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Note: There is a known bug with Google Sheets where some of the impact scores may move out of place to the top of the sheet. This is not permanent and all you need to do is exit the sheet and reopen it for things to go back to normal.

Do not overlook this step. If you do not know your target ROAS numbers, you won't have a benchmark for success.

Setting the right timezone and currency is important to keep data consistent with Google Ads. Otherwise there will be a discrepancy in data and confusion down the line.

Why link Google Ads and Analytics?

- See ad and site performance data in the Google Ads reports in Analytics.
- Import Analytics goals and Ecommerce transactions into your Google Ads account.
- Import cross-device conversions into your Google Ads account when you activate Google signals.
- Import Analytics metrics like Bounce Rate, Avg. Session Duration, and Pages/Session into your Google Ads account.
- Enhance your Google Ads remarketing with Analytics Remarketing and Dynamic Remarketing.
- Get richer data in the Analytics Multi-Channel Funnels reports.

Who is this method for?
This method is perfect for merchants of all shapes and sizes who have created their feed on Google Sheets or are using a third party management tool.

Requirements: A URL that contains your feed

Who is this method for? This method is best for merchants with very few products, or for those who rarely need to make adjustments to their feed.

Requirements: A file located on your local drive that is 4GB or smaller

Potential drawbacks: You need to upload a new file any time you make changes to your feed. So it could work for someone who has a few products, but for most merchants it could lead to headaches.

Who is this method for? This method is a great match for all merchants, especially those who are interested in making several daily feed updates.

Requirements:

An FTP client, third party service like DataFeedWatch, or command line knowledge
An FTP address (for Shopping feeds you’ll use: ftp://uploads.google.com)
An FTP account - you’ll set yours up in Google Merchant Center

While it may not seem important, bad site speed is big factor in lowered conversion rates. Make sure your desktop page score is over 90 and your mobile score is over 50. You can check your page speed score here - https://pagespeed.web.dev/

Check on site speed every 3-6 months

While it may not seem important, bad site speed is big factor in lowered conversion rates. Make sure your desktop page score is over 90 and your mobile score is over 50. You can check your page speed score here - https://pagespeed.web.dev/

Check on site speed every 3-6 months

Google Analytics and Google Search Console can look like they provide the same information. However, there are some critical differences between these two Google services.

Google Analytics gives more information about who is visiting your site — how many guests you are getting, how they are landing on your website, how much time they are spending on your site, and from which area your visitors are coming from (geographically).

Google Search Console is all about providing more in-depth information — who is linking to your site, if there is malware or other errors on your website, and for which keywords your site is appearing for in search results.

Google Analytics and Search Console do not respond to information in the same ways. If you think you're looking at the same report, you might not be getting the same details in both places. To get the most out of the information given by Search Console and Google Analytics, you can link accounts for each one together.

Having these two tools linked will combine the data from both sources to provide you with additional reports that you will only be able to use once you've done that.

This process is good practice when you publish a new post or page. You’re effectively telling Google that you’ve added something new to your site and that they should take a look at it.

Our favourite tool for keyword research. See how to do keyword research using Semrush in our Planning checkpoint below.

Very useful for generating copy for any type of Google Ad. See how to use this amazing AI copy tool in our 'Search Ads - Copy' checkpoint.

Extremely helpful free tool for keyword research. Just enter your topic/brand/product and it will give you long tail keywords that people are searching for on Google right now.

Use the keyword search template as preliminary research, coming up with keywords for Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel and Bottom of Funnel. This will be refined even further later.

The most thorough guide on using the keyword planner for keyword research

This is a great way of getting a ROAS and budget estimate so you estimate your monthly ad spend.

Although it is not required, we highly recommended creating an account with Semrush, as it opens the door to multiple keyword tools that will give you a serious leg up on the competition. For most businesses, the Pro Plan will be more than sufficient. This is one of the only paid tools we use for all our clients, which is why we only recommend Semrush over the other keyword tools out there.

Our favourite feature of Semrush! 😄

Add these spam keywords to your shared negative keyword list and apply them to every campaign. It doesn’t matter what industry you're in, these keywords will negatively impact your campaigns if they are not added to your campaigns.

Always start with 'Create a campaign without a goal's guidance'. There is no benefit to starting with other objectives (doesn't matter what your goal is).

This will depend on what type of network you want to run your ads to. Most of the time for new accounts, this will be search.

We will show you how to set up bidding for any type of a goal.

Never select search and display network together, as they both have conflicting objectives. For search campaigns we will only select 'Search Network' every time. Turn off 'Include Google search partners' for new campaigns, this can be introduced later on if you are looking to expand your keyword reach and spend.

Select the country/countries you are looking to target. If you target multiple countries you can group them in ways that make the most sense - for example - 'Eastern European Countries', 'North America' etc Always select location options and change the target to 'Presence: People in or regularly in your targeted locations'. Leave the exclude option as it is.

Select the language to only show your ads to people who have that language selected in their language settings. If you are targeting english speakers make sure to select it instead of selected 'All Languages'

There is no reason to select Audience Segments when you are setting up a new campaign. However, this is a great option to use down the line when used in conjunction with Broad match keywords in order to find new keywords (addressed later in the checklist). For now, do not select any Audience Segments.

Choose 'targeting' for display campaigns (specifically target a certain group of people and no-one else) and 'observation' for search campaigns (do not narrow the targeting). Because we are targeting people that have used specific search terms, there is no reason to narrow targeting at this stage.

Select 'Do not optimize: Rotate ads indefinitely'. This is to give all your ads a fair shot at performing, atleast at the start.

Our Verdict - New accounts with low data should never start by using SKAGs. For established accounts, SKAGs can be powerful way to maximize top keyword performance.
We found it best to only use SKAGs on top performing keywords (Top 10-15% keyword in terms of conversions) in order to really maximize performance on those specific keywords.

If you have any product/industry specific keywords that would negatively affect your campaign, add them as negative match keywords. For example, if you run a paint store that only deals with wall paints, you can add 'Acrylic', 'Oil' and Art' negative match keywords to ensure people looking for art paints don't get shown your ad.

Google has phased out expanded ads so responsive ads are your only option now. Aim to have 4 headlines and 2 descriptions for each ad. It is not advisable to have any more, as too many combinations will make it hard to find a clear winner.

Make your ads as relevant to your ad group theme as possible. This means using relevant keywords in the URL, headline and descriptions. Also make sure the landing page contains content that is relevant to the ad. Google rewards ad group -> ad -> landing page relevancy, so make them as consistent as possible.

Use the information from the business plan tab when creating ad copy

Use the information from the business plan tab when creating your headlines

Use the information from the business plan tab when creating your ad descriptions

We recommend using Copy.ai's free Google Ads Generator to get inspiration and play around with new ad copy. Always use tools like copy.ai to get inspiration and ideas and refine as needed. Using copy.ai will ensure that you never run out of copy ideas for campaigns with lots of ad groups.

Although it is optional make sure to take advantage of the 'Display Path' option when creating ads. The display path will show your destination URL along with your chosen display path keywords to the viewer. Using the relevant keywords from your ad group will help improve your ad score and show the user what to expect from your landing page.

Promotions are the first box under 'More asset types' after sitelinks. Adding promotions are highly recommended if you have any sales running at the moment. Choose your promotion type and discount and remember to set an end date for the promotion. (Google will disapprove the ad if you promote a discount without one running on your website

It is highly recommended to add prices of the products/services being advertised on your site. The price extension gives you more space on your ad to highlight a range of products and services. People can browse your product/s right from the ad and click to learn more about the specific product. It is also always a good idea to include more extensions in your ad to give your ad more space on Google Search. The more space/information, the more likely someone is to click on your ad.

The call extension makes it easy for people to reach your business by phone. People will see your phone number (on desktop) or click to call your business directly (on mobile devices). If your business has a call line, it is highly recommended to set this up as it adds instant trust to your business as well as giving people a direct way to reach you if they need help with something.

Call out extensions are a good way to highlight popular and unique aspects of your business. They can be used to quickly differentiate yourself from your competitors. It is a good idea to use the USPs from the business plan in your callout extensions. As a secondary benefit, callout extensions can improve your ad rank, leading to higher ad placements.

These are worth testing if you run a leads based business. Instead of collecting leads directly from your website, you could try collecting the leads straight from the ad itself. While this might result in a higher quantity of leads, the quality might be lowered as the leads haven't been qualified yet. Verdict: If you are looking for leads, it is worth testing to see whether lead forms are a good option for you or not.

At a basic level display ads are great for brand awareness and retargeting, so create separate campaigns for both objectives. Display ads for brand awareness should always be paired with cold content (newsletters, blogs, quizes etc - see smoke testing checkpoint below) and ads for retargeting should contain some form of urgency/scarcity.

The Google Display planner is no longer available as a standalone tool, and can only be accessed when you are creating a campaign.

Once you see that a specific placement isn't performing the way you want, you can automatically eliminate it from your targeting using this script.