How Do I Set Up a Campaign in Google Ads?

Setting up a campaign in Google Ads involves a few straightforward steps, starting with selecting ‘Campaigns’ on the left side of the screen and creating a campaign without goals guidance to ensure you have control over call options. You then choose the ‘Search Campaign’ type, and if you have conversion goals linked through tools like Call Rail, Google Ads will automatically pull those for you.

Full Explanation

To start setting up a campaign in Google Ads, you first need to navigate to the ‘Campaigns’ tab located on the left side of the Google Ads interface. After clicking ‘Campaigns,’ you use the ‘Plus’ button to add a new campaign. Instead of immediately selecting a specific goal like ‘Leads,’ you choose to create a campaign without goal guidance. This option gives you more flexibility, particularly regarding call options, since selecting ‘Leads’ upfront could limit you to a ‘Call Now’ button rather than full call tracking capabilities.

The next important step is deciding on the campaign type. For most purposes, the recommended choice is a ‘Search Campaign.’ This type focuses on showing ads in search results, making it ideal for reaching users actively searching for relevant products or services.

If you have conversion goals already set up, for example through Call Rail integration, these will be automatically recognized and pulled into your campaign settings to track calls or other conversions effectively. If you haven’t set any conversion goals yet, you can proceed without them and add them to your campaign at a later stage.

Step-by-Step Breakdown

1. Click on ‘Campaigns’ on the left-hand menu of your Google Ads dashboard.
2. Click the ‘Plus’ (+) button to create a new campaign.
3. In the objective section, select ‘Create a campaign without a goals guidance’ to maintain flexibility, especially with call options.
4. Choose ‘Search Campaign’ as your campaign type to focus on search engine ads.
5. If you have conversion goals set up, such as those integrated via Call Rail, Google Ads will automatically include them in your campaign.
6. If you do not have conversion goals created yet, you can continue without them and add these goals later when ready.

Real Examples

This process applies directly in the Google Ads platform when you want to create a Search Campaign that targets users by their search intent. For instance, if your conversions are tracked using Call Rail, you will see those goals automatically linked, making it easier to optimize your campaign for calls without configuring new settings from scratch.

Common Mistakes

• Selecting ‘Leads’ as the initial objective without understanding how it affects call options. This can restrict your ability to get calls and instead directs users to click a ‘Call Now’ button which is less versatile.
• Skipping the step of selecting ‘Create a campaign without a goals guidance,’ which might limit your campaign customization.
• Failing to set up or link conversions like Call Rail from the start, which can result in missing important conversion tracking data.

FAQs

Why should I choose ‘Create a campaign without a goals guidance’?

This option allows you more control over the call options and prevents Google Ads from defaulting to limited call-only features when you select ‘Leads’ as an objective.

What happens if I don’t have conversion goals set up yet?

You can still create and run your campaign. Conversion goals such as calls can be linked later once set up through tools like Call Rail.

Is Search Campaign the only type suitable for this setup?

For the campaign type described here, a Search Campaign is recommended to show ads based on search queries, which aligns with the setup described.

Key Takeaways

• Start by navigating to ‘Campaigns’ and clicking the ‘Plus’ to create a new campaign.
• Select ‘Create a campaign without a goals guidance’ to maintain options for calls and conversions.
• Choose ‘Search Campaign’ as your campaign type to target search results effectively.
• If conversion goals are set up using tools like Call Rail, they will be included automatically.
• You can add or modify conversion goals anytime after creating the campaign.