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Quick Introduction ↪ Getting started with Google Ads can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re a small business owner, run an e-commerce shop, or manage local services. With so many settings, keywords, and budgets to think about, it’s easy to waste money without seeing results.

The good news?

Setting up your first campaign doesn’t have to be complicated. In this guide, we’ll break down the step-by-step process of creating a Google Ads campaign in 2025 by using simple, beginner-friendly strategies to help you reach the right audience, attract more customers, and make the most of your budget.

Before launching your first Google Ads campaign, it’s essential to build a strong foundation. Think of this as setting the stage so your ads have the best chance of performing well:

Whether you run a local pet grooming salon or an e-commerce store, this setup process applies to all.

Start by signing into Google Ads at ads.google.com and clicking “+ New Campaign.”
From there, select your campaign goal, such as sales, leads, website traffic, or brand awareness, so that Google can optimise your ads for the right results.

Once you’ve set your campaign goal, the next step is choosing the right campaign type. Google Ads offers several formats, each designed to reach customers in different ways, whether through search results, websites, videos, or across multiple channels. Picking the right type is crucial because it shapes how your ads appear, how much you spend, and how effectively you connect with your target audience.

Let’s look at the main options and which ones work best for beginners.

Performance Max campaigns use Google’s AI to run ads across Search, Display, YouTube, Maps, and Gmail, automatically optimising for the best outcomes. While this sounds convenient, it comes at a cost.

Performance Max usually requires a larger budget to gather enough data for Google’s machine learning to work effectively, which isn’t ideal if you’re just starting out with a smaller daily spend. On top of that, it offers less visibility into where your money is going, making it harder for beginners to understand performance or fine-tune their campaigns.

Search campaigns show text ads when people actively search for your product or service on Google. These ads appear at the top of search results, making them ideal for capturing high-intent traffic, for example, when someone searches “plumber near me” or “buy running shoes online.”

Display campaigns use visual banner ads that appear across Google’s Display Network, which includes millions of websites and apps. They’re perfect for brand awareness and retargeting, allowing you to remind past visitors or introduce your business visually to new audiences.

Video campaigns let you advertise on YouTube and across Google video partners. With engaging video ads, you can build brand awareness, showcase products, or drive conversions. They’re especially effective for storytelling and connecting with audiences on a more emotional level.

When setting up your Google Ads campaign, you’ll be asked to add your website URL. Google then scans your site and suggests relevant keywords by comparing it with similar products or services. While this can be a useful starting point, these keyword suggestions aren’t always accurate. That’s why keyword research is essential to identify search terms that truly align with your business. Google Ads comes with a free tool called the Keyword Planner, which generates a sample list of keywords for your campaigns.

A keyword is simply a word or phrase that describes your product or service, and the main goal is to ensure your ad matches the right search intent so your audience can easily find you.
Google Ads offers three main keyword match types:

In Google Ads, competitive keywords often come with a higher price tag, which can quickly eat up your budget, especially when you’re just starting. Instead of jumping straight into bidding wars over high-cost terms, try focusing on low to medium-competition keywords. They’re more budget-friendly and still offer plenty of visibility. Plus, they give you room to test what’s working without draining your entire ad spend in just a few clicks. Once you start seeing results, you can gradually scale up and explore broader or more competitive terms.

When writing your Google Ads copy, it’s important to include all the essentials: a clear URL, up to 15 short headlines, 4 concise descriptions, relevant images, and extensions like sitelinks and callouts.

Strong ad copy should balance headlines by keywords, benefits, features, and calls-to-action so your audience knows exactly what you’re offering and why they should click.

Adding sitelinks to key pages, callouts such as “free delivery” or “24/7 support,” and optional details like a phone number or app link can boost trust and engagement.

Google Ads doesn’t charge for displaying your ads to viewers, but it works on a pay-per-action pricing model. Every time someone searches on Google or browses a site within the Google Display Network (GDN), an auction takes place to decide which ads get shown. Instead of simply giving the spot to the highest bidder, Google also considers how relevant and high-quality your ad is.

Here’s a simple breakdown:

Google Ads lets you set goals such as maximising clicks, driving conversions (sales, sign-ups, or calls), or boosting brand visibility.

For example, you might say, “I’m willing to pay up to £0.50 for each click on my ad.”

When a search happens, Google compares your ad against others targeting the same keyword.

Your bid amount, ad relevance, and Quality Score all determine whether your ad shows up. (Think of it like a farmers’ market: the better your apples and the fairer your price, the more likely people are to buy from you.)

Even if you bid 50p, you’ll only pay just above the next highest bidder. So, if they bid 30p, you might pay 31p.

The three main bidding options in Google Ads are:

You pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Best for driving website traffic.

You pay for every 1,000 times your ad is shown. Ideal for brand awareness and visibility campaigns.

You pay when a user completes a desired action, like making a purchase or filling out a form. Great for conversion-focused campaigns.

If you’re just getting started with Google Ads, a sensible daily budget is usually between £10–£50 (around £50–£250 monthly).

This range gives your campaign enough clicks, which is roughly 10–15 per day, to collect data and begin optimising.

The exact budget will depend on factors like your industry, audience size, and keyword competitiveness, as well as your overall marketing goals. The best approach is to start small, focus on the right keywords, and gradually scale as you learn what works.

Remember, Google Ads goes through a learning phase at the start, so give it time to gather insights before expecting consistent, high-quality leads. Once the data builds up, you’ll have the flexibility to increase, reduce, or reallocate spend with confidence.

This is the last step of the process, where you enter your details and click submit, for the ad to get approved and run.

Negative keywords are words or phrases added to a Google Ads campaign to prevent your ads from appearing for searches that include those terms. By excluding irrelevant search queries, negative keywords help to improve ad targeting, reduce wasted ad spend, and ultimately lead to a better return on investment (ROI) for your campaigns.

Hence, a well-developed list of negative keywords is crucial to prevent your ad from being shown in search results for other alternative things.

For example, let’s say you run a small e-commerce store selling officially licensed Harry Potter merchandise. When setting up your Google Ads campaign, you want to attract buyers and not people looking for free downloads or fanfiction. This is where negative keywords come in. By adding terms like “free,” “fan art,” “PDF,” or “DIY” as negative keywords, you ensure your ads won’t show up for irrelevant searches.

This helps prevent wasted spend and makes sure your budget goes toward clicks that are more likely to convert into real sales, like someone searching for a “Harry Potter hoodie” or “official Hogwarts mug.”

When running Google Ads, having a mobile-optimised, user-friendly website is just as important as the ad itself.

Most users will click through from their phones, so your site needs to load quickly, display properly on all screen sizes, and be easy to navigate. A clean layout, clear call-to-action buttons, and a smooth checkout process can significantly boost your conversion rate.

Google also considers your landing page experience when calculating Quality Score, so investing in a responsive, well-designed UI/UX isn’t just good for users, it’s good for your ad performance too.

Always monitor your ad performance by connecting your campaign to tracking tools, which ensures you can measure success. Start by setting up conversion tracking to monitor key actions like form fills, phone calls, or purchases.

Then, connect your Google Ads account with tools like Google Analytics (GA4) and Google Tag Manager to get deeper insights. Keep track of important metrics such as CTR, Quality Score, CPC, Conversion Rate, and ROAS.

And here’s a pro tip: check in on your campaign weekly so you can make smart, data-driven tweaks that improve results over time.

Your landing page is the first impression users get after clicking your ad, so it needs to match what they’re expecting. If your ad highlights a special offer on wireless earbuds, don’t just send people to your homepage take them straight to the product page where they can see the earbuds, read reviews, and make a purchase. A relevant, focused landing page not only improves the user experience but also increases the chances of turning that click into a conversion.

Setting up a successful Google Ad campaign in 2025 isn’t just about clicking “publish.” It’s about strategic planning, laser-targeted ads, high-converting landing pages, and ongoing optimisation.

At Bliqo, we specialise in building data-driven, ROI-focused campaigns for small businesses, ecommerce brands, and local service providers.

Want us to handle your Google Ads setup or audit your current campaigns? Book a free strategy call today, and let’s grow your business together.