How to advertise on Google Ads, step by step
You can have a Google ad live this afternoon. These ten steps decide whether it brings leads or just clicks.
On this page
What you need before your first Google ad
Three things come before the account. A page that asks for one action, a way to count its leads and a budget you can hold for a month. With those in place, set up the account in the right order.
Every campaign is then built in one order: goal, campaign type, searches, budget, bid strategy, location and the ad. Google asks for your goal first and uses it to suggest the campaign type.
Choose a goal and a campaign type
For a B2B company that wants leads, start with a Search campaign. Search shows text ads to people while they search. Your budget goes to buyers who are already looking.
Add other campaign types once Search brings leads you can count. The campaign type decides where your ads appear, from Google results to YouTube and other websites.
Six campaign types
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Search
Reach buyers while they search for what you sell. Text ads on Google results.
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Performance Max
Reach people on every Google channel from one campaign. Google's AI optimizes it.
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Display
Stay in view while people browse. Image ads on websites and apps.
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Video
Show your offer on YouTube. Video ads on YouTube and other websites.
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Shopping
Put products in front of shoppers. Product listings on Google, built for retailers.
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App
Get your app installed. App ads across Search, Play, YouTube and more.
Pick the searches worth paying for
Start with the searches a buyer types when they need you now, such as your service plus "company" or "near me". Keyword Planner in your account suggests related searches. It also shows monthly searches and a cost estimate for each.
Add the searches you never want to pay for, such as jobs, free and training, as negative keywords before launch. A negative keyword keeps your ad off every search that contains it. It matters most for Google Ads on a small budget.
Choose how closely a search must match
Match types decide how far Google may stretch each keyword. Every keyword starts as broad match, which can show your ad on related searches that miss your meaning.
Use phrase or exact match while the budget is small. Phrase match, written in quotes, shows your ad on searches that include the meaning of the keyword. Exact match, written in square brackets, shows it only on searches with the same meaning or intent.
Match types
- Broad
accounting firmRelated searches. The default. - Phrase
"accounting firm"Searches that include its meaning. - Exact
[accounting firm]Searches with the same meaning or intent.
Exact reaches the fewest searches.
Set a budget Google can spend well
Search ads averaged $5.42 a click and $66.69 a lead across industries. See what a budget buys in your industry.
Source: LocaliQ and WordStream, 2026
Three budget rules
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Daily budget
Google may spend up to twice your daily budget on one day, but never more than 30.4 times it in a month.
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Cost per click
You often pay less than your top bid. The auction weighs bid, ad and page quality.
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First month
Hold the budget steady for a month so the account has enough clicks to learn from.
Rather have the account built and run for you? Book a call.
Goal to bid strategy
- Leads you count Maximize conversions or Target CPA, a set cost per lead
- Clicks to your site Maximize clicks
- Top of the page Target impression share
Pick a bid strategy that fits your goal
The bid strategy tells Google what to buy with your budget: conversions, clicks or a top spot. Maximize conversions aims for the most conversions while spending your full budget, and Target CPA aims for a set cost per conversion.
Conversion bidding learns from the leads you count. Wire tracking first. Smart Bidding, Google's automated bidding, follows the conversion actions you mark as primary. Until leads come in, Maximize clicks is the simplest choice and Google sets each bid for you.
Show your ads where your buyers are
Show ads only in the places you can serve. You can target countries, areas within a country or a radius around a location.
Check the location option before launch. The default, Presence or Interest, also reaches people outside your area who show interest in it. Choose Presence to show ads only to people in your locations.
Write an ad that matches the search
Repeat the words of the search in the headline, then send the click to a page that delivers what the ad promised. A relevant ad and page can win a higher spot at a lower price.
A search ad takes up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, and Google tests the combinations. Headlines hold 30 characters and descriptions 90. Give each headline its own reason to click: the service, the outcome, the proof or the next step.
Add assets such as sitelinks, callouts and a call button. They cost nothing to add and give your ad more room on the page. A click on one is charged as usual.
Allow a business day for Google's ad review. Most ads are reviewed within one business day. A disapproved ad cannot show anywhere.
Source: Google Ads Help
Count the leads each ad brings
Count leads before the first ad runs. Google then learns from leads, not clicks. Read how to set up conversion tracking before you launch.
Check the account every week
Once a week, read the search terms report. Exclude the searches that never convert and move budget to the ones that do. The report lists every search that triggered your ads. Add the good ones as keywords and the wrong ones as negatives.
Use Quality Score to find the weak keyword, ad or page. Google rates each keyword from 1 to 10 on three parts. The score is a diagnostic and plays no part in the auction.
Three parts of Quality Score
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Expected clickthrough rate
How likely people are to click your ad when it shows.
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Ad relevance
How closely your ad matches the intent behind the search.
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Landing page experience
How relevant and useful your page is to the people who click.
Already spending? A free Google Ads audit puts a monthly dollar figure on every leak in your account.
Skip the learning curve
Get a Google Ads account built to bring leads.
One free 30 minute call. You leave with the searches to start on and what a first month should cost, with nothing to buy.
- What you get
- A free Google Ads audit with every leak in your account priced per month.
- How it is priced
- The audit is free. We quote after the first call.
- What you bring
- Read access to one Google Ads account.
Prefer to write? Send us a message.
How to advertise on Google Ads: questions before you start
How much should I spend on Google Ads to start?
There is no minimum. Pick a daily amount you can hold for a month.
Is $10 a day enough for Google Ads?
It can be, for a short list of buyer searches in one area. At $10 a day, Google never charges more than $304 in a month.
How long until Google Ads bring leads?
Clicks start the day the ads go live. Leads you can trust take a few weeks of data and weekly changes.
Do Google Ads work for B2B companies?
Yes, when the account counts qualified leads instead of form fills. Conversion bidding then learns from the leads you count.
Should I run Google Ads myself?
You can, while you have an hour a week to check it. When that hour goes to sales instead, hand the account over.