13 Essential Settings for Optimizing Your Google Ads Account
Arun Mahendran
?? Growth at Trebound & Monk Mantra | ?? SEO Strategist | ?? Growth Marketer | ?? Marketing Science | Webflow Devotee | ? Fractional CMO | Reforge'24 | Harvard Business School - DMS | London School Of Business
Introduction
Managing a Google Ads account is a key part of successful online marketing. It helps businesses reach more people and get better results from their advertising. However, setting up a Google Ads account correctly is important to make sure everything runs smoothly. This article covers a checklist of 13 important settings you should check and set up in your Google Ads account. These steps will help you manage your account better and get the most out of your ads.
Summary
To have a successful Google Ads account, you need to make sure it’s set up properly. Here are 13 important things you should do:
1. Verify Account Ownership and Access Permissions: Make sure only the right people can access your Google Ads account.
2. Ensure Billing Information is Accurate and Updated: Keep your payment details up to date to avoid any problems with your ads.
3. Set Up Conversion Tracking: Track the actions people take after clicking on your ads to see how well they are working.
4. Link Google Analytics to Google Ads: Connect your Google Analytics account to get more detailed information about your ads.
5. Enable Auto-Tagging: This helps track your ads more accurately in Google Analytics.
6. Set Up Account-Level Negative Keywords: These keywords prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches.
7. Establish Account-Level Remarketing Lists: These lists help you show ads to people who have already visited your website.
8. Configure Account-Level Audience Targeting: Target specific groups of people to make your ads more effective.
9. Set Time Zone and Currency: Make sure these settings match your business location and needs.
10. Enable Email Notifications: Get email alerts about important account updates and issues.
11. Set Up Account Access Levels and Permissions: Manage who can do what in your account.
12. Review and Adjust Account Alerts: Customize alerts to stay on top of important events and issues.
13. Ensure your Account is Compliant with Google Ads Policies: Follow Google’s rules to avoid getting your account suspended.
领英推荐
Detailed Steps for Each Setting
1. Verify Account Ownership and Access Permissions: — Log into Google Ads and go to Account Access under Setup. — Check the list of users and make sure only authorized people have access.
2. Ensure Billing Information is Accurate and Updated: — Go to Billing settings under Billing. — Check and update billing details, payment methods, and tax information.
3. Set Up Conversion Tracking: — Go to Conversions under Measurement. — Create a new conversion action, set it up, and install the conversion tag on your website.
4. Link Google Analytics to Google Ads: — Go to Linked Accounts under Setup. — Select your Google Analytics property and link it to Google Ads.
5. Enable Auto-Tagging: — Go to Account settings under Setup. — Enable auto-tagging to track your ads in Google Analytics.
6. Set Up Account-Level Negative Keywords: — Go to Negative keyword lists under Shared library. — Create a list of negative keywords and apply it to your campaigns.
7. Establish Account-Level Remarketing Lists: — Go to Audience manager under Shared library. — Create remarketing lists and install the remarketing tag on your website.
8. Configure Account-Level Audience Targeting: — Go to Audience Manager and create audience segments. — Apply these segments to your campaigns to target specific groups.
9. Set Time Zone and Currency: — Check that your time zone and currency settings are correct. These are usually set during account creation.
10. Enable Email Notifications: — Go to Notification settings in Setup. — Enable email notifications to stay informed about important updates.
11. Set Up Account Access Levels and Permissions: — Go to Account Access and manage user permissions to control who can do what in your account.
12. Review and Adjust Account Alerts: — Go to Notification settings and customize alerts to keep track of important events and issues.
13. Ensure the Account is Compliant with Google Ads Policies: — Regularly review Google’s policies and make sure your ads and landing pages follow the rules.
Conclusion
Setting up and managing a Google Ads account properly is essential for successful online advertising. By following these 13 steps, you can ensure your account is well-organized, secure, and compliant with Google’s policies. This will help your ads run smoothly and effectively, bringing better results for your business. Regularly reviewing and updating these settings will keep your account in top shape and help you achieve your marketing goals.
Source: Arun Mahendran
We agree, these fundamentals are crucial for a solid Google Ads foundation. We'd add regular campaign optimization and A/B testing to this list for maximum ROI.