Google Ads Simplified: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What’s Next
Introduction: Mastering Google Ads in a Changing Digital World
Google Ads best practices are the key to a successful online ad campaign. Yet, many businesses waste thousands monthly on poorly structured accounts and old tactics.
Quick answer: The most effective Google Ads best practices in 2025 include:
- Structure campaigns thematically around products, services, or locations
- Use broad match keywords with Smart Bidding for 35% more conversions on average
- Optimise the first 5 seconds of video ads and first 30 characters of headlines
- Track conversions properly before launching any campaign
- Test continuously through A/B testing of ad copy, audiences, and landing pages
- Leverage automation while maintaining quality data inputs
- Optimise for mobile as 82.9% of landing page traffic comes from mobile devices
The days of simply running a few text ads are over. Today's Google Ads demands strategy, constant optimisation, and a grasp of AI-powered features. Many business owners feel the frustration of spending big on Google Ads with little to show for it. The problem often lies in the strategy, not the platform itself.
With AI reshaping search and new tools like Performance Max, adapting is key. The good news? Businesses that get it right see huge wins, like 60-70% drops in cost per acquisition. This guide will show you what works in 2025, what mistakes to avoid, and how to build campaigns for success.
I'm Kerry Anderson, co-founder of RankingCo. For over 15 years, we've helped businesses across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada turn Google Ads into a growth engine. We know that applying proper Google Ads best practices transforms wasteful campaigns into reliable revenue drivers.
Common Google Ads best practices vocab:
The Core Pillars of Google Ads Best Practices
Foundation First: Perfecting Your Account Structure
A Google Ads account without a solid structure is like a house without a blueprint. It might stand, but it won't be efficient or cost-effective. A well-organised account is your foundation, directly impacting your Quality Score , cost per click, and profitability.
The hierarchy is simple: your Account is home base for billing. Below that are Campaigns , which align with business goals and have their own budget and targeting. Within campaigns, Ad Groups cluster related keywords and ads around a single theme. This is where relevance is crucial.
When your structure is tight, Google rewards you with lower costs and better ad positions. A poor setup just burns money. While there's no single formula, these strategies work well for organising campaigns:
- By Product/Service: Create a separate campaign for each distinct offering. A plumber might have campaigns for "Emergency Plumbing" and "Bathroom Renovations."
- By Location: Ideal for businesses in multiple areas. A law firm across New England could create campaigns for each state to control budgets and targeting.
- By Website Structure: Mirror your site's navigation for a logical user journey from ad to landing page.
Aim for 7-10 tightly themed ad groups per campaign, with 10-20 keywords each. A pro tip: apply negative keywords at the account level to block irrelevant searches across all campaigns. This simple step can save you a significant amount of money.
The Art of Targeting: Keywords, Audiences, and Location
Once your structure is solid, it's time to target the right people. This means a smart approach to keywords, audiences, and location.
Google Ads offers three main keyword match types :
- Broad match: Reaches the widest audience. When paired with Smart Bidding, it uses AI to find relevant searches you might have missed. Advertisers who upgrade to broad match in campaigns with a target CPA see 35% more conversions on average.
- Phrase match: Shows your ad for searches including your keyword phrase or close variations.
- Exact match: Offers the most control but the least reach, showing your ad only for searches with the same meaning as your keyword.
Beyond keywords, you need to reach the right customers based on who and where they are. Geotargeting lets you show ads in specific locations, from countries down to a few kilometres around your business. This is essential for local businesses, like those needing digital marketing services in Brisbane.
Audience Segmentation targets users by their interests, demographics, and online behaviour. You can even use your own customer data with Customer Match or re-engage past website visitors with remarketing . Since prospects often need multiple touchpoints before converting, remarketing is a proven tactic.
Finally, use Google's Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords and identify gaps. Just as important is using negative keywords to exclude terms you don't want to trigger your ads, saving your budget from wasted clicks.
Crafting Compelling Ads and High-Converting Landing Pages
Great targeting won't save a campaign with weak ads and a poor landing page. With 94% of users skipping search ads, your copy must grab attention instantly.
Focus on these key components for ad copy that converts:
- Headlines: The first thing users see. Make them clear, concise, and include keywords. You have 30 characters, so make them count.
- Descriptions: You get 90 characters to explain your offer and solve the customer's problem.
- Calls-to-Action (CTAs): Tell the user what to do next. A specific CTA like "Get a Free Quote" can increase conversions by 161%.
Use ad extensions like sitelinks, callouts, and location extensions. They make your ad bigger and provide more information, helping you stand out.
The user journey ends on your landing page , where conversions happen.
- Relevance is key: Your landing page must match the ad's message.
- Mobile optimisation is non-negotiable: With 82.9% of landing page traffic from mobile, your site must work flawlessly on small screens.
- Speed matters: Aim for a load time under 3 seconds.
- Clear CTAs: Make it obvious what you want the user to do.
Finally, always be A/B testing . Continuously test different ad copy, headlines, and landing page layouts to refine your strategy over time. Our approach to getting more traffic focuses on this entire journey, from search to conversion.
A Guide to Google Ads Best Practices for Bidding and Budgeting
Strategic budgeting and bidding are crucial for maximising your ad spend. Allocate your budget based on performance, putting more funds into campaigns that drive results and using a smaller portion for testing.
Google Ads offers several bidding strategies :
- Manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click): Gives you full control to set bids for each keyword. It's great for smaller, targeted campaigns.
- Smart Bidding:
Uses Google's AI to optimise for conversions in real-time. It considers signals like device, location, and time of day. Key strategies include:
- Maximise Conversions: Aims for the most conversions within your target cost-per-acquisition (CPA).
- Maximise Conversion Value: Focuses on the highest value conversions within your target return on ad spend (ROAS). Advertisers switching from target CPA to target ROAS can see 14% more conversion value.
- Maximise Clicks: Drives traffic to your site.
Before launching any campaign, conversion tracking is essential . Without it, you're flying blind. Implement the Google tag on your website to track valuable actions like purchases, form submissions, or calls. Learn more about maximising conversions with a target CPA.
Track these Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure success:
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
- Cost Per Click (CPC)
- Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- Conversion Rate (CR)
Leveraging Automation and AI to Maximise ROI
Embracing AI and automation in Google Ads is no longer optional; it's necessary for performance. Manual management is too slow for today's environment.
Google's AI is designed to streamline campaigns and expand your reach. Key tools include:
- Smart Bidding : Automates bids in real-time to hit your conversion goals.
- Broad Match with Smart Bidding: This powerful combo allows AI to find relevant users, helping you compete in the right auctions. UK-based tails.com used this to increase sign-ups by 182%.
- Responsive Search Ads (RSAs): Automatically test different headlines and descriptions to find the best-performing ad combinations.
- Performance Max: A single campaign type that uses automation to drive growth across all of Google's channels, including Search, YouTube, and Maps.
To make automation work, you must feed Google's algorithms good data.
- Track all valuable conversions.
- Set up improved conversion tracking for more accurate data.
- Regularly verify your data is accurate.
The more data Google has, the better its machine learning can optimise your campaigns. This also means you can use less segmented campaign structures, giving the AI a broader dataset to learn from. As generative AI changes search, we focus on optimising for AI-generated visibility by strengthening organic signals and leveraging paid placements to ensure your brand appears in new AI-driven environments.
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A Guide to Google Ads Best Practices: Common Mistakes and Staying Ahead
Avoiding common pitfalls is just as important as implementing best practices. Many businesses burn through their budgets by making these avoidable errors:
- Poor Keyword Research: Using vague or irrelevant keywords wastes clicks.
- Crappy Ad Copy: Generic ads get ignored. Write for people, not just for Google.
- Insufficient Budget: A tiny budget prevents Google's AI from gathering enough data to optimise.
- Inadequate Targeting: Not using geotargeting, audience segmentation, or negative keywords shows your ads to the wrong people.
- No Ad Extensions: You're missing out on valuable screen space and extra clicks.
- Inadequate Tracking: Without conversion tracking, you're just guessing what works.
Continuous improvement is key. Regularly review campaigns to cut what's not working and double down on what is.
A/B testing is your secret weapon for refining ad copy, landing pages, and targeting.
Staying current is also vital. Consider Google Ads Certification to keep your skills sharp.
We like to think of ourselves as the world’s best little digital agency. We help businesses in Australia and beyond steer these changes, ensuring your campaigns always deliver real results.
Take Your Brand to New Heights with a Google Premier Partner
Mastering Google Ads requires time and a deep understanding of its dynamics. By focusing on a solid account structure, precise targeting, compelling ads, smart bidding, and AI, you can turn your campaigns into powerful growth engines. The goal is to run smart ads that deliver a strong ROI.
At RankingCo, we are a Google Premier Partner, placing us in the top 3% of Google Partners in Australia. We are passionate about helping businesses achieve their online potential.
We provide expert Google Ads management for businesses in Brisbane, Sydney, and across Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada. We have the experience to get you there.
Ready to open up your business's full potential? Contact us today and let us lift your digital marketing strategy.
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