Google Ads Management: How to Run a Profitable Campaign

Google Ads management involves strategic campaign builds, tracking data, and implementing ongoing optimizations to achieve specific marketing goals. Find out how to run a successful campaign, overcome challenges, and when to hire an agency.

While Google Ads is one of the most powerful forms of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, it’s not a set-it-and-forget-it solution.

It takes strategic bid management, ongoing optimizations, and regular analysis from an account manager to hit your targets, not to mention scale your campaigns.

Here, we’ll go beyond the basics to offer actionable tips for Google Ads management so you can reach those marketing goals and achieve long-lasting PPC success, with expert insights from HawkSEM Co-founder and CEO Sam Yadegar.

Benefits of running Google Ads campaigns

Google is the most used search engine worldwide, with over 16 billion searches per day.

Online advertising with Google allows you to tap into this unparalleled reach, connecting with a high-intent audience the moment they’re searching for products or services like yours.

Google Ads offers precise targeting, measurable results, and flexible budgeting, helping businesses of all sizes drive traffic, generate leads, and boost sales.

8 Google Ads management success secrets

1. Focus on Quality Score
2. Use smart bidding strategies
3. Go beyond tools when doing competitor research
4. Follow Google Ads recommendations
5. Layer targeting
6. A/B test
7. Leverage Google Ad scripts
8. Teach Google the value of your conversions

1. Focus on Quality Score

Quality Score is a metric provided in Google Ads that measures your ad quality, relevance, and keywords.

Getting each component’s scores as high as you can (an 8 or above is an ideal score) can help ensure a better ad rank and a lower cost per click (CPC). A strong Quality Score improves your click-through rate (CTR) and increases your campaign efficiency.

Further reading: Quality Score Explained (+ 14 Easy Ways to Improve Yours)

2. Use smart bidding strategies

Smart bidding is a collection of Google Ads bidding strategies that use machine learning algorithms to inform your bid adjustments in real-time.

While giving up control can be unnerving, Google’s smart bidding strategies allow your ads to be optimized for your goal at the time of auction. Using these strategies lets you use Google’s data in the form of “signals.”

This gives you access to data like location, device, time of day, language, and more to target the most relevant audience.

These strategies give you access to data at the moment and present a distinct advantage over manual bidding.

The caveat? Before using smart bidding, you need:

• Enough conversion history
• A generous daily ad budget
• Exact-match keywords
• A/B testing insights on your audience

“Manual is best when we need full control and have prior data that tells us (with certainty) we should only bid so much,” says Yadegar.

“Nowadays, the most common case is utilizing smart bidding, and as AI gets smarter, it can help provide a better return.”

Further reading: What is Smart Bidding? How and When to Use it + Expert Tips

3. Go beyond tools when doing competitor research

Whether you’re a giant ecommerce brand with a large marketing department or a small local plumber with a team of one, competitor research is essential to standing out from the crowd.

There are many ways to do this research. You can use a tool like SpyFu, but doing a good old-fashioned Google search will show you ads, map results, organic results, related searches, and a knowledge graph all in one place as well.

When reviewing the SERP, look not only at the paid results but also at the organic listings.

Understanding where your competitors rank in both SEO and paid search can give you a more comprehensive view of your competitive landscape.

See what’s surfacing for keywords relevant to your industry, then dig into what they’re doing right.

Further reading: How to Do a PPC Competitor Analysis: 7 Tools (+ Checklist)

4. Follow Google Ads recommendations

Google Ads recommendations live on the left side of Google Ads Manager and offer customized suggestions to improve your campaign performance.

While you should always take auto-generated recommendations with a grain of salt, these recommendations can offer a helpful new POV.

(They’re formulated based on the data in your Google Ads account, after all.)

Other recommendations, like dynamic ad groups or catch-all campaigns (for ecommerce), may not have been on your radar, which can remind you to explore more avenues for traffic.

5. Layer targeting

To reach the right people with your ads, it’s important to layer different targeting options at the campaign or ad group level during your Google Ads management process.
You should use a combination of in-market audiences, observation mode data, and detailed demographics such as:

• Parental status
• Employment
• Homeownership status
• Education
• Marital status

Explore your Audience Manager and look at your data insights. You can find both in-market and affinity audiences here that you may not have considered.

Finally, don’t forget your own data. Make sure you’re using things like customer lists, cart abandoners, and even YouTube audiences to enhance your campaigns and reach people you may not have otherwise.

This is especially helpful for remarketing campaigns that re-engage users who have already interacted with your brand.

There are many ways to do this as part of your Google Ads management process:

You can manually upload your lists, connect a CRM like HubSpot, or even HawkSEM’s ConversionIQ.

This proprietary technology allows you to evaluate data, pace budgets, forecast performance, and sync all of your important paid search data into one centralized place.

6. A/B test

A/B testing, also known as “split testing” or “multivariate testing,” is the method of comparing two different ad or campaign elements — such as ad copy, headlines, or landing page images — to see which option better reaches or converts your audience.

You can conduct A/B testing manually or with Experiments in Google Ads. If you use landing page software like Unbounce, you’ll also have this function built in. Otherwise, there are other easy-to-use options like Google Optimize.

How often should you conduct A/B testing?

“It depends, but once we have statistical significance, we should conclude an existing test/experiment and then move into another,” says Yadegar.

“To better define statistical significance, usually you would want to get about 10-20 conversions.”

Further reading: What is A/B Testing? How To Use It + Expert Advice

7. Leverage Google Ads scripts

Google Ad Scripts are snippets of code that automate and optimize your campaigns. They help simplify complex tasks, enhance efficiency, and streamline campaign management.

You can create your own scripts using JavaScript or use any of the thousands that have already been developed.

Further reading: 11 Proven Google Ads Scripts to Help You Maximize ROI

8. Teach Google the value of your conversions

Teaching Google the value you place on each conversion is another way to propel your ads to the next level.

If you’re an ecommerce brand, this is easy. Just make sure your transaction values are imported into Google Ads. It would also help to add value to other actions that may lead to sales, like adding to cart.

For lead generation campaigns, you can manually assign value to your common conversions like phone calls, form fills, and webinar sign-ups.

Assigning values to your conversions helps Google understand which actions matter most to your marketing goals. By weighting each conversion appropriately, you signal how much each one contributes to driving closed leads.

For example, if phone calls typically lead to booked appointments while form submissions convert less often, you might give calls a value of 2 and forms a value of 1. This tells Google which conversions you prioritize.

If you take calls or close leads offline, you can upload this conversion data to help train Google’s algorithms to recognize what high-quality leads look like for your business.

To do this, connect your CRM or set up an offline import including the GCLID data.

Google Ads management challenges and mistakes

Google estimates that for every $1 you spend, you should see $2 returned.

If you’re not getting the results you need, then there are likely some areas you need to analyze and address. Some of these are:

1. Conversion tracking setup
2. Competitor research and analysis
3. Negative keywords
4. Default location targeting
5. Default max CPC
6. Keyword match types

1. Conversion tracking setup

Conversion tracking allows you to track and quantify people’s actions on your website after clicking on an ad. You do this by adding a snippet of code to your website.

“Not having proper conversion tracking is a common mistake we see,” says Yaedar. “Without it, you are pretty much flying blind.”

The tricky part? You need to track every type of conversion to ensure accurate data, not just a purchase or request form.

While these actions can be more complicated to track and often involve understanding multiple ad platforms, they help paint a clearer picture of your buyers’ journey.

Finally, setting up conversion tracking isn’t enough. You’ll also need to test it to make sure it works:

• Test your conversion tracking on different browsers to make sure there are no unexpected issues.
• Use both the Tag Assistant Chrome extension and Google Tag Manager’s Preview Mode.
• Check your conversion settings to make sure you’re using the data-driven attribution model.

Use Google Analytics as your backup – set up goals and track them in Google Analytics as well as Google Ads to ensure nothing is amiss.

Further reading: How to Set Up Conversion Tracking for Google Ads: A Quick Guide

2. Competitor research and analysis

While you may have some idea of who your top competitors are, that’s not always who you’ll be competing with in paid ads.

It’s important to identify who you’re competing against to maintain impression share. This takes regular competitor analysis, which can be done with tools like SpyFu and Google’s auction insights report.

3. Negative keywords

Conducting keyword research and targeting relevant search queries is key to running effective campaigns.

Regularly review your search query report and add negative keywords to your keyword list — this blocks irrelevant or inappropriate terms from triggering your ads.

This not only protects your budget but also ensures a better user experience for potential customers. Neglecting this step can quickly lead to wasted ad spend.

Further reading: What are Negative Keywords? How to Use Them + Free Starter List

4. Default location targeting

If you launch your campaign using default location targeting, your ads will appear across the U.S., which could drain your budget if you only want to target people in a few strategic regions.

5. Default max CPC

Many marketers create new campaigns using a manual CPC strategy. If you do this, make sure you always change the default max CPC, or it will be set at just $0.01.

6. Keyword match types

If you create your campaigns in Google Ads Editor, make sure you choose the match type of your keywords. If you don’t, it will default to broad match.

Make sure you add quotation marks or brackets to your keywords when you add them with the Google Ads UI. One forgetful moment can mean a lot of clicks (and ad spend) with few conversions.

Further reading: Keyword Match Types Explained: What They Are + How They Work

How to set marketing goals for Google Ads

To gauge the success of your campaigns, you need to set specific goals first.

So, what metrics should you use to measure your ad performance? Start by tracking important PPC KPIs like:

• Cost per acquisition (CPA)
• Return on ad spend (ROAS)
• Conversion rate (CR)
• Average order value (AOV)
• Conversion value

For ecommerce, set ROAS targets based on your profit margins, shipping costs, and sales tax to ensure your campaigns stay profitable.

Your product pricing also plays a major role. High-ticket items might support a higher CPA, while low-margin products will require tighter cost controls to maintain profitability.

If you rely on lead generation, focus on CPA. Calculate how much you can afford to spend per lead based on your average close rate and the value of a closed deal.

For example, if one in ten leads becomes a customer worth $100, your CPA must stay below $10 — or even lower, depending on your profit margin.

When to hire an agency for Google Ads management services

You should consider hiring an agency for Google Ads management when you’re struggling to get results, don’t have the resources to manage your campaigns, or are ready to scale your business.

If your campaigns have plateaued or you’re unsure how to track performance effectively, an experienced agency can help you move forward with confidence.

Here’s what to look for:

• Google Ads certification
• Case studies and testimonials
• Experience in your industry
• Clear communication and transparency
• Customized strategies

The takeaway

Effective Google Ads management takes time and experience, but it’s well worth the investment.

Whether you’re optimizing campaign structure, improving CTR, setting up remarketing lists, or testing new formats, strategic management is key.

If you’re ready to scale, leveraging an experienced Google Ads expert or marketing agency can lead to a more successful Google Ads campaign and boost your overall digital marketing efforts and return on investment.

This article has been updated and was originally published in November 2022.