How to Start Planning Campaigns in Google Ads?

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Google Ads campaign planning

What is Google Ads (Formerly Known as Google AdWords)?

What is Google Ads? Google Ads, formerly known as Google AdWords, is Google’s advertising system in which advertisers bid on certain keywords in order for their clickable ads to appear in Google’s search results. Since advertisers have to pay for these clicks, this is how Google makes money from search. This infographic will help you understand how Google Ads works, detailing the Google Ads auction, bidding process and explaining important factors like Quality Score and cost-per-click. If you’re asking “How does Google Ads Work?” this infographic is for you!

Google Ads campaign planningDoes Google Ads Work?

Does Google Ads work? Depending on the competitiveness of the keywords you’re bidding for and the relevancy of that keyword to real conversions for your company, Google Ads may or may not work for your business. For the most part, we’ve found that Google Ads is extremely effective for many kinds of businesses, as long as they don’t waste their money on the wrong keywords, or write weak, low CTR ads.

Current benchmarks also show why Google Ads campaign planning should be measured against actual performance. The 2026 search advertising benchmarks reported an average click-through rate of 6.64%, average cost per click of $5.42, and average conversion rate of 8.18% across more than 13,000 search advertising campaigns. These figures are benchmarks, not universal targets, but they provide useful context when reviewing campaign results (WordStream).

How to Start Planning Campaigns in Google Ads?

Google Ads Planning:

  • Plan out the campaign first – don’t just rush headlong into setting it up in Google Ads
  • You need to understand the objectives of the campaign and what the optimum account structure will be
  • Get an understanding of the landing pages as this will help with account structure
  • Identify keywords from the landing pages first and cross-reference with Google Ads Keyword Planner – if the primary keywords are not on the landing pages a request to the client that they should align the page with expected primary search terms for best results

A clear Google Ads campaign strategy starts with these same basics: the objective, account structure, landing pages, and keyword intent should align before setup begins.

Google Ads Settings:

  • Name the campaign with common sense and in a structured way
  • If the request is for a search campaign, select Search as the campaign type
  • If the campaign is not device-specific, make sure all devices are selected
  • Select targeted locations
  • In location options, if targeting a specific geo, select “Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations”
  • Set an average daily budget and choose the bidding strategy that matches the campaign objective
  • Set ad rotation to “Optimize”

Use Data Analysis to Review Campaign Performance

Google Ads campaign planning does not end when the campaign is launched. Marketers need to review click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, cost per conversion, keyword performance, device results, locations, and landing-page outcomes to understand what is working and where budget is being wasted. A stronger Google Ads campaign strategy uses these results to decide what should be adjusted, paused, or scaled. Professionals who want to strengthen these analytical skills can develop them through IMP’s Data analysis training courses, which cover Excel, Power Query, Power BI, SQL, descriptive statistics, data visualization, data storytelling, and automation to support clearer business decisions.