in lead generation, Search alone is the correct starting point.
Step 3 — Select Your Conversion Goals
After selecting Search, Google shows you the conversion actions already configured in your account.
Which Conversion Goals Should You Keep?
For lead generation campaigns, keep only: Submit Lead Form
For e-commerce campaigns, keep only: Purchase
Remove all other conversion actions from this campaign by clicking the three vertical dots next to each one and selecting remove. Important: removing a conversion goal here only removes it from this campaign — it does not delete it from your account.
What Is a Conversion in Google Ads?
In Google Ads, a conversion can be anything: a button click, a page visit, a form submission, or a completed purchase. This is precisely why you must manually remove irrelevant conversion actions. If Google is optimizing toward the wrong event, your campaign will spend budget chasing the wrong users.
Step 4 — Set Campaign Results Type
Select Website Visits as the result type for a standard lead generation or e-commerce search campaign. Enter your landing page URL and give your campaign a name following your naming convention.
Step 5 — Choose Your Bidding Strategy
This is the first major decision point — and the first place where most advertisers make a costly mistake.
⚠️ Pitfall #1 — Why You Must Start With Conversions, Not Clicks
Google presents four bidding options: Conversions, Conversion Value, Clicks, and Impression Share.
Always select Conversions.
Many agencies default to a Clicks bidding strategy, arguing it generates data faster. The problem is that clicks and conversions attract fundamentally different users. A clicks strategy optimizes for people most likely to click — not people most likely to convert. You train the algorithm on the wrong signal from day one.
Should You Set a Target CPA (Cost Per Action) at Launch?
No. When you start a new campaign, Google immediately prompts you to set a Target CPA. Leave this field empty.
A Target CPA constrains the algorithm before it has collected any conversion data. Google needs to learn what a converting user looks like for your specific business. Setting a Target CPA too early — before the campaign has gathered sufficient conversion signals — causes the algorithm to become overly cautious and restricts delivery.
After 4 days of live data and ideally 15–20 conversion events, you can revisit this and introduce a Target CPA based on actual performance.
What About “Optimized Campaign for Acquiring New Customers”?
Ignore this checkbox. Despite sounding valuable, this setting is limited in what it can actually achieve at the account level and tends to create confusion in campaign reporting without delivering meaningful new audience reach.
Step 6 — Networks: Display and Search Partners
⚠️ Pitfall #2 — Always Uncheck Display Network for Search Campaigns
Google pre-checks two network options by default: Google Search Partners and Google Display Network.
Uncheck Display Network immediately and without exception.
Running search ads on the Display Network means your text ads appear on third-party websites and apps — not in search results. The user intent is completely different. Display audiences are browsing passively; search audiences are actively looking for something. Mixing these in one campaign makes performance data impossible to interpret and wastes budget.
If you want to run display advertising, create a separate Google Display campaign.
Should You Enable Google Search Partners?
Search Partners shows your ads on non-Google search engines and partner properties that use Google search technology.
The general recommendation for new campaigns is to uncheck Search Partners at launch. Once your campaign has proven performance on Google Search itself, you can test Search Partners as an incremental expansion. The exception is very niche local campaigns — for example, a single-location dental clinic or a specialist legal practice — where the target audience is small enough that every available impression source matters.
Step 7 — Location Targeting
How to Target Locations Correctly
Google offers a simple option to target an entire country. Do not use it, even if you intend to target the whole country. Selecting a country as a single location makes it impossible to optimize bids and budget by region, city, or state later on.
Instead, enter individual cities, states, or regions as separate targeting entries.
To add locations in bulk:
- Click Advanced Search
- Select Add Locations in Bulk
- Copy and paste your list of city or state names
- Click Search — Google matches your entries to its location database
- Select all matched locations and click Save
How to Exclude Locations
To prevent your ads from showing in specific cities, states, or countries, use the Exclude option within location targeting. Excluded locations appear highlighted in red in your targeting overview.
⚠️ Pitfall #3 — Presence vs Presence or Interest: Never Select “Presence or Interest”
This is one of the most damaging — and least discussed — settings in Google Search campaign setup.
Under location targeting options, Google gives you two choices for how it interprets your location settings:
- Presence — show ads to people physically located in your targeted areas
- Presence or Interest — show ads to people in your targeted areas or people who have shown interest in those areas
Always select Presence. Never select Presence or Interest.
Google recommends “Presence or Interest” by default. What this actually means in practice is that if someone in Bangladesh searches for a term related to your targeted US city, Google may show them your ad. Advertisers have discovered their clicks and leads coming from entirely unintended countries because of this single setting. It applies to both included and excluded locations.
Step 8 — Language Targeting
Select the languages spoken by your target audience. English is selected by default.
What Does Language Targeting Actually Control?
Language targeting does not change the language your ads are written in. It targets users whose devices are set to that language by default. Most smartphones and laptops are set to English by default unless a user has manually changed their device language. Adding Hindi alongside English in an Indian market campaign, for example, captures users who have set their device language to Hindi.
Step 9 — Audience Segments
Add audience segments to your campaign. These include In-Market audiences (created by Google based on user behavior), website visitors, and customer lists.
Observation vs Targeting — A Critical Distinction
When you add audience segments to a Google Search campaign, the default setting is Observation — not Targeting.
- Targeting restricts your ads to show only to users within those audience segments
- Observation allows your ads to show to everyone, but tracks and reports performance broken down by those audience segments
Keep the setting on Observation. This allows you to gather data on which audiences convert better, and then apply bid adjustments to those high-performing segments — increasing bids for audiences that convert and reducing or excluding audiences that do not.
Step 10 — Keyword Match Types
⚠️ Pitfall #4 — Turn Off the Broad Match Keywords Toggle
During campaign setup, Google presents a toggle to automatically use broad match for all keywords. Turn this off.
This toggle, if left on, overrides any match type you assign to your keywords and treats everything as broad match. Broad match in Google Ads today means your ads can trigger for searches that are only loosely related to your keywords — sometimes entirely unrelated.
The Three Keyword Match Types Explained
Exact Match — Denoted by square brackets: [google search ads] Your ad triggers only for searches that match your keyword exactly or are very close variants in meaning and intent. This gives you the highest level of control.
Phrase Match — Denoted by double quotes: “google search ads” Your ad triggers for searches that include the meaning of your keyword phrase. For example, “ads on Google” may trigger for best Google ads agency or I want to run Google ads — because the meaning and words overlap.
Broad Match — No special characters: google search ads Your ad can trigger for any search Google determines to be related. This includes highly tangential searches. A broad match keyword for ads on Google could trigger for someone searching Starbucks Google ads review — because Google finds a conceptual connection.
Should You Use Broad Match at All?
Broad match is not inherently bad — but it must be managed carefully and kept in separate campaigns or ad groups from phrase and exact match keywords. Since 2021 (post-covid), broad match has become more intelligent and self-correcting, but it still requires sufficient conversion data to behave usefully. For new campaigns, begin with phrase and exact match only.
Never Mix Broad Match With Phrase and Exact in the Same Ad Group
Broad match keywords will cannibalize phrase and exact match keywords within the same ad group, making it impossible to understand which match type is actually driving performance. Keep match types separated.
Better to keep Broad Match as an Experiment arm with 30% budget with non-cookie split. This effectively means audience will be shared between the control and the experiment. This is optional and should be applied after seeing results in the Control arm.
Step 11 — Automatically Created Assets
Google offers to scan your landing page and automatically generate headlines and descriptions for your ads.
Should You Use Automatically Created Assets?
For lead generation campaigns: No. Turn this off.
When auto assets are enabled, Google may ignore the ad copy you have written and serve its own machine-generated headlines and descriptions instead. In lead generation, ad copy quality directly affects lead quality. Vague or generic auto-generated copy attracts low-intent clicks.
For e-commerce campaigns: Auto assets are more acceptable, especially when running Search alongside a Shopping campaign. The two campaign types reinforce each other, and auto assets in Search tend to cause less damage to lead quality in a transactional context.
Step 12 — Writing Your Ad Copy
Click Skip when Google offers to create your ad automatically.
The Final URL and Display Path
The Final URL is the actual landing page users are sent to after clicking your ad. This should be your most relevant, conversion-optimized landing page for the product or service you are advertising.
The Display Path is the URL shown to users in the ad — it does not need to match the actual URL exactly. Use the display path to communicate relevance.
Using Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) in the Display Path
Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) is one of the most powerful features available exclusively in Google Search ads. It inserts the keyword that triggered your ad directly into the ad copy shown to the user.
Syntax: {KeyWord:default text}
In the display path, DKI automatically shows the triggering keyword, making the ad appear directly relevant to what the user just searched. If the keyword exceeds the character limit, the default text you specify is shown instead.
DKI in the display path works in combination with Location Insertion for local campaigns. Location Insertion pulls the user’s detected location and inserts it into the ad. For businesses where physical proximity matters — a dental clinic, a retail store, a legal practice — this creates an immediate familiarity signal that increases click-through rate.
Step 13 — Headline Strategy
You can write up to 15 headlines in a Responsive Search Ad. Google tests combinations automatically. Here is a structured approach that gives you control without surrendering to Google’s randomness.
Headline 1 — Pin DKI to Position 1
Use Dynamic Keyword Insertion in your first headline and pin it to Position 1.
{KeyWord:Google Ads Success}
Pinning ensures that the keyword triggering your ad always appears as the first thing a user sees. This directly improves Quality Score for every keyword in the ad group because your ad is demonstrably relevant to the search query.
Headline 2 — Pin a Countdown Timer to Position 2
Use Google’s Countdown Insertion in Headline 2 and pin it to Position 2.
Batch Starts in {=COUNTDOWN(“2025-09-26 23:59:00″,”en-IN”,5)}
A countdown timer creates urgency. When the countdown reaches under 48 hours, it automatically switches from displaying days to displaying hours — intensifying urgency without any additional action from you. This works for limited-time offers, enrollment deadlines, sale end dates, and service booking windows.
Headline 3 — When Does It Matter?
Headline 3 is only reliably shown on large screens — laptops and tablets. On mobile, it is frequently truncated or not shown at all.
- Lead generation campaigns: Headline 3 is low priority. Let Google fill it from your remaining unpinned headlines.
- E-commerce campaigns: Headline 3 matters because high-value purchase decisions often happen on desktops. Pin something specific — a trust signal, a USP, or a key offer detail.
What Is Ad Strength and Should You Care?
Ad strength is Google’s rating of your ad based on how many headlines and descriptions you have provided and how varied they are. A higher ad strength requires giving Google more freedom to test combinations.
Ad strength is a metric that serves Google’s interests, not yours. A “Poor” ad strength rating with tightly pinned, highly relevant headlines will outperform an “Excellent” rated ad with 15 random unpinned headlines in most lead generation scenarios. Focus on relevance and control, not the ad strength score.
Step 14 — Descriptions
You can write up to 4 descriptions, and Google shows a maximum of 2 at any time.
Using Location Insertion in Descriptions
For local lead generation campaigns and e-commerce businesses with physical locations, insert the user’s city name in at least one description using Location Insertion. The human brain processes familiar patterns faster — seeing their own city name in an ad creates an immediate relevance signal that increases click-through rate.
Should You Use DKI in Descriptions?
Yes. DKI works in descriptions as well as headlines and display paths. Using it in descriptions reinforces keyword relevance throughout the entire ad unit, which contributes positively to Quality Score.
Step 15 — Images, Business Name, Logo, and Sitelinks
Images in Search Ads: Add stock images to claim additional visual real estate in your ads. Critical rule: images must contain no text. Text overlaid on images in Search ads will be rejected by Google’s review system.
Business Name and Logo: Add these to complete your ad identity. They appear alongside your ads in certain formats.
Sitelinks: Sitelinks are additional links shown below your main ad, directing users to specific pages on your website. These can be added now or after the campaign goes live. At minimum, add 4 sitelinks for best coverage.
Step 16 — Budget and Launch
Set your daily budget. For a brand-new campaign, start with a conservative budget — the goal is to gather conversion data, not maximize spend. Google will show estimated weekly conversions and cost per conversion at this stage. Treat these estimates as illustrative only; they have no reliability for new campaigns without prior account data.
Click Publish. Google’s algorithm will review your campaign, typically within a few minutes to a few hours, before ads begin serving.
Post-Launch: What to Do After Your Campaign Goes Live
The First 4 Days — Let the Algorithm Learn
Do not make significant changes in the first 4 days. Google’s Smart Bidding algorithm needs time to gather data and identify patterns. Frequent changes reset the learning period.
Monitor:
- Are ads serving? Check delivery status.
- Are impressions being generated? Low impressions indicate keyword or budget issues.
- Are clicks coming in? Low CTR indicates ad copy or match type issues.
After 15–20 Conversions — Introduce Target CPA
Once your campaign has accumulated 15 to 20 conversion events, return to your bidding settings and introduce a Target CPA. Base this figure on your actual cost per conversion data from the first phase — not an aspirational number.
To change bidding strategy after launch: Campaign → Settings → Gear Icon → Bidding → Use a Different Bidding Strategy.
Available options post-launch include: Maximize Clicks, Maximize Conversions, Target CPA, Target ROAS, Target Impression Share, and Manual CPC.
Audience Bid Adjustments — Optimize for What’s Working
Return to your Audience Segments (Observation). Review which audience segments have generated conversions. Increase bids for high-converting audiences and reduce or exclude audiences with zero conversions and high spend.
How to Change Conversion Goals After Launch
Go to: Campaign → Settings → Gear Icon → Conversion Goals → Change Campaign Goals
You can add or remove conversion actions at any time without affecting your account-level conversion tracking.
The 4 Google Search Campaign Pitfalls — Quick Reference
Pitfall #1 — Starting With Clicks Bidding Instead of Conversions
Select Maximize Conversions at launch. Never start with Clicks. Clicks bidding trains the algorithm on click behavior, not conversion behavior.
Pitfall #2 — Leaving Display Network Checked
Uncheck Display Network before launching any Search campaign. Run display advertising in a separate campaign type.
Pitfall #3 — Selecting “Presence or Interest” in Location Targeting
Always select Presence only. Presence or Interest will deliver your ads to users in unintended geographies and makes location exclusions unreliable.
Pitfall #4 — Leaving Broad Match Keywords Toggle On
Turn off the broad match keywords toggle during campaign setup. Assign match types explicitly to each keyword and keep broad match separated from phrase and exact.
Frequently Asked Questions About Setting Up Google Search Campaigns
What is the difference between Google Search and Google Display campaigns?
Google Search campaigns show text ads to users who are actively searching for specific keywords on Google. Google Display campaigns show visual banner ads to users who are browsing websites, watching YouTube, or using apps — regardless of whether they are searching for anything. Search captures active intent; Display builds awareness. They should always be run as separate campaigns.
How long does it take for a Google Search campaign to show results?
A new Google Search campaign typically enters a learning phase for the first 7–14 days. During this period, the Smart Bidding algorithm is gathering data on which users convert. Meaningful performance data — sufficient to make optimization decisions — usually requires at least 15–20 conversion events.
Should I use broad match, phrase match, or exact match keywords?
For new campaigns, start with phrase match and exact match keywords only. Exact match gives you the highest control over which searches trigger your ads. Phrase match gives you slightly broader reach while maintaining intent alignment. Broad match can be useful but should only be introduced once your campaign has sufficient conversion data and should always be kept in a separate ad group or campaign.
What is Dynamic Keyword Insertion in Google Ads?
Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) is a feature exclusive to Google Search ads that automatically inserts the keyword that triggered your ad into your headline, display path, or description. It makes your ad appear directly relevant to the user’s search query, which typically improves click-through rate and Quality Score.
When should I set a Target CPA in Google Ads?
Do not set a Target CPA when launching a new campaign. Allow the campaign to run on Maximize Conversions bidding until it has gathered 15–20 conversion events. At that point, introduce a Target CPA based on your actual average cost per conversion from the initial data — not a target figure decided before any data exists.
What is the difference between Observation and Targeting in Audience Segments?
In Observation mode, your ads are shown to all eligible users and Google reports performance broken down by your selected audience segments. In Targeting mode, your ads are shown only to users who fall within your selected audience segments. For Search campaigns, Observation is almost always the correct setting — it preserves full reach while giving you the data to make bid adjustment decisions.
Why should I not select the entire country in location targeting?
Selecting a country as a single location unit makes optimization impossible. You cannot adjust bids by region, pause underperforming cities, or increase budget toward your best-converting locations. Always enter individual cities, states, or regions as separate location entries so you retain granular control.
What does Ad Strength mean in Google Ads?
Ad Strength is Google’s internal rating of how much creative freedom you are giving the algorithm to test headline and description combinations. A higher Ad Strength score does not mean better ad performance — it means Google has more options to test at your expense. For lead generation campaigns especially, tightly controlled pinned headlines with lower Ad Strength scores frequently outperform ads with high Ad Strength ratings.
Summary — Google Search Campaign Setup Checklist
Pre-Launch
✅ Conversion tracking verified and firing correctly
✅ Landing page live and tested on mobile and desktop
✅ Keyword list prepared with match types assigned
✅ Campaign naming convention decided
During Setup
✅ Campaign created without goal guidance
✅ Search campaign type selected
✅ Only relevant conversion goals kept (Submit Lead Form or Purchase)
✅ Bidding set to Maximize Conversions — no Target CPA set
✅ Display Network unchecked
✅ Search Partners unchecked (unless niche local campaign)
✅ Locations entered as individual cities/states — not whole country
✅ Location option set to Presence only
✅ Broad match keywords toggle turned off
✅ Automatically Created Assets turned off (lead gen)
✅ Audience Segments added in Observation mode
✅ DKI used in Headline 1, pinned to Position 1
✅ Countdown timer used in Headline 2 where relevant
✅ 5–6 headlines written (not 15)
✅ 2 descriptions written with location or keyword insertion
✅ Images added with no text overlay
✅ Business name, logo, and sitelinks added
✅ Conservative daily budget set
Post-Launch
✅ No major changes made in first 4 days
✅ Target CPA introduced after 15–20 conversions
✅ Audience bid adjustments made based on conversion data
✅ Conversion goals reviewed and updated as needed