Guides / Run ads
How to run Google Ads
Running Google Ads starts with a conversion that records, then a Search campaign whose ad groups each cover one theme. Performance Max and Demand Gen come after Search is telling you which queries buy.
About 880 US searches a month for “how to run google ads”. Updated October 4, 2026.
- 1ConversionA purchase or a lead, marked primary, firing on the real thank-you.
- 2One campaignOne offer, one country, a budget you can leave alone for two weeks.
- 3Ad groups by themeEach group has its own keywords and ads that repeat the theme.
- 4Search termsEvery week, negate the queries that spent and did not fit.
- 5Then the other typesDemand Gen and Performance Max once Search has a conversion history.
Tracking before keywords
A campaign that cannot see conversions will bid for clicks. Install the tag or import the event from GA4, make the action primary, and confirm a test conversion lands in the account before you raise the budget.
Inactive, unverified, and “no recent conversions” each have their own fix on Google Ads conversion tracking.
The structure that stays readable
One campaign per offer and geography. Ad groups split by theme, not by match type. Phrase and exact match until the search terms report is mostly relevant. Broad match is a bid strategy that needs a conversion history and a negative list.
The full map of campaign, ad group, and keyword is on Google Ads campaign structure. What you will pay is on Google Ads cost.
When to add Demand Gen or Performance Max
Search catches people who typed the query. Demand Gen puts creative on YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Performance Max adds Shopping and Display and takes the queries away from you. Both spend better once the account already knows what a conversion looks like.
Demand Gen has its own guide. Performance Max is defined in the glossary. An account that is already spending and messy starts with a Google Ads audit, not a new campaign type.
Questions
Is a Google Ads tutorial enough to launch?
The clicks are the easy part. The account makes money when conversions record, queries stay on-theme, and the landing page matches the ad. Those three are the tutorial.
Should a new account start on Performance Max?
Search first. Performance Max hides the queries and needs conversion data to bid. A new account has neither a query list nor a history.
How long until I change something?
Two weeks on a budget that can produce conversions, then the search terms report. Changing bids every day restarts the learning the strategy just bought.
Keep going
Put it in the account
Connect the ad account. Sprites reads it, drafts the change, and waits for your approval before anything spends.
Start 7-day trial →Rather talk it through? Book a demo