Blog/Google Ads
How to structure a Google Ads account — campaigns, ad groups, and keywords done right.
Account structure is the invisible architecture that determines whether Smart Bidding can learn, whether budgets go where they should, and whether you can actually read performance data. The most common mistake: too many campaigns chasing the same goal, splitting conversion signals until none of them hit the 30-conversion threshold Smart Bidding needs. One campaign per distinct goal. Tightly themed ad groups. 10–20 keywords max. The rest is maintenance.
Ahmed Ashraf
Founder, Traffiy · April 2026 · Google Premier Partner
“Account structure is strategy made visible. If you can't read what each campaign is trying to do from its name alone, the structure is wrong.”
— Ahmed Ashraf · $100M+ in budgets managed
The hierarchy
Account → Campaign → Ad Group → Keywords & Ads.
Every decision in Google Ads maps to a specific level. Confusing the levels is where structural problems begin.
Account
Billing, brand safety, conversion tracking, shared audiences, shared negative keyword lists. One account per business — not one per product line.
Campaign
Budget, bidding strategy, network (Search/Display/Shopping), location targeting, device targeting, ad scheduling. One goal per campaign.
Ad Group
Keywords, ads, and audience layers. One tightly themed topic per ad group. The keywords and ad copy must speak the same language.
Keywords & Ads
The specific search queries you want to show for (keywords) and the messaging you show when you do (RSAs). Tightly matched to each other and to the landing page.
1 goal
per campaign — brand, non-brand, competitor, remarketing, and Shopping should never share a campaign
10–20
keywords per ad group maximum — beyond this, themes dilute and Quality Score drops
30+
conversions per month before splitting into separate campaigns — the minimum for Smart Bidding to work
Campaign-level decisions
What gets set at campaign level — and why it matters.
Campaign settings are blunt instruments. They apply to everything inside the campaign equally. Get them wrong and no amount of ad copy optimisation fixes the damage.
Budget
Set daily budget at campaign level. CBO (campaign-level) is standard. Never use shared budgets across campaigns with different goals — they cannibalise each other.
Bidding strategy
Choose based on data availability. New campaign: Maximize Conversions. 30+ conversions/month: Target CPA. Consistent volume with value data: Target ROAS.
Network
Uncheck Display Network expansion on Search campaigns. It dilutes data and wastes budget. Run Display campaigns separately with separate budgets.
Location targeting
Set to 'Presence' not 'Presence or interest'. Interest-based location targeting shows ads to people who search about a location from anywhere — almost always wrong.
Device targeting
Start with all devices. Only adjust bid modifiers after 30+ days of device-split data. Premature mobile exclusions often cut off your best-converting traffic.
Ad scheduling
Start running all hours. Review the Hour of Day report after 30 days. Only exclude hours with high spend and zero conversions — never exclude based on impressions alone.
Campaign type reference
| Campaign type | Budget allocation | Bidding strategy | Typical ad groups |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand Search | 10–15% | Target Impression Share or tCPA | 1–3 (brand exact, brand phrase, brand + product) |
| Non-Brand Search | 50–60% | Maximize Conversions → tCPA | 3–10 by theme/service |
| Competitor | 5–10% | Manual CPC or tCPA (high target) | 1 per major competitor |
| Remarketing | 10–15% | Target CPA (lower than prospecting) | By audience stage (site visitors, cart, past customers) |
| Shopping / PMax | 20–30% | Target ROAS | By product category or margin tier |
Ad group structure
SKAGs are dead. Here is what replaced them.
Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) were the dominant structure from 2015 to 2020. The logic was sound: one keyword per ad group gives perfect Quality Score control. The problem: they create hundreds of ad groups, each with a handful of conversions, and Smart Bidding has nothing to learn from.
SKAG approach (2015–2020)
- –1 keyword per ad group
- –Granular Quality Score control
- –Perfect ad-to-keyword relevance
- –Hundreds of tiny ad groups
- –Splits conversion data into fragments
- –Smart Bidding cannot learn at scale
Modern approach (2024+)
- ✓10–20 keywords per ad group, same intent
- ✓Responsive Search Ads test combinations
- ✓Enough conversions per ad group to optimise
- ✓Smart Bidding learns from pooled signals
- ✓Negative keywords prevent theme bleed
- ✓Fewer ad groups, cleaner performance data
The fragmentation problem
An account with 200 SKAGs and 100 conversions per month averages 0.5 conversions per ad group. Smart Bidding at the ad group level has statistically nothing to work with. Consolidate to 15 thematic ad groups with the same 100 conversions and each group averages 6.7 — still low, but Smart Bidding can start learning. The campaign-level minimum is 30 conversions per month. Every split below that threshold hurts performance.
Account hygiene
Pausing, archiving, and naming — the habits that keep accounts readable.
Never delete — always pause
Deleted entities lose historical data including Quality Score history. Pause underperforming keywords and ads. If something has not served in 6 months and you are certain it is dead, you can delete — but the default is pause.
Archive campaigns with a label
When a campaign is no longer active, pause it and rename it: 'ARCHIVED — [original name] — [date]'. This keeps it out of your active view but preserves data for historical reference. Never duplicate active and archived campaigns without the label.
Use a consistent naming convention from day one
Format: '[Type] | [Brand/Non-Brand] | [Market] | [Goal]'. Example: 'Search | Non-Brand | UAE | Lead Gen'. If the name does not tell you the purpose, the network, and the market in 5 seconds, rewrite it.
Shared negative keyword lists
Build account-level shared negative lists. At minimum: Brand negatives (to protect non-brand campaigns), Competitor negatives (for brand campaigns), and a Global negatives list (obvious irrelevant terms). Link them to all relevant campaigns.
FAQ
Common questions about Google Ads account structure.
How many campaigns should a Google Ads account have?+
Five campaign types cover most accounts: brand, non-brand, competitor, remarketing, and Shopping. Beyond that, only split if each new campaign would independently reach 30+ conversions per month. Avoid creating separate campaigns for the same goal just to test audiences or devices — use ad groups and audience signals instead.
What is the ideal number of keywords per ad group?+
10–20 tightly themed keywords is the modern standard. Single Keyword Ad Groups (SKAGs) were popular for Quality Score control but they fragment data and hurt Smart Bidding. Today, group related keywords with the same intent into one ad group and use Responsive Search Ads to let Google test combinations.
Should I pause or delete underperforming keywords?+
Pause, do not delete. Deleted keywords lose their historical Quality Score data. Pausing keeps the data for reference and makes it easy to reactivate if needed. Reserve deletion for keywords added accidentally or duplicates. Archive old campaigns by pausing them at campaign level and labelling them 'ARCHIVED — [date]'.
When should I split one campaign into two?+
Only split when each campaign would reach 30+ conversions per month independently. Below that, neither campaign has enough data for Smart Bidding to work — you just split the signal. Valid reasons to split: different target markets with different CPAs, different bidding strategies, or campaigns that need entirely separate budget control.
What naming convention should I use for Google Ads campaigns?+
Use a structured format that answers: What is the goal? What is the targeting type? What market? Example: 'Search | Non-Brand | UAE | Lead Gen' or 'Shopping | Brand | US | ROAS'. A readable name means you never need to open a campaign to understand its purpose. Build the convention before the account grows.
Ahmed Ashraf — Founder, Traffiy
10+ years in paid media. $100M+ in budgets managed across Meta, Google, and TikTok. Google Premier Partner — top 3% globally. Every article on this blog is written from direct experience managing real campaigns.
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