How to Set Up Google Ads the Right Way (Basic Structure)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHAMzkDHTMs

Google Ads accounts get messy fast. If you don't set up the right structure from the beginning, you'll waste money and have no idea what's working. Here's the simple framework.

I'm Kelsey with KaeRae Marketing. Before we talk about keywords or ads or targeting, you need to understand how a Google Ads account is organized.

This is the foundation. Get this right and everything else is easier.

A Google Ads account has 4 levels. Think of it like a filing cabinet:

Account — that's the whole cabinet

Campaigns — those are the drawers

Ad Groups — those are the folders inside each drawer

Ads and Keywords — those are the individual papers in each folder

Each level controls different things. Let me break it down.

Your account is the top level. This is where you set:

Your billing information

Who has access

Account-level settings

You'll have one account for your business. That's it.

Campaigns are where the big decisions happen. Each campaign controls:

Your daily budget

Your location targeting

Your bidding strategy

Your campaign type (Search, Display, etc.)

Here's how to think about campaigns: create separate campaigns for things that need separate budgets or settings.

For example, if you're a plumber, you might have:

One campaign for emergency services (high priority, bigger budget)

One campaign for water heater installation

One campaign for drain cleaning

That way you can control how much you spend on each service.

Inside each campaign, you create ad groups. Each ad group holds a set of related keywords and the ads that go with them.

Think of it this way: one ad group = one theme.

In your 'Emergency Plumber' campaign, you might have ad groups like:

'Emergency Plumber Near Me' — keywords about emergency service

'24 Hour Plumber' — keywords about around-the-clock availability

'Same Day Plumber' — keywords about fast service

Each ad group gets its own set of keywords and ads that are tightly related. This helps your ads match what people are searching for, which improves your Quality Score and lowers your costs.

Inside each ad group, you have:

Keywords — the search terms you want to show up for

Ads — the actual text ads people see

Your keywords and ads should match closely. If your ad group is about 'emergency plumber,' your keywords should be emergency-related and your ads should talk about emergency service.

Don't throw 50 random keywords into one ad group with one generic ad. That's how you waste money.

Here's a simple structure that works for most home service businesses:

Campaign 1: Main Services

Ad Group 1: Your primary service + location (e.g., 'Plumber Dallas')

Ad Group 2: Emergency services

Ad Group 3: Specific service #1 (e.g., Water Heater)

Ad Group 4: Specific service #2 (e.g., Drain Cleaning)

Campaign 2 (optional): Competitor Keywords

If you want to bid on competitor names, keep that in a separate campaign so you can control the budget

Campaign 3 (optional): Brand Keywords

If you want to bid on your own business name, that's usually cheap and high-converting

Start simple. You can always add more campaigns and ad groups as you learn what works.

Common mistakes I see:

One giant campaign with one giant ad group. This gives you no control and makes it impossible to know what's working.

Too many campaigns too fast. Start with 1-2 campaigns and build from there. Complexity without data is just confusion.

Keywords and ads that don't match. If someone searches 'drain cleaning' and your ad talks about water heaters, they're not clicking.

Google Ads structure in 30 seconds:

Account: your billing and access

Campaigns: your budgets and targeting

Ad Groups: your themes

Keywords and Ads: your specifics

Start with 1-2 campaigns, 3-5 ad groups each, tightly themed. Build from there as you get data.