Setting up a Google Ads campaign: a 2026 step-by-step plan

Summary: how to set up a Google Ads campaign

You set up a Google Ads campaign in 6 steps: first get the measurement of enquiries or sales ready, then choose the campaign type, the keywords, the ads, the budget and the page people land on. The order matters. Without measurement Google does not know who becomes a customer, and you mainly pay for clicks. For most SMEs a Search campaign is the best start, because you only appear for people who are already searching for what you offer. Want us to set it up? At Game-changers Google advertising costs from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

• Start: with measurement: enquiries, appointments or sales as conversions in Google Ads.
• Choose: usually a Search campaign first, Performance Max or Shopping later.
• Write: up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions per responsive search ad.
• Budget: Google may spend up to 2 times your daily budget on a day, but never more than 30.4 times per month.

What is a Google Ads campaign?

A campaign is the foundation of your Google Ads account. At campaign level you choose the goal, the type, the budget, the location and the language. Below it sit ad groups with keywords and ads. You usually pay per click, and the price is set in an auction. Read what Google Ads costs to see what you pay per click in the Netherlands. According to Google’s help page, when you create a campaign you first choose a goal, then a campaign type. That is the order we follow too, with one step before it: measurement.

Setting up a Google Ads campaign in 6 steps

1. Set up measurement

Decide what a customer means to you: a quote request, a booked call or a sale. Measure that action as a conversion in Google Ads, via conversion tracking or via GA4. Without conversions Google cannot bid smartly. Use our tracking and GA4 checklist to check this. At Game-changers data and tracking is included as standard with every campaign.

2. Choose the right campaign type

For services a Search campaign usually works best. If you have an online shop, Google Shopping comes in. Performance Max advertises across all of Google’s channels at once, but only works well once there are enough conversions.

3. Choose keywords with buying intent

Start with keywords that show people want to buy or get a quote, such as “roofer tilburg” or “hire accountant”. Put keywords that deliver nothing, such as “vacancy” or “free”, on the negative keyword list.

4. Write ads that match the search

According to Google, a responsive search ad has up to 15 headlines of 30 characters and 4 descriptions of 90 characters. Google combines them itself. Put the keyword, your benefit and a clear next step in your headlines.

5. Set budget and bid strategy

You set an average daily budget. According to Google, a campaign may spend up to 2 times that budget on a day, but you never pay more than 30.4 times your daily budget in a month. Start with maximise clicks or maximise conversions, and switch to a target per conversion once you have enough data.

6. Send people to the right page

Have every ad group land on a page about exactly that search, with one clear next step. Use our landing page checklist to check your page in a few minutes. If your page is the weak link, conversion rate optimisation helps.

Which campaign type do you choose?

Google Ads has several campaign types. For SMEs, three are the ones that most often make money:

• Search: text ads in Google for people searching right now. The best start for services and local businesses.
• Performance Max: one campaign for Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail and Maps. Works well with enough conversions and good visuals.
• Shopping: products with image and price in Google. For online shops with a product feed in Merchant Center.

Want to bring back people who already visited your site? You do that with remarketing. Video on YouTube and Demand Gen are mainly useful once you already have a working Search campaign.

Choosing keywords: broad, phrase or exact

The match type decides how broadly Google interprets your keyword. According to Google, there are three options. Broad match is the default and reaches the most, including searches without your words in them. Google itself adds that you should combine broad match with Smart Bidding. Phrase match (in quotation marks) shows your ad for searches that include the meaning of your keyword. Exact match (in square brackets) gives the most control, but the least reach.

Our approach: start with phrase and exact match on your best keywords, check the search terms report every week to see what you actually appeared for and exclude what does not fit. Only when measurement is right and there are enough conversions do we test broad match.

Writing ads that bring clicks and customers

• Keyword: in at least 2 headlines, so the searcher sees your ad is about their question.
• Benefit: concrete, such as a price, delivery time or “reply within 24 hours”.
• Proof: such as reviews or the number of customers.
• Next step: that matches the page, such as “Request a quote”.

What budget do you need?

Your budget depends on your cost per click and how many clicks you need for a customer. An example: with a daily budget of €33, Google may spend up to €66 on a busy day, but never more than €1,003 per month (Google). At €3 per click that is about 333 clicks per month. According to LocaliQ, on average 8.18% of clicks on search ads convert, at an average cost per click of €4.85 (converted at the ECB rate of 6 November 2026, 1 euro = 1.1165 dollars). Those figures mainly come from the United States, so use them as a guide.

The 5 mistakes that cost the most money

1. Optimising for clicks

Without real conversions Google goes for cheap clicks that never become customers.

2. Only broad match without negatives

Then you also appear for searches like “vacancy” or “free”. Check the search terms report every week.

3. Sending everything to the home page

A page about exactly the search converts better.

4. Blindly accepting Google’s recommendations

Many recommendations mainly increase your reach and your spend. Judge each one on what it delivers for you.

5. Changing too much too quickly

A smart bid strategy needs time to learn. Give changes a few weeks before you judge them.

Our research: what Google shows for “google ads campagne opzetten”

On 9 November 2026 we used DataForSEO to look at the search results for “google ads campagne opzetten” (setting up a Google Ads campaign) in Google Netherlands. According to Ahrefs, “google ads campagne” is searched about 500 times a month, and the pages that rank for it get up to 5,100 visitors a month together. At the top was an AI answer with a step-by-step plan, below it 3 YouTube videos. Of the 8 regular results on the first page, 5 were a step-by-step plan or explanation by an agency, 1 a service page, 1 a Google help page and 1 a forum. 2 of the 8 were from 2023 or earlier, one of them from 2018. The AI answer only mentions measurement as the last step. We put that step first.

The AI answer and the questions Google shows with it reveal what searchers struggle with: how do I start, what does it cost per month and how do I optimise my campaign. We answer those questions below.

Set it up yourself or have it set up?

You can set up a simple Search campaign yourself with this plan. The hard part comes afterwards: checking search terms every week, adjusting bids, testing ads and keeping measurement up to date. That is where most money is lost. At CrossFit Climbers Cabin we focused Google Ads on beginners and optimised for booked trial classes instead of clicks. The cost per lead fell from €55 to €9. Torn between doing it yourself, a freelancer or an agency? Then read about hiring a Google Ads specialist.

“Most campaigns we take over are not badly built. They just optimise for the wrong thing: clicks instead of enquiries. So we first get measurement right, and only then the keywords and the budget. That way Google learns from real customers, not from random visitors.”

Annefleur van Osta

Online marketing strategist at Game-changers

Want us to set up your campaign or review your current account? At Game-changers you pay from €500 per month excl. VAT, your ad budget goes directly to Google and there is no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

Frequently asked questions about setting up a Google Ads campaign

How do you set up a Google Ads campaign?

First get the measurement of enquiries or sales ready. Then choose the campaign type, keywords with buying intent, ads, budget and bid strategy. Have every ad group land on a page about exactly that search.

How do I start with Google Ads?

Create an account at ads.google.com, add your website and choose a goal. Start with one Search campaign on your best keywords. Make sure you measure conversions before you increase the budget.

What is Google Ads?

Google Ads is Google’s advertising platform. Your ads appear in Google Search, on YouTube, in Gmail and on partner websites. You usually pay per click.

How does Google Ads work?

You choose keywords and a bid. For every search Google holds an auction, in which your bid and the quality of your ad decide whether and where you appear. You only pay when someone clicks.

What does a Google Ads campaign cost?

You set your own daily budget, and Google never spends more than 30.4 times that amount per month. What you pay per click differs per industry. Read more in our article on what Google Ads costs.

How much does Google Ads cost per month?

You decide that yourself with your daily budget. A daily budget of €33 means at most €1,003 per month. If Game-changers manages it, add from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

What types of Google Ads campaigns are there?

The main ones are Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Display, Video and Demand Gen. For most SMEs a Search campaign is the best start. Online shops add Shopping.

What is Demand Gen in Google Ads?

Demand Gen is a campaign type for image and video ads on YouTube, Gmail and Discover. It is meant to reach people who are not searching yet. It works best alongside a Search campaign that already delivers.

Why use Google Ads?

Because you are immediately visible to people searching for what you offer right now. You can start tomorrow and measure what every euro delivers. That makes it a good addition to SEO, which takes more time.

How can I optimise my Google Ads campaigns?

Check the search terms report every week and exclude what does not fit. Test new headlines, improve your landing page and optimise for cost per enquiry instead of clicks. Give changes a few weeks.

What is a good CTR in Google Ads?

That differs per industry and per keyword. According to LocaliQ, the average CTR of search ads is around 6.6%. More important than the CTR is what a click delivers in enquiries or sales.

What is a good landing page for Google Ads?

A page about exactly the search, that loads fast and has one clear next step. Put the benefit and proof, such as reviews, at the top. Check your page with our landing page checklist.

How do you measure leads from Google Ads?

Set up conversions for forms, booked calls and possibly phone calls, via Google Ads or GA4. Set only real enquiries to primary. That way Google optimises for leads, not for visits to your contact page.

How do you send conversions to Google Ads?

Via the Google tag or Google Tag Manager, or by importing GA4 conversions. For the most reliable measurement also use enhanced conversions or server side tracking. At Game-changers this is included as standard with every campaign.

Is Google Ads worth it for SMEs?

Yes, if people already search for what you offer and you measure what it delivers. Start small with your best keywords and scale what works. Without measurement it is hard to tell whether it pays off.

Which is better: SEO or Google Ads?

Google Ads gives immediate results, SEO builds free visitors for the long term. Many businesses combine them: Ads for now, SEO for later. Data from Ads also shows which keywords are worth it for SEO.

Who can manage my Google Ads?

A freelancer, an agency or someone in your own team. Check whether they optimise for enquiries and sales, and whether you remain the owner of your account. At Game-changers this is possible from €500 per month excl. VAT, with no set-up fee. Request a free analysis.

Sources

Google Ads Help, Create a campaign

viewed November 2026

Google Ads Help, About responsive search ads

viewed November 2026

Google Ads Help, About keyword matching options

viewed November 2026

Google Ads Help, daily budget and monthly limit

viewed November 2026

Google Ads Help, About conversion tracking

viewed November 2026

LocaliQ, Search Advertising Benchmarks

updated 1 June 2026

European Central Bank, euro-dollar exchange rate

6 November 2026

DataForSEO SERP API, own measurement Google Netherlands

9 November 2026

Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, Dutch search volume

9 November 2026